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A study carried in a hospital in Michigan and published by the American Journal of Surgery indicates that the injuries and deaths among motorcyclists who do not wear a helmet soared to alarming figures.
The study has no pretenses of being conclusive for the US, so if you're willing to exercise your nitpicking skills, this is a good starting point. However, if you're ready to take a closer look at the data Dr. Carlos Rodriguez gathered at the Spectrum Health Hospital in Grand Rapids, I expect you to fall into a pensive state.
Data is rather scarce, at least compared to what amount of info is needed to make sociologically- and statistically-accurate claims. Even so, with the reduced area of the study, things are grim.
Under such conditions, the trauma center at the mentioned hospital saw four times more unhelmeted riders admitted to the medical facility, 28% after the law was repealed versus 7% before.
When it comes to fatalities, three times more unhelmeted riders lost their life after the law repeal, compared to the period before. That is 10% of those admitted to the hospital dying compared to only 3% before the 2012 new law.
With a total of 345 patients included into the study, Dr. Rodriguez reveals that "nonhelmeted crash scene fatalities were higher after the repeal (14% vs 68%)," while the figures for "injury severity score (19 vs 14.5) and abbreviated injury scale head (2.2 vs 1.3)" also soared.
"Non-helmeted riders also had increased alcohol use, intensive care unit length of stay and need for mechanical ventilation," while the mentioned source also adds that the costs for a hospital visit for riders not wearing a helmet went up from $20,970 to $27,760.
Once more, this is not a mass, sociologically-correct study, so you can, of course, choose to ignore it and babble on about how helmet laws "limit your freedom of expression."
Data is rather scarce, at least compared to what amount of info is needed to make sociologically- and statistically-accurate claims. Even so, with the reduced area of the study, things are grim.
Three times more helmetless riders die in the hospital
The study spans across a period of seven months before and the three full motorcycle seasons after the helmet law was repealed. In 2012, Michigan made wearing a helmet no longer mandatory if riders were "over 21-years-old, have had their license for at least two years, and have at least $20,000 in additional medical insurance coverage," A&R reports.Under such conditions, the trauma center at the mentioned hospital saw four times more unhelmeted riders admitted to the medical facility, 28% after the law was repealed versus 7% before.
When it comes to fatalities, three times more unhelmeted riders lost their life after the law repeal, compared to the period before. That is 10% of those admitted to the hospital dying compared to only 3% before the 2012 new law.
With a total of 345 patients included into the study, Dr. Rodriguez reveals that "nonhelmeted crash scene fatalities were higher after the repeal (14% vs 68%)," while the figures for "injury severity score (19 vs 14.5) and abbreviated injury scale head (2.2 vs 1.3)" also soared.
"Non-helmeted riders also had increased alcohol use, intensive care unit length of stay and need for mechanical ventilation," while the mentioned source also adds that the costs for a hospital visit for riders not wearing a helmet went up from $20,970 to $27,760.
Once more, this is not a mass, sociologically-correct study, so you can, of course, choose to ignore it and babble on about how helmet laws "limit your freedom of expression."
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