Motorcycle Deaths - Iowa has less than 5 per 10,000 registered bikes
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After 26 years of practicing law in the personal injury area I feel comfortable saying that motorcycle wrecks and accidents that cause traumatic brain injury leave broken homes and ruined marriages in the wake. Be mindful of the risks and insure your family's standard of living just to be safe. Know the risks before you ride a motorcycle and protect your minor children.
USA Today ran a story showing that as helmet laws are eliminated the number of deaths per registered motorcycles increases. Most of the increase is being seen in the warmer states but especially in the Sun Belt states. In 1995 the federal government got out of the business of withholding highway funding for those states not having helmet laws. After which the number of states with helmet laws decreased. Twenty years ago 47 states required riders to wear helmets. Today only 20 have helmet laws. Twenty-seven states have requirements for younger riders. Only Iowa, Illinois and New Hampshire don't require helmets to be worn.
In 1996, 5.6 motorcyclists were killed for every 10,000 registered motorcycles, according to Department of Transportation (DOT) statistics. By 2006, the most recent data available, the rate had risen to 7.3, the analysis shows. Look at this quote from Science Week quoting a 2004 public health study by L.J. Paulozzi and R. Patel of the Morb. Mort. Wkly. Rep. 2004 53:1103. Remember you don't have to agree with the conclusion but you do have to consider it.
Motorcycles are the most dangerous type of motor vehicle to drive.[1] These vehicles are involved in fatal crashes at a rate of 35.0 per 100 million miles of travel, compared with a rate of 1.7 per 100 million miles of travel for passenger cars. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has reported increasing numbers of motorcycle deaths associated with alcohol-impaired driving in recent years, especially among persons aged => 40 years.[2] To determine trends by age group in motorcycle fatalities overall and in those involving alcohol impairment, CDC analyzed data from the NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) for 1983, 1993, and 2003.
So one has to wonder of those riders that were killed how many were wearing helmets? In 2006 there were 4,810 deaths. Of those riders 42% or 2,020 were helmetless. The records show that half of those killed simply lost control of the bike. They were a single vehicle (bike) crash. So there was no one else to blame, or so it might seem. Statistically motorcycles account for 2% or the vehicles on the road but for 10% of the deaths.
Of course the debate rages on about whether anyone should be told what to do when it comes to riding sans a helmet. Whichever option you choose be mindful of those you may someday leave behind or strapped with caring for you should you suffer a head injury. Head injuries are terribly serious and debilitating injuries that can require constant care and attention. The cost of treating a head injured person is substantial to say the least. The quality of life your loved ones will live should you die should be considered and an adequate life insurance policy purchased. And if you allow a child passenger, ask yourself if they should be saddled with living a life where their brain no longer works as expected and they will never reach their full potential due to traumatic brain injury suffered in a crash. Riding a motorcycle can turn into the most selfish decision you make.
CONCLUSION: The economic burden of TBI in the acute-care setting is substantial; treatment outcomes and costs vary considerably by TBI severity and mechanism of injury.