Atlanta Personal Injury Blog

The following article is very relevant to any motorcycle rider or passenger, but If you’ve been injured in a motorcycle accident in Atlanta, don’t hesitate to contact an Atlanta motorcycle accident attorney today. And, if you’ve suffered significant back injuries, your local Atlanta spinal cord injury lawyer can certainly help!

Although helmets obviously dramatically reduce the risk of brain damage in motorcycle accidents, they have long been thought to raise the risk of spinal cord injury. However, new studies show that the latter may be false.

Researchers at Johns Hopkins University say that they are debunking the common myth that wearing a helmet while riding a motorcycle can be harmful to your spine in the event of a crash.

For the past 20 + years, activists against universal helmet laws refer to a small study which claims that the weight of a motorcycle helmet could cause significant torque on the neck, which in turn, would severely hurt the spine. This 25-year-old study has been highly critized for its flawed statistically reasoning, as well as the fact that helmet technology has come along way since then - helmets are much lighter now.

The new study published in The Journal of the American College of Surgeons, shows that riders with helmets are actually 22 percent less likely to suffer spinal cord injury than those without helmets. The study reviewed and mined the National Trauma Databank, looking over facts and figures on more than 40,000 motorcycle accidents from 2002 and 2006.

This research found a reduction in the risk of traumatic brain injury in helmet wearers, as well as decreased odds of death. Still, the most compelling finding of the study is that helmets significantly reduce cervical spine injury, which can result in paralysis.

Most people know the general risk that’s involved in riding a motorcycle, however, few people know just how dangerous motorcycling can be, especially if the rider does not wear proper safety attire and isn’t experienced. If you’ve been injured in a motorcycle collision in Atlanta, make sure you reach out to your Atlanta motorcycle accident attorney or Atlanta accident lawyer today.

For all you fortunate bikers that haven’t been injured, here’s some facts you should know before you’re next ride:

1. In general, motorcyclists are more exposed to severe general bodily injury those in car accidents.

2. The death rate for motorcycle riders in 2006 was 5 1/2 times the death rate for passenger car occupants per registered vehicle, according to the latest data from National Highway Traffic  Safety Administration.

3. Motorcycles accounted nearly 3 percent of all registered motor vehicles in 2006.

5. 4,810 people perished in motorcycle accidents in 2006 nationwide, and in 2008, it was 5,290.

6. In 2010, 14 percent of all traffic accident deaths involved motorcycles.

7. There are 7.1 million motorcycles on the road today, about 1 million more than 5 years ago.

8. Motorcycle accident claims are sometimes awarded higher damages for pain and suffering beyond damages for actual medical costs or lost wages, than car accidents.

If you’ve been injured in a motorcycle accident, don’t hesitate to contact Bruce A. Hagen, your premier personal injury lawyer in Atlanta.

April 23, 2010 - A recent report indicates that motorcycling fatalities in the U.S. dropped by at least 10% in 2009, which is the first decline in 12 years, the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) reports.

Based on preliminary data, the Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA), which represents the state highway safety offices nationwide, projects that motorcycling deaths declined from 5,290 in 2008 to 4,762 or fewer in 2009.

The projection is based on data collected from the 50 states and the District of Columbia.

The report, released April 22, is based on a survey of GHSA members, who reported fatality numbers for their states. The GHSA notes that while data are still preliminary, most states have final fatality counts for at least nine months2009, giving GHSA confidence to predict that the death count will be down by at least 10% for the year. The GHSA cautioned that the report only involves one year, so it’s too soon to predict a steady decline.

“We will need to see three to five years of decline before we are ready to say that a positive trend has developed,” said GHSA Chairman Vernon Betkey.

In fact, the report points out that fatalities have significantly decreased in the past, but then rose again. For example, from 1980 to 1997 motorcycling fatalities dropped by almost 60%, but fatalities then increased steadily from 1997 through 2008.

2,294 motorcyclists were killed in 1998, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which gathers its data from the same sources as the GHSA. That number increased steadily each year, reaching 5,290 in 2008.

New Study

The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) formally announced a new crash causation study on October 5, 2009. The FHWA is overseeing the four-year, $3 million study, which is being conducted by Oklahoma State University through the Oklahoma Transportation Center in Stillwater, Oklahoma.

Old Findings

The last major study into the causes of motorcycle crashes, “Motorcycle Accident Cause Factors and Identification of Countermeasures Volume I: Technical Report” (summary), issued in 1981, provided a wealth of data that has been used by organizations and individual motorcyclists to help keep riders safer on the road. You can find this document here.

Still, the traffic environment has changed enormously in the decades since, prompting the AMA to begin campaigning for a new study, several years ago.

Safety First

The reasons for the decline in motorcycle fatalities in 2009 is not known, but worsening economic conditions causing fewer new riders, fewer miles ridden and casual riders selling their motorcycles could be supporting factors. Whatever the reason may be, it is still vital to take all necessary precautions when driving a motorcycle: helmet, insurance, experience, etc.

This sort of report is what I love to see. With so many accidents and deaths happen around us, seeing a positive report where people are getting hurt less really makes my day!