There was an article in yesterday's Salt Lake Tribune quoting the Emergency Nurses Association's National Scorecard on State Roadway Laws criticizing the state for not having mandatory motorcycle helmet laws for  riders in place.  The score of any given state is determined by the answers to 13 different questions.  The question concerning mandatory motorcycle helmets state "Does the state have a universal motorcycle helmet law requiring all riders to wear a helmet?"

I would like to make an observation about the question.  The Emergency Nurses Association (ENA) uses the term "universal" when what I think they mean is "mandatory."  Universal means"relating to, affecting, or accepted by the whole world."  Another word they us, and a word that is all-to-often used without thought is "law."  Law is defined as "a rule of conduct or procedure recognized by a community as binding or enforceable by authority."  When the ENA mashes "universal" and "law" together in this particular context  they create an impression that everyone wants helmet laws.  Nothing could be further from the truth.

I have writtenabout the law and motorcycle helmets extensively in this blog and throughout this website.  I strongly believe that rider education is a better place to start than requiring all to wear helmets.  The freedom to wearor not wear a helmet should be up tothe individual.  People then say that it should be the sasme for seat belts - that wearing them should be up to the individual. 

Motorcycles are different.  People ride motorcycles for a reason - primarily freedom.  Motorcycle riders, by and large, are a unique people.  Generally we enjoy freedom, adventure and the thrill of the ride and the open road.  Is there anything wrong with that?  To restrict what people do with their lives is intrusive - especially when what they are doing is not hurting anyone except themselves.

The argument for helmets then becomes motorcycle riders without helmets cost the taxpayer exorbitant amounts of money to care for them when they are injured.  To my knowledge there are no definitive studies that support this.  Common sense tells me that those killed as a result of not wearing a helmet, although tragic for that rider and family, costs the taxpayer little.  There are other arguments but I refer you to other places on this website.

I am confident that if the ENA had their way everyone would walk around with helmets on - rediculous - probably.  By the way - I have been riding a motorcycle for about 20 years - all with a helmet most of the  time.  This might appear contrary to all of the foregoing but my right is to wear or not wear a helmet.  I am simply exercising my right just the same as the rider next to me chooses to exercise his right by not wearing a helmet.  Let freedon reign.

Women motorcycle riders are becoming a larger part of the motorcycle community and in my opinion it is about time.  According to the  Motorcycle Industry Council female riders are the fastest growing segment of riders.  Utah Fox 13's female anchor Kerri Cronk has produced a two-part expose on female riders that emphasizes the need for motorcycle safety training.

This series by Cronk might alternatively titled "Harley Girls Play It Safe" because the training they take is being rum by the Harley Davidson dealership in Salt Lake City.The instructor for the class is Mike Cowdell who has years of experience on a bike and has also been a Utah Highway Patrol motorcycle officer for years.  Mr. Cowdell says that the number of people taking the Harley Rider Class is about 50 - 50 female and male.  He also stresses that as bikes become more powerful and considering this is the first time many of these riders have rode a motorcycle at all their skill level needs to be dramatically increased quickly to be safe on the road.

Females tend to be more safe than male riders becasue they tend to driver slower and tend to wear helmets. To pass the Harley course all need to write and pass a fairly difficult written test and then pass a challenging driving test.  Typically the class is on a smaller bike but in advanced classes owners bring their own bikes.

It sounds like black leather may indeed be in Kerri's future because at the end of the second clip she describes her experience as "exhillerating", "loving every minute of it" and describes the feeling of being on a motorcycle as being one of "thrill, fascination and freedom."  Welcome to the club Kerri!

American Motorcycle Association president and CEO Rob Dingman has urged the United States Department of Transportation (USDOT) to expedite a long-overdue federal study into the causes of motorcycle crashes.  United States Secretary of Transportation Mary Peters, head of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, and a motorcycle rider herself agreed.

There are more than 10 million motorcyclists on the road today, more than any time in history," said Dingman.  At the same time the number of deaths while riding a motorcycleincreased 6.6 percent in 2007 from 2006.  The last comprehensive motorcycle crash study was performed in 1980.  "The idea behind the motorcycle crash causation study is to help us understand the causes of crashes so that effective countermeasures can be developed," said Dingman. "Absent this study, countermeasures will continue to be developed in a vacuum, with no way to know which measures will be effective."  

The number of registered motorcyles in Utah has increased from 40,964 in 2004 to 64,376 in 2208 - an increase of 57 percent over 4 years.

It is an astounding statistic but in 2007 motorcycle deaths accounted for one in every eight motor vehicle deaths.  These statistics have prompted the United States Department of Transportation to announce increased safety, drunk driving outreach and enforcement efforts.  One of the efforts to stop this increase is a new NHTSA advertising campaign showing drunk vehicle and motorcycle riders being caught for driving impaired. The Motorcycle Safety Foundation believes that a person killed on a motorcycle was 2.5 times more likely to be under the influence of alcohol than a person killed in a car.

The overall number of traffic fatalities dropped in 2007 to 41,059 - the lowest number since 1994.  Another statistic is deaths per 100 million vehicle miles traveled that was 1.37 is the lowest rate ever recorded. Motorcycle fatalities accounted for 13% of fatalities in 2007, an increase of 6.6% from 2006.  All of the NHTSA statistics for 2007 show that in Utah the number of people killed in motor vehicle crashes increased 4.2%.  

Highway safety authorities know that even though the overall number of traveled miles are dropping for all vehicles the number of miles traveled by motorcycles is increasing.  Furthermore, they estimate that there are many more motorcycles on the streets today.  There are about 75% more motorcycles registered today than 10 years ago.

Another reason that authorities think the number of motorcycle deaths are on the rise is the decrease in the number of states that require helmets to be worn when riding a motorcycle.  In 1975 47 states required all motorcycle riders to wear helmets and now only 20 states require all motorcycle riders to wear helmets.

One of the best statistical reviews concerning motorcycle injury is at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

The Federal Highway Administration announced that highway traffic deaths dropped about 4 percent to 41,059 in 2007. Even with this overall decrease in total deaths motorcycle deaths have increased. Motorcycle deaths increased a staggering 6.6 percent in 2007 and now account for about 13 percent of all traffic deaths.

There are a couple of interesting facts in these statistics. First of all overall miles driven in the United States has decreased. Motorists (including motorcyclists) traveled 3 trillion miles in 2007 down from 3.01 trillion miles in 2006 - the first annual drop since 1980. June of this year showed a 4.7 percent drop in mileage traveled compared to June of last year.

On a year over year comparison motorcycle injuries increased 17 percent in 2007 compared to 2006. In 2007 there were 103,000 motorcycling injuries.  In 2007 there were 41, 059 people killed in traffic accidents.  Of this total 13 percent were motorcycle deaths - 5,338 motorcycle deaths across the nation.

The reason for this divergence of vehicle deaths declining and motorcycle deaths increasing is probably clear. With gas averaging about $4.00 per gallon many more people are using motorcycle and scooters to commute. Scooter sales have been reported to be up as much as 40 percent in 2008 compared to 2007.

I think most of the 2007 purchasers of scooters and motorcycles are new to riding. In my law practice, which focuses on representing injured motorcycle riders and their families, it is not uncommon to hear that the motorcyclist had just purchased their ride. The Federal Highway Administration stresses helmet use, sometimes at the cost of funding rider education. This is an ill-considered plan. I think that the single best way to decrease motorcycle injuries and deaths is to require all new riders to take a new motorcycle rider course.

I think there are a number of reasons why motorcycle accidents are on the increase.

• Gas prices - with the soaring price demanded for crude oil gasoline prices have already passed the $4.00 mark and well on their way to $5.00 per gallon. Many are opting for scooters and motorcycles in an attempt to save some cash.

• Baby Boomers - are reentering the motorcycle market. With arguably slower reaction times and decreased visual and auditory capacity some argue that baby boomers are more susceptible to accidents.

• New riders - exist now like never before. As a result of both older riders reentering the motorcycle market and with mostly younger drivers buying scooters and motorcycles to escape high gas prices many of these riders are new to motorcycling.

• Education void - many new riders are not taking a basic motorcycle safety riding class however with recent changes to motorcycle laws in Utah and in other states this education void will decrease.

• Crowded roadways - legacy highway and daily freeway backups and road repair all contribute to increasing traffic and with motorcycles being the smallest thing on the road we are often overlooked and clipped, sideswiped or simply "not seen" at all.