Cincinnati Attorney Supplies Study of Motorcycle Helmet Accidents

 

In my prior post I gave motorcycle sites with valuable resources. Some of these sites list numerous studies regarding motorcycle helmet effectiveness in preventing injury. I thought that I would reprint the summary of the Goldstein study which appears to have been a scholarly and well done study.


The Effect of Motorcycle Helmet Use on the Probability of Fatality and the Severity of Head And Neck Injuries
Highlights of Helmet Effectiveness Study

Jonathan P. Goldstein, Ph.D.
Department of Economics
Bowdoin College
Brunswick, Maine 04011


This article evaluates the effectiveness of motorcycle helmets in accident situations. A latent variable model is developed and estimated. It is concluded that (1) motorcycle helmets have no statistically significant effect on the probability of fatality; (2) helmets reduce the severity of head injuries; and (3) past a critical impact speed [13 MPH], helmets increase the severity of neck injuries. Further analysis establishes the qualitative and quantitative nature of the head-neck injury trade-off.

Methodology

1. This study employs standard statistical techniques (regression analysis) to isolate the main determinants of death and injury severity resulting from motorcycle accidents.

2. The data analyzed in this study were provided by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation and originally collected by Hurt et al. (1981), contract No. DOT HS-5-01160. These data are currently recognized as the most accurate and detailed available on motorcycle accidents (See pp. 11-12).

3. The effectiveness of helmets and other determinants of death and injury severity are estimated from a causal model. Three variants of one causal model are used to isolate the determinants of: (1) the probability of a fatality; (2) the severity of head injuries; and (3) the severity of neck injuries.

4. The use of a causal model distinguishes the research methodology of this study from previous studies. The advantage of this approach lies in the ability to estimate the separate effects of several simultaneous and interrelated causes of motorcycle fatalities and injury severities (pp. 2-4). Previous studies simply divide accident victims into a helmeted group and non-helmeted group. As a result all differences in fatality rates, injury rates and injury severities between groups are erroneously attributed to helmet use. These comparisons fail to consider other differences between helmet users and non-users which influence the probability of death and the severity of injuries. The most plausible hypothesis is that helmeted riders are more risk-averse and thus: (1) have lower pre-crash and thus crash speeds; and (2) are less likely to combine alcohol consumption and driving. Such behavior, rather than helmet use per se, may dramatically reduce the probability of fatality or the severity of an injury. Only a causal model that considers crash speed, helmet use, alcohol use and other pertinent variables can isolate the separate contribution of each determinant of the severity of injury or probability of death.

Causal Model (pp. 4-8)

1. The causal model considers three broad categories of the causes of death and injury severity. These include factors governed by the laws of physics, physiological factors. and human factors and operator characteristics.

2. The physical factors considered include: the kinetic energy (potential for bodily damage) transferred to the motorcycle operator by the impact, compressibility of the impacted object, helmet use, and possible engineering limitations of helmets (as affected by the impact speed that the helmet is subjected to in the crash).

3. The physiological factors considered include: operator's age, blood alcohol level, drug involvement, and permanent physiological impairment.

4. The human factors and operator characteristics considered include: rider on-road experience, whether the operator had taken the correct evasive action for the particular accident situation, driver training, and the operator's past accident and violation histories.

5. Numerous other determinants were also considered.


Results (pp. 13-18)

1. Helmets are shown to have no statistically significant effect on the probability of a fatality given that a motorcycle accident has occurred. This means that based on standard statistical tests we cannot reject the claim that helmets do not affect the probability that a rider will survive a motorcycle accident.

2. The major determinants of fatality are the rider's crash speed (kinetic energy) and blood alcohol level.

3. For the average rider involved in the average accident, it is found that the probability of death increases from 2.1% to 11.3% when the rider's blood alcohol level increases from 0.0 to 0.1 (from sober to legally intoxicated in most states).

4. In the same vein, an increase in the crash speed from 40 to 60 mph increases the probability of death from 7.1% to 36.3%

5. It is found that helmets have a statistically significant effect in reducing head injury severity. We can reject the hypothesis that helmets have no effect on head injuries in favor of the claim that they reduce head injuries.

6. It is shown that past a critical impact velocity to the helmet (approximately 13 mph), helmet use has a statistically significant effect which increases the severity of neck injuries. Thus we reject the claim that, helmets have no effect on neck injuries in favor of the claim that, past a critical impact speed, they exacerbate neck injuries.

7. As a result of (5) and (6), we establish that a tradeoff between head and neck injuries confronts a potential helmet user. Past a critical impact speed to the helmet (13 mph), which is likely to occur in real life accident situations helmet use reduces the severity of head injuries at the expense of increasing the severity of neck injuries.

8. Further statistical tests reveal the qualitative nature of this tradeoff. It is shown that an individual who wears a helmet and experiences an impact velocity to the head greater than 13 mph may avoid either severe or minor head injuries and incur either severe or minor neck injuries; all permutations of the tradeoff are equally likely to occur.

Policy Implications (pp. 18-20)

1. If a major concern of policy makers is the prevention of fatalities, helmet legislation may not be effective in achieving that objective.

2. If the overall cost to society of motorcycle accidents is the issue, then cost-benefit analyses that adequately consider the tradeoff between head and neck injuries must be conducted before the cost effectiveness of helmets can be determined.

3. Until the injury tradeoff issue is more carefully studied, it cannot be concluded that mandatory helmet use laws are an effective method to eradicate the slaughter and maiming, of individuals involved in motorcycle accidents.

4. A more effective policy approach would be two pronged, including both policies to prevent accidents and policies that effectively reduce the probability of death and the severity of injuries.

5. Policies to prevent accidents include: (1) the education of the general driving public; (2) the education of a younger and more inexperienced population of motorcyclists on the issues of accident avoidance and the proper use and control of high horsepower machines: (3) stricter enforcement of drunk driving laws; and (4) implementation of alcohol awareness programs.

6. Policies to reduce death and injury severity include: stricter enforcement of speed limits. the alcohol related policies suggested in (5) and mandatory driver training and education programs which emphasize the proper execution of evasive action.


© Copyright Jonathan P. Goldstein Ph.D. 1986. All Rights Reserved.


courtesy Anthony Castelli motorcycle accident attorney www.castellilaw.com/motorcycle-accidents.html

Cincinnati Motorcycle Attorney Talks About Helmet Resources

 

The debate contiues to rage on about motorcycle helmets. Some want them to be mandatory, some want the biker to decide. But underneath those preferences are pros and cons that each side of the motorcycle helmet issue can rally around. The purpose here is not to take sides, but to alert you to web sites that can give you information so that you can decide .

Most nonriders' reaction is of course helmets can prevent injury. But maybe that is not always the case , and possibly they can increase the risk of injury. So look for yourself at these sites:

www.bikersmag.com

bikersrights.com

helmet law defense league www.usf.com/hldl


these web sites can get you started into the research and what is fact , maybe.

www.castellilaw.co/motorcycle-accident.html

the Hurt report is a place to also look . I have resources such as that and others at the above web site.

tony Castelli cincinnati motorcycle attorney

Understanding the Motorcyclist a Bikers Plea

 

When you see us moving past you quickly:

Don't take offense or think we're trying to "show off". Ninety five percent of the time, we're trying to get out of your blind spot or taking ourselves out of a potential dangerous situation that has evolved around us. Distancing ourselves from you does not mean we want to race, but that we're giving ourselves the edge we need at the moment. Hitting the road hurts and can ruin the lives of our friends & family.

When you hear our loud pipes:

Don't become angry and hostile toward us. Yes, some are quite loud, but for some, there's a purpose behind being loud. It's about letting you know we're close by and we're constantly hoping that our investment in this accessory will help save our lives. Our pipes are really not about our ego...it's a pride and personalization to our form of transportation.

When you see us in our clothes:

Don't become fearful of us or think us weird. Our leather jackets, chaps, gloves and boots are the barriers between loosing massive amounts of flesh should something cause us to go down...nothing more, nothing less. Safety gear is paramount to our riding. We wear patches on our jackets, and pins on our vests. These are symbols of pride and honor within our group(s), individuals giving back to those who gave. These things bond us as a brotherhood and sisterhood among bikers. Not that we're better than anyone else, but that we have the same kind of nobility and pride in our accomplishments as you may have in the various aspects of your life. I guess one could say; our patches and pins are the decals and the bumper stickers of our involvement with society and the general public, of which we are very pleased to be a part of in our own little way. If you ever get thrown to the pavement at 50 mph because of a thoughtless driver you will be very thankful that you were wearing chaps, helmet, jacket, and gloves.

When you see us in a restaurant:

You don't have to shield your child or feel intimidated. We have family, wives, husbands, children and loved ones too, just like you. We smile; we laugh and enjoy the moments we have. We are approachable, and would befriend you, if given the opportunity.

When you see us in a parking lot:

Don't convince yourself that we're there to "get you". More than likely, we just finished a long ride and are taking a break. Or, we may be meeting up with other riders for a charity run for young children, or another very worthy cause. We may just be admiring one another's bikes, sharing our pride with other brothers and sisters, just like you do with your personal vehicle. It's what we do...it's a part of our lives, and we'd be more than welcome to share with you what riding a bike is all about...if you'd only ask.

When you see aggressive riding bikers:

Don't put us all in the same stereotypical category as those whose behavior and actions would cause you to react in disgust and intolerance. Many of us do not agree with this style of riding either, and we know and understand that human nature tends to blend us all together as the "same group". Most of us don't want that title...and don't deserve it.

When you see a group of bikers on the roadways:

Give us the courtesy of sharing the road with you. We ride in groups with the hopes that we are more easily seen by those in cars. Please don't "move in" between several bikers in formation. This gets us very excited and nervous, especially when it's done with no due regard for our safety. Provide us with your awareness of the fact that we are much more vulnerable than you. We don't want to challenge you, for all of us are wise enough to know...we'd lose that battle.

When you are turning left or entering a roadway/highway:

Look, then look again...and then one more time. For we can be easily hidden, and appear to be invisible by such things as a telephone pole, another vehicle, bright lights or the glare of the sun...or possibly, the beads hanging from your rearview mirror, among numerous other items that are displayed there. If you see us flashing our lights at you or blowing our horn, we're only trying to ensure that you will see us before tragedy changes both our lives.

When you are behind us:

PLEASE GIVE US THE ROOM WE NEED AND DO NOT TAILGATE US. If you hit us, we're going down...HARD! If you rear-end another car, chances are the other driver goes home and calls the insurance agent. If you rear-end a biker, the biker is lucky to go home at all. We don't want to play games with you, we just want to enjoy the ride and the fresh air, and experience that which many of you have never lived for. If we accelerate away from you, don't interpret this action as though we want to drag race you. We're only trying to take ourselves out of a bad situation if you insist on being too close. We'd rather have a speeding ticket than a funeral.

Left turns at intersections and pulling out in traffic:

Please wait a few seconds at an intersection instead of turning left in front of us just as we enter the intersection. Please wait a few seconds to let us pass instead of pulling out in traffic right in front of us. Slamming on the brakes and locking up the tires in a car is usually harmless. Locking up the brakes on a motorcycle can be deadly. Your waiting a few more seconds can mean saving a life. Car on car accidents open an air bag. Bike on car accidents open a body bag. However, if you do turn in front of us and we have to brake hard or swerve, do not be shocked if we yell obscenities at you and your ancestors. Having a close call with death because of someone's impatience makes anyone angry - especially us. We experience this more than you know. Please, wait a few seconds and we'll be past you.

When, and if, you experience road rage:

Don't take it out on us just because we're smaller than you and more vulnerable. Think about what you're doing and the end result that may become a reality. The consequences of your actions and choices could be very detrimental to our well being, our families, our children and our loved ones. Yes, there are those that can tend to piss you off, however, rage towards them will not solve the issues, but accentuate them. Nine out of ten bikers will do everything they can to take themselves out of that situation without causing you or them harm.

When you have an opportunity to talk to us:

You'll discover, outside any influenced or stereotypical mindset you may have, that we are just as human as you are, just with different interests and toys. Many of us would give you the shirt off our back if it would tend to brighten your day or console you in some way. We're really no different...and we drive cars, trucks and vans too. So, meet us and greet us...I think you'll be pleasantly surprised that you'll be met with open arms.

Thank You for attempting to understand

reprinted form international bikers association of ohio forum author The Kid

I thought this really tells the bikers story to the non biker with great clarity.

Anthony Castelli welcomes your calls about motorcycle accidents 1-800-447-6549

Cincinnati Motorcycle Accident Attorney Tells Bikers You May Not Be Riding Alone

 

A recent article in the American motorcycle Association's magazine discussed the fact that the technology is there to follow you and record what you are doing. The question is this a good thing or a 1984 orwellian concept and just another loss of personal privacy and freedom.

For instance, you could pass under a bridge with a metal canopy holding a row of sensors. The sensors download data from a GPS unit installed as standard equipment on your bike.

A couple of days later, a traffic ticket arrives at your home. The notation on it indicates that somewhere out there on those back roads, you exceeded the speed limit briefly. You can mail in your fine, or you can go to court and try to prove that you didn’t do what your own bike says you did.

• • •


You stop at a gas station to fill up, and a display on the pump indicates that it’s identified your motorcycle. The pump reads your bike’s onboard computer and then adjusts the price of the gas based on your road-usage patterns.

• • •


You pull a stack of letters out of the mailbox and notice an envelope from your insurance company. Inside is a bill that includes a hefty surcharge.

Why? The helpful note underneath explains that the insurance company has determined you’re spending much of your time on congested roads where the chances of being in an accident are higher. As a result, your insurance rate just went up.

• • •


Far-fetched? Hardly. The technology to do all that—and a lot more—already exists.

More significant, transportation officials and insurance companies are already testing ways to use this emerging technology in ways that have the potential to completely change the experience of riding your motorcycle.

If you live in even a moderate-sized city, chances are you’ve already seen some of this new technology at work in the form of stoplight cameras designed to catch drivers who run red lights.

Here is some of the technology already out there.

Data Recorders
Chances are, the only time you think of data recorders is when you hear about a plane crash in which investigators are trying to recover the aircraft’s “black box.”

But the fact is that more than two-thirds of the cars sold in the U.S. today also come with black boxes, technically called event data recorders (EDRs). They’ve been on many American cars since 2004, and in some stretching back to 1990.

The EDR works like an airplane’s flight data recorder, monitoring a wide range of information about the vehicle—speed, engine rpm, throttle or brake usage, even whether the occupants are wearing their seat belts. As a result, it offers a snapshot of what was going on with the vehicle when it crashed, and in the seconds leading up to that crash.

Originally, car manufacturers used EDRs to improve the performance of safety systems like airbags. But the information contained in those automotive black boxes is increasingly being revealed in court to help determine who was at fault in a crash. You may claim you were obeying the speed limit when you skidded on wet pavement and ran off the road, but your car may tell a different story.

Data recorder evidence has been introduced in accident cases in 19 states. One high-profile case that focused attention on EDRs was the 2003 crash in which South Dakota Congressman Bill Janklow ran a stop sign in his Cadillac and collided with a motorcycle ridden by Randy Scott, killing the rider. Traffic investigators extracted data from the Cadillac’s black box showing that Janklow was speeding as he blew by the stop sign and into the path of Scott’s bike.

The increasing number of automotive black boxes has sparked concerns on the part of people who say they represent an invasion of privacy. In response, the federal Department of Transportation has ordered the manufacturers of vehicles with EDRs to include that information in the owners manual, beginning in 2011.

What about EDRs in motorcycles? No one has indicated they are specifically installing such a device, but the computers that run modern engine-management systems track much of the same information, and it’s likely that some include storage of at least a few seconds of data to more precisely adjust things like spark timing and fuel mixture.

GPS, etc.
If knowing exactly how fast a vehicle is going before a crash bothers you , how about knowing exactly where that vehicle is, all the time?

That, too, is entirely possible with today’s technology.

Many car drivers and motorcyclists already use GPS units to keep them from getting lost on the road. But officials in California and Oregon have considered requiring them on vehicles to track how many miles they travel and whether they go out of state as an alternate way to assess highway taxes.

Oregon in particular is looking at GPS tracking to compute gasoline taxes. The onboard GPS would record where a vehicle goes and how many miles it’s driven. Then the tax would be determined at the gas pump.


But the capabilities of GPS units go well beyond reporting where a vehicle is. Among other things, they also collect data on its speed, which has obvious implications.



Currently, Progressive’s TripSense program, a voluntary pricing plan available to drivers in Michigan, Minnesota and Oregon, monitors when they use their cars and how fast they’re going. The company then computes insurance discounts for those who do most of their driving during low-risk hours of the day and spend less then one-tenth of 1 percent of their driving time over 75 mph.

TripSense gets its information from a device that plugs into the dataport for the car’s engine computer. It isn’t a GPS, but it uses the vehicle’s speed data with its own internal clock to determine when the car is being driven. It also collects information about acceleration and braking, but according to Progressive, “That is not used to calculate the discount. Progressive collects this data to better understand if it is predictive of future accidents.”

It should be noted, however, that Progressive warns customers their TripSense data would be released if it was subpoenaed by a court.

.


You may have a GPS system in your vehicle and not even know it.
For instance, the OnStar system in GM cars combines a cellphone with a GPS device, all of which can be turned on by the driver or triggered automatically in a crash.

OnStar says it doesn’t continuously track its customers. It only locates a car when the system senses it’s been in a crash, when the airbag is deployed or when the OnStar equipment gets data updates. Of course, the company also notes that it will locate a car when ordered to by a court.

Don’t own an OnStar-equipped vehicle? You’re still carrying around a GPS locator every time you bring your cellphone with you on a trip.

Since 2005, nearly all cellphones have been equipped with GPS technology, required by law so that police can locate you when you call 911 in an emergency. Again, those phones are not currently set up to track your position continuously, but if the technology exists, there’s the potential for someone to use it.


The Big-Brother Scenario
So let’s say you’re a lawmaker interested in using all this technology to the fullest. What could you do to control the behavior of drivers and riders?

Plenty.

At the simplest level, you could do what one lawmaker in Texas proposed recently. He suggested inserting radio frequency identification (RFID) chips into vehicle registration tags. The chips would contain information about the licensing and insurance status of the vehicle.

That Texas proposal would have given police the authority to use RFID readers—like the units that are part of the EZ-Pass systems on many toll roads—to check vehicles on the road. And if you passed one of these checkpoints in an uninsured vehicle, a $250 ticket would arrive in the mail.

That plan died in the Texas Legislature, but it’s an example of the sort of thing public officials are considering. And that just scratches the surface.

Imagine mandatory EDRs connected to GPS units. They could store every detail of your route and your speed until you pass a bank of sensors connected to a centralized traffic-control computer, which would read the accumulated data.

The computer could compare your route and speed information to speed limits on the roads you used and find out that you’d gone a little too fast at some point. Potentially, it could also pinpoint an illegal U-turn you’d made when no one was watching. Either way, you’d get a ticket from the local police, or an automatic surcharge from your insurance company—or both.

But why just ticket people who violate traffic laws? Why not prevent them from breaking it to begin with?

That, too, is under consideration.

Britain, the Netherlands, Belgium and other European Union countries are researching Intelligent Speed Adaptation (ISA) systems that would warn riders and drivers when they exceed the speed limit, and could even slow a vehicle automatically.

British officials just completed a five-year study of the system, and press reports indicate that members of Parliament are taking a hard look at the research with an eye on putting it into practice.

The British system uses GPS technology and a base map to track how fast a vehicle is going and the speed limit on the road it’s traveling.

A demonstration of the system on a motorcycle showed that when the bike nudged over the speed limit, the rider got two beeps as a warning. When the bike exceeded the limit by 5 mph, the seat started to vibrate.

And if the rider didn’t heed that second warning, then the ISA system took over, slowing the bike down to the speed limit.




Clearly, even though the technology is available, we’re not on the verge of having every moment of our riding controlled anytime soon. But smaller steps are definitely possible.

For instance, the British House of Commons Transport Committee recently issued a report suggesting that a much simpler technology—top-speed limiters—be required on new bikes.

“Motorcycle accident rates are far too high. They have been for 10 years. It is time to consider radical action to tackle this problem,” the report said.

Several years ago, the European Commission went down a similar path when it proposed a 100-horsepower limit on motorcycles. But that measure wasn’t adopted in part because officials couldn’t prove that the restriction would actually reduce motorcycling fatalities.

Now, it looks as though European lawmakers will be having that debate all over again. And it could lead to discussions of more sophisticated forms of vehicle control.

Those discussions could have a direct impact on American motorcyclists, says Edward Moreland, AMA vice president for government relations. He notes that the U.S. is part of a group called the United Nations World Forum for Harmonization of Vehicle Regulations, which is designed to open up the world market by letting manufacturers build one vehicle that can be sold anywhere. And that, warns Moreland, means regulations adopted in Europe could affect riders in America.

“We need to make sure that vehicle standards imposed in the U.S. are appropriate for U.S. riders and riding,” Moreland says. “The traffic environment in Europe is very different from the U.S., and what works there doesn’t necessarily work here.”

© 2007, American Motorcyclist/ most of this information was reprinted from American motorcyclist go to www.ama-cycle.org


Anthony Castelli is an accident and injury lawyer that respects motorcyclists rights. If you have been injured in a motorcyle accident he stands ready to fight for fair compensation for you .

He is a supporter of ABate, supports bikermag.com and www.ohiobiker.com

"We take care of our own"

Call today 1-800-447-6549 for a no cost consultation