Helmet Use By Motorcyclists: Florida Observational Survey Results

Each year, motorcycle crashes claim thousands of lives and several thousand more suffer incapacitating injuries. Many of the deaths and serious disabilities associated with motorcycle crashes result from head trauma. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), protective headgear reduces a motorcyclist’s overall risk of death in a crash by 29 percent and the risk of brain injury by 67 percent. The Center for Urban Transportation Research (CUTR) at the University of South Florida (USF) completed the second statewide observational helmet-use survey for the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) Safety Office in 1998 to document motorcycle helmet-compliance rates on Florida roadways. Because of concerns that illegal helmet use may be on the rise, data were also collected to estimate the level of novelty helmet use. The objectives of this research were to determine motorcycle helmet use rates on Florida roadways, and second, to estimate the level of novelty helmet use by motorcycle occupants. A total of 2,498 motorcyclists in 13 Florida counties were observed over a two-month period. Data were collected on helmet use and type, motorcycle type, gender, and use of other safety equipment. Almost all motorcycle occupants wore some type of helmet as the observed state-level usage rate was 99.5 percent. However, a significant number of these helmets were novelty helmets. The type of helmet motorcyclists choose to wear may be related to the type of motorcycle driven and the gender of the driver and passenger. Overall, novelty helmet use was higher for passengers than for drivers, and the majority of observed novelty helmets were on motorcycle occupants riding cruiser-type motorcycles. Moreover, females exhibit lower rates of compliance than male counterparts, especially when associated with cruiser-type motorcycles. Although the survey did not collect information about the reasons for the increase in novelty helmet use, possible explanations may be more readily available lower cost novelty helmets and an overall perceived lack of enforcement of the motorcycle helmet use law.