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This comment was left on the MBG record-holding post that generated 31 comments regarding helmet laws. Our resident (and needed) shit-starter gothicbeaST posted some statistics from a usatoday.com article about the rise of motorcycle deaths. A colorful yet intelligent debate followed.

Anyway, the comment recently left:

September 21, 2005

For Immediate Release:

“Helmetless” Riders are Less Likely to Die in Motorcycle Crashes on Florida Roads

The 2004 Crash Statistics for Florida wipe away NHTSA’s prediction of a blood bath.

According to the recently released, Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles annual Traffic Crash Statistics Report for 2004, motorcycle riders wearing helmets were more likely to sustain an injury or suffer a fatality than their non-helmeted counterparts. The huge increase in death and injury to non-helmeted motorcycle riders, predicted by NHTSA (National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration) in a report released this summer, has not been substantiated. The numbers are going to disappoint the proponents of helmet laws while simultaneously confirming the facts presented to the public by ABATE of Florida, Inc. (American Bikers Aimed Toward Education). ABATE is a non-profit motorcycle rights organization in Florida and has spent years focusing on motorcycle related issues, including crash prevention and stiffer penalties for negligent vehicle operators who kill and injure motorcycle riders.

Of the 388 motorcycle riders killed in crashes on Florida roads during 2004, over 51% were wearing safety helmets. The crash facts also demonstrate that riders wearing safety helmets were more likely to sustain injuries than non-helmeted riders. In each of the statistical focus topics presented in the study, the percentage numbers were very close between helmeted and non-helmeted riders, except for non-injury crashes. The study stated that non-helmeted riders were 20% more likely to walk away from a crash without injuries than riders who were wearing helmets. This disparity could be due to the visual and physical limitations imposed by a helmet. Wearing a motorcycle helmet cannot keep a crash from occurring, however, riding without a helmet could allow a rider to respond more quickly or to visually recognize potential hazards, decreasing the severity of the injury sustained or avoiding injury all together. There are no statistics available for crashes which riders were able to completely avoid due to training or equipment use.

According to the crash statistics, the top three contributing causes of all motor vehicle crashes include careless driving, failure to yield the right-of-way and driving under the influence of alcohol. None of the three include equipment failure, environmental or weather related issues. Each of the top three causes for crashes are directly linked to driver error or negligent action by the motor vehicle operator. Therefore, in stands to reason that a significant number of crashes could be avoided if motor vehicle drivers took personal responsibility for operating a deadly weapon prior to engaging their engines.

People can only control two things in their lives; what they think and what they do. Personal responsibility cannot be legislated. Political and governmental entities cannot mandate ethical and honorable actions. It is society, which dictates acceptable public behavior. Rehabilitation programs rely on education and a series of problem identification and behavior modification systems to alter behaviors that are harmful to a group or individual. Reeducating the public on safe operation of their motor vehicles or rehabilitating vehicle operators that habitually drive impaired or recklessly is an enormous job, however, ABATE of Florida, Inc. is taking on one piece of that task. The group is getting information out to the public on motorcycle safety and awareness through high school drivers education programs, posters, flyers, the presentation of a free Motorcycle Safety and Awareness Program, along with a series of annual safety seminars for the motorcycle riding and non-riding public.

In conjunction with the Florida legislature, ABATE is putting Billboards throughout the state to encourage drivers to be aware of motorcycles and to drive alertly. In other words, to take personal responsibility for their driving actions and to think about the way they operate their vehicles. James “Doc” Reichenbach, president of ABATE of Florida, Inc. who’s group lobbied strongly for motorcycle helmet reform in 2000, said, “The numbers from the crash report for 2004 may favor our point of view, but even one death is too many. We… (motorcycle riders)… have to ride defensively and we have to educate everyone we meet.” To help educate the driving public, four billboards with motorcycle safety messages have already been installed on major Florida highways. Within the next few months, Mr. Reichenbach expects approximately ten more billboards to be in place in areas where high motorcycle injury rates have been reported.

Motorcycle shop owner, Dan Fish of Doc’s Southern Cycles in Pace, Florida, said, “I’ve had five times as many people in the shop in the past week looking for bikes under 600cc’s.” He said people are worried about getting around and are looking for economical transportation. The motorcycle population has more than doubled in the past five years with over 700,000 endorsed riders. With the marked increase in gasoline prices and concern over fuel availability, the number of motorcycle riders on Florida highways could easily reach 1.5 million in the next five years. Motor vehicle operators will be encountering an ever- increasing number of two wheeled travelers in the future. Motorcycles are smaller and can easily be lost in blind spots of larger vehicles. Drivers need to be aware of the presence of all vehicles in their vicinity and give motorcycles their full lane of travel. Perception of the speed that a motorcycle is traveling is often misjudged and failure to yield the right-of-way is sighted as the cause in a significant number of motorcycle versus automobile crashes.

Statistical reports, no matter how reliable the source, will not stop the motorcycle helmet usage debate, however, the real issue is crash prevention. To get involved in motorcycle crash prevention or to find out more about the Motorcycle Safety and Awareness Programs being offered, contact ABATE of Florida, Inc. at P.O. Box 2520, DeLand, Florida, 32721 or visit www.abateflorida.com.

Contact:
Cyndi von Bulow
PR/Comm Trustee
ABATE of Florida, Inc.
PO Box 2520
DeLand, Florida 32721
abateflpr@yahoo.com
386.760.6610

Ok (as I shake my head), I have to take this to task a little as an engineer who understands (and yes manipulates stats to the intended audience). Note the word “manipulates”…its not lying, but using the numbers in a way that benefit your cause. Before I pick this apart, I want to give a simple example:

2003 budget = $5000
2004 budget = $5500 (+10% over 2003)
2005 budget = $6000 (+9.1% over 2004)
2006 budget = $6200 (+3.3% over 2005)

Simple statistics…right? The manager would advertise that we have increased the budget evey year for the last three years. An employee could easily say that the 2006 budget was cut (purposely leaving out the word “increase” after the word “budget”). Is it a cut, or is it an increase? A quick look says that the budget went up every year. Someone could claim that the 2006 budget was cut since the increase was not as big as 2005, but would be playing a word-game.

Back to this release…

Only one of the seven paragraphs support the title of the press release and deal with the statistics and/or the Florida findings. The rest talks about personal responsibility. Translation: six out of seven paragraphs are right on. That said, lets dissect that one paragraph:

Of the 388 motorcycle riders killed in crashes on Florida roads during 2004, over 51% were wearing safety helmets.

This is what ABATE is bragging about with the title ““Helmetless” Riders are Less Likely to Die in Motorcycle Crashes on Florida Roads”? That’s convincing…when the sample size is 388? Thats a total difference of 4-8 people. While each and every loss is tragic, this is not substantial enough to sell an idea. Finally, and likely most damning, what percent of the 49% and 51% died of head injuries? My guess is that a much smaller portion of the 51% did so.

The crash facts also demonstrate that riders wearing safety helmets were more likely to sustain injuries than non-helmeted riders.

What kind of injuries? Are you telling me that riders wearing safety helmets were more likely to sustain HEAD injuries than non-helmeted riders? Hmmm…left that part out I guess. Here’s my news release: Helmets do not protect arms, legs, and chest. Under what conditions? At which speed?

In each of the statistical focus topics presented in the study, the percentage numbers were very close between helmeted and non-helmeted riders, except for non-injury crashes. The study stated that non-helmeted riders were 20% more likely to walk away from a crash without injuries than riders who were wearing helmets.

Again, this has to be looked at with direct speed and injury comparisons to be meaningful.

This disparity could be due to the visual and physical limitations imposed by a helmet. Wearing a motorcycle helmet cannot keep a crash from occurring, however, riding without a helmet could allow a rider to respond more quickly or to visually recognize potential hazards, decreasing the severity of the injury sustained or avoiding injury all together. There are no statistics available for crashes which riders were able to completely avoid due to training or equipment use.

My response: There are no statistics available for crashes which riders were able to completely avoid due to training or equipment use…including helmets.

A one word question: HOW? Last time I checked, eye-protection was required by law above 35mph. Do glasses (and especially bikers goggles) not restrict the rider’s peripheral vision? This is one of the worst rationales I have read with regard to not using a helmet? Are there no peer/editorial reviews prior to press releases at ABATE? Please read the above text box one more time for the common sense check.

If I had an engineer that came to me with this writeup to fight mandatory helmet laws, I would be embarassed. The real story is not what is told in the above release, but what is not told. So much data is missing (like actual head injury stats, like injuries sustained at same speeds, like fatalities due to non-head injuries, like fatalities by segment, etc., etc.) that I just have to laugh. All of this nonsense based around approximately 4-8 additional deaths.

I intend to search for this data and hope to provide my own summary. If it turns out that ABATE is still correct, I will state it. I will also recommend that their publicist in charge of this piece really think about a career change.

I’d like to close this article by stating that while I have been hard on ABATE, some of what they do is excellent. The above article should have been titled around the subject of personal responsibility as about 80% of the text deals with that. In addition, talking about personal responsibility is an easy sell without vague statistics.

Remember a couple of quotes when you read statistics: “Garbage in = Garbage out” & “There are lies, damn lies, and statistics”.

EDIT - Here’s the pdf of the report. The difference is 12 not 4-8 as I stated above. 188 died without wearing a helmet and 200 died with. Scroll down to page 12 for the stats if the table below is not legible enough.

This data is absolutely lacking without head injury stats. No meaningful conclusion can be made regarding the usage of helmets and their benefit / detriment without it.

EDIT #2 - When I see stuff like this, I cannot help but think of an Aprilia Forum friend of mine that I wrote about in the past:

Here’s a perfect example of what happens to an uprotected head at 10 mph when a scalp comes into contact with the flesh-grater called asphalt. Devildog is a fellow member of the Aprilia Forum and a seasoned rider. The night he took delivery of his new Mille he “took it down the street and back”. He hit a cat…yes a cat…and lost the front wheel. Those 16 staples in his head as well as the asured headaches that followed could have been 100% avoided with a helmet. A picture is worth a thousand words…and lost hair follicles.

I often wonder when I see an operator without a helmet and his child on the passenger seat behind him with one. Why? Lead by example? Is it because the wife is busting balls? Is it because the child is not old enough to make a decision for him/herself? Actually, none of this matters because I am pretty sure that all states require helmets for those under 18. Why is that? Is that not the ‘MAN’ coming down on your choice as a parent?

I would consider this avoidable with a helmet…no?