The human cost of allowing unhelmeted motorcycling in the United States

Abstract

Introduction: This study’s objective was to estimate the number of motorcyclist fatalities attributable to laws that allow unhelmeted riding in the United States since 1976. Method: Counts of helmeted and unhelmeted motorcyclist fatalities were used to estimate population-level helmet use under all-rider helmet laws and in the absence of such laws. The number of lives that could have been saved if helmet use in states that allowed unhelmeted riding was equal to helmet use in states with all-rider helmet laws was estimated for each year and summed over the study years. Results: If all states had all-rider helmet laws throughout the 1976–2022 study period, 22,058 fewer motorcyclists would have died in crashes. This represents 11% of all motorcyclist fatalities during these years. The number of motorcyclists killed in 2022 would have been 10% lower. Currently, 17 states and the District of Columbia have an all-rider helmet law in place. Conclusion: Requiring helmets for all motorcyclists is a straightforward rule of the road that has the potential to reduce annual motorcyclist fatalities, which are at record-high levels of over 6,000 per year, by 10%. All-rider helmet laws are a fundamental component of a Safe System for motorcycling. Practical Applications: States should consider the human cost of not having all-rider helmet laws and use this tool to reduce the number of riders killed in crashes.