Headed for Trouble

The National Transportation Safety Board opens a two-day forum today on what has become the fastest-growing source of U.S. transportation fatalities -- the motorcycle crash.

The forum comes after the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reported that 43,443 people died on U.S. streets and highways last year, more than in any of the previous 14 years. This despite the facts that fatalities declined for people in automobiles, that alcohol-related deaths were the lowest since 1999 and that fewer 16-to-20-year-olds were killed than in the previous year.

But motorcycle riders accounted for 527 of the 607 additional highway fatalities last year (86 percent) and were involved in 10.5 percent of all U.S. road fatalities in 2005. (The other 80 additional deaths were mostly pedestrians and bicyclists.) When fatal accidents per 100 million vehicle miles are calculated, the fatality rate for motorcycle riders is 32 times that of the rate for occupants of passenger cars, according to NHTSA.

Last year was the eighth year in a row where the number of motorcycle fatalities increased at a time when deaths are declining for automobiles, airplanes, boats and all other modes of transportation. That is why the safety board -- which investigates accidents and makes recommendations but does not regulate -- is holding its first-ever major public study on motorcycle safety issues.

Helmets are a big issue, but not the only issue, in motorcycle safety. NHTSA, which collects statistics from the states, has calculated that a motorcycle rider is 37 percent more likely to survive an accident if she or he is wearing a helmet.

However, only 20 states -- including Virginia and Maryland -- and the District require all riders to wear helmets. Anti-helmet forces have been effective in both Washington and many state capitals. NHTSA, for example, is forbidden by law from lobbying for helmet laws at the state level unless it is specifically invited to testify.

Many riders see a mandatory helmet law as an intrusion on privacy and personal freedom. For example, listen to John Robinson, the vice president of Maryland's chapter of ABATE, which has independent chapters in many states. (ABATE stands for A Brotherhood Against Totalitarian Enactments.)

"We consider [helmets] a freedom-of-choice issue," Robinson said. "It's not about the lid itself, it's about the freedom to make your own decision. We send 18-year-olds to fight for freedom, and they come home, and they don't have it."

That freedom is being purchased at a steep price:

· Almost half of the 4,553 motorcyclists who died in the United States last year were not wearing helmets.

· In those 30 states that do not have helmet laws that apply to all riders, about two-thirds of the fatally injured motorcycle riders were not wearing helmets.

· In those states that do have such universal laws, 14 percent of the fatally injured motorcycle riders were not wearing helmets.

Last year Maryland had 85 motorcycle fatalities, an increase of 23 percent. Nine of those killed were not wearing helmets. Virginia had 69 fatalities, up 21 percent. Nine were not wearing helmets. The District had six motorcycle fatalities, a decrease of two from 2004, and all six were wearing helmets.

Florida eliminated its universal helmet law in July 2000 after several years of sometimes noisy "rolling thunder" protests in Tallahassee. NHTSA commissioned a study to find out what happened next.

Motorcycle fatalities in Florida increased 81 percent in the three years after repeal compared with the three years immediately before. There was a 40 percent increase in the number of motorcyclists admitted to hospitals, and admissions for head injuries increased by 82 percent. Acute care hospital charges for head-brain-skull principal injury cases per 10,000 registered motorcycles jumped from $740,000 in the pre-repeal period to $1.2 million.

The cost figures were adjusted for inflation and the methodology took into consideration the fact that motorcycle registrations increased after the law was repealed. The study also found that for riders under 21, who are still required to wear helmets in Florida, helmet use declined significantly and fatalities almost tripled.

But there is more to motorcycle safety than helmets. Safety board member Deborah Hersman, who is due to chair this week's forum, said in an interview that "helmet use is not going to be the focus of this agenda. There are a lot of changes in demographics with riders out there. There are different causal factors."

Just about every group with an oar in the water will testify. Among the things that will be examined are motorcycle design; licensing and training of riders; the efficacy of protective clothing (including helmets, goggles, gloves and boots); and why fatality totals are growing fastest for older riders.

The largest percentage increase came from those riders aged 50 and over, continuing a trend of several years. Motorcycle registrations have also increased steadily, which alone might explain an increase in fatalities. However, NHTSA says that the rate of fatalities per 100,000 registered motorcycles increased from 55.30 in 1997 to 69.68 in 2004, the last year those figures are available.

One major safety concern comes under the tongue-twisting label of conspicuity, the ability to be seen by other motorists. "Conspicuity is a big issue and something we'll focus on," Hersman said.

Rae Tyson, a spokesman for NHTSA, said that 51 percent of all motorcycle fatalities involve a collision with another vehicle, which could mean that "the driver of the other vehicle apparently did not see the motorcycle or understand its speed."

And that is a major point raised by bikers. "The good-old adage of 'I didn't see him' and getting away with it . . . that's got to stop. I'm tired of it," said Toni Robinson, newsletter editor for Maryland ABATE and John Robinson's wife. Maryland ABATE's legislative agenda includes stiffer penalties for right-of-way violations in accidents that result in injuries or death as well as repeal of the universal helmet law.

The Robinsons, who live in Mechanicsville, were interviewed Aug. 30 and had just learned of the death of Martin Schultz, 44, the president of Maryland ABATE, who was killed when his Harley-Davidson was struck by an SUV at an Eastern Shore intersection. His helmet was found a few feet from the accident; Maryland State Police are investigating but have not determined whether he was wearing it at the time of the crash. ·

Douglas Feaver is a former washingtonpost.com editor and former Post editor and reporter. Comments: health@washpost.com.