Should you wear a motorcycle helmet?

Jennifer Moore

Contributor

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Absolutely. A motorcycle helmet is the most important piece of equipment you can own and wear when riding. Safety helmets save lives by reducing the extent of head and brain injuries in the event of a crash. Make sure your helmet fits comfortably and snugly, and is fastened for the ride. In choosing a helmet, look for the DOT label on the helmet. The DOT label on helmets constitutes the manufacturer's certification that the helmet conforms to the federal standard.

Since Kentucky repealed the helmet requirement law in 1998, helmet use dropped from near 100 % compliance to approximately 50%. Injuries, fatalities, and fatality rates increased substantially at far greater rates than the national average.

In Kentucky, motorcyclists killed per 10,000 registered motorcycles averaged 6.4 in the two years just before the helmet law repeal and averaged 8.8 in the two years following its repeal, an increase of +37.5 percent. Persons injured per 10,000 registered motorcycles averaged 187 in the preceding two years and averaged 219 in the two years following its repeal, an increase of +17 percent.

For your own safety, it is imperative to wear a helmet when riding your motorcycle to protect yourself from brain injury in the event you are involved in an accident.

For more information on this subject, please refer to our section on Car and Motorcycle Accidents.