"A new report shows Missouri has one of the highest motorcycle death rates in the nation. In fact, Missouri has been in the top 10 since 2005.  Even though Missouri has a helmet law, the study shows that nearly 20 percent of people who died in motorcycle crashes were not wearing helmets, and another 3 percent were not wearing their helmets properly." This excerpt is taken from a Fox News website in Kansas City, Missouri titled Missouri Motorcycle Deaths Highest in Nation .   

This statement, and statements like them, often miss the point.  I have written about this erroneous reference about the failure to wear motorcycle helmets is the reason for deaths when riding a motorcycle before in my blog.  

My main point is that the majority of deaths while riding a motorcycle are the result of multiple trauma.  Multiple trauma is a medical term applied to a person who is injured in a number of ways - perhaps blunt force trauma, penetrating trauma, head injury and /or multiple bone fractures.  It is often the case that when a motorcyclist is injured he or she is injured in multiple ways because they do not enjoy the protection of a cabin of steel like a car or truck driver.

It is often difficult to determine the cause of death for motorcyclists who die from crashes.  I suspect that if "head injury" is listed as a cause of death whether the victim was or was not wearing a helmet becomes an issue of interest and may be erroniously reported that the motorcyclist died because he or she was not wearing a helmet.  However, there are probably other reasons that may be equally responsible for the death of the rider.

If I had the time and the money I would like to do a research study on this - maybe the AMA (American Motorcyclist Association) can look into. 

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