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Safety Tips 

If you ride a motorcycle, always wear a helmet. Helmets are your best defense against serious and fatal brain injuries. The following tips, offered by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the Motorcycle Safety Foundation, may also reduce your chance of injury:

• In addition to your helmet, wear eye and face protection. Many helmets have built-in visors or other face guards. Wear long pants, gloves, boots, and a durable long-sleeved jacket.
• Get licensed. All states require a motorcycle license.
• Never drink alcohol before operating a motorcycle.
• Follow all the rules of the road. Don't speed–40 percent of motorcyclists who died in crashes were speeding.
• Watch for hazards on the road, such as large cracks, holes, and bumps. Keep an eye out for vehicles coming from driveways and side streets.
• Make sure your headlight is on every time you ride. (This is a law in most states.)
• Don't let anyone ride with you until you are skilled at riding in all kinds of conditions.
• If you're a new rider, take a motorcycle riders' course. To locate a course near you, call 1-800-446-9227.

When passengers ride with you, they must wear a helmet and protective gear. The tips that follow, gathered from several states' motorcycle operator's manuals, may increase the safety of your passengers:

• Insist that passengers sit behind you on the motorcycle.
• Make sure passengers' feet can reach the footrests. Insist that they keep their feet on the footrests at all times, even when you stop.
• Don't let passengers get on the motorcycle until after you start it.
• Tell your passengers to lean with you when you turn.
• Insist that passengers hold on to your waist all the time.
• Instruct passengers to keep their legs away from the muffler to avoid burns.
• Ask that passengers limit their movement and talking.

Who Is Affected?

In 1997, more than 2,100 motorcyclists were killed, and another 54,000 were injured in traffic crashes in the United States. More than 7,000 of those injured were riders between ages 15 and 20, and 36 percent of those who died were between ages 16 and 29. Ninety percent of the people who died were male; nearly all of them were operating the bike. Among females who died, 72 percent were passengers.

Per mile driven, motorcyclists are about 14 times more likely than persons in a car to die in a motor vehicle crash, and they're about 3 times more likely to be injured. While motorcycles make up less than 2 percent of all registered vehicles in the U.S., motorcyclists account for 6 percent of total traffic deaths.

Wearing a helmet lowers a motorcycle rider's risk of fatal injury by 29 percent and reduces the risk of traumatic brain injury by 67 percent. Despite the documented effectiveness of helmets, many motorcyclists choose not to wear them, especially when state laws don't require helmet use. Surveys show that in states without universal helmet laws, only 34 to 54 percent of motorcycle riders wear helmets. But in states where helmet use is mandatory for all riders, 98 percent of motorcyclists use this safety gear. Currently, less than half of the states require helmet use by riders of all ages.

Safety Resources 

Brain Injury Association

BIA has a fact sheet on motorcycle safety. Call BIA at 1-800-444-6443.

Insurance Institute for Highway Safety

Link to "safety facts" on the IIHS home page (www.highwaysafety.org) to find data on motorcycle fatalities.

Motorcycle Safety Foundation

MSF (www.msf-usa.org) has information on safety gear and riding courses. To find the nearest rider course, call 1-800-446-9772.

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

NHTSA (www.nhtsa.dot.gov) has information on motorcycle deaths, injuries, and safety. Call them at 1-800-424-9393.

References 

The data and safety tips in this fact sheet were obtained from the following sources:

CDC. Head injuries associated with motorcycle use–Wisconsin, 1991. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report 1994;43(23):423,429-431.

CDC. Healthy People 2000 Review. Atlanta: CDC, 1997: 91.

Georgia Department of Public Safety. Carrying passengers and cargo. Motorcycle Operator Manual. Available at www.ganet.org/dps/motorcycle/pascargo.htm. Accessed September 8, 1999.

Hough D. The second rider. Motorcycle Consumer News 1996;27(11):39-44. Reprinted in Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration's Motorcycle Safety Program. Available at mva.state.md.us/moto/second.htm. Accessed September 8, 1999.

Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. Fatality facts: Motorcycles. Available at www.highwaysafety.org/safety_facts/fatality_facts/motorcyl.htm. Accessed July 22, 1999.

Motorcycle Safety Foundation. Riding gear. Available at www.msf-usa.org/pages/ridinggear.html. Accessed September 8, 1999.

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Without motorcycle helmets we all pay the price. Available at www.nhtsa.dot.gov/people/injury/pedbimot/safebike. Accessed August 31, 1999.

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Motorcycle: Traffic safety facts 1997. Available at www.nhtsa.dot.gov/people/ncsa/FactPrev/Motorcycle97.html. Accessed July 15, 1999.

Woman Motorist. Woman Motorist web site. Available at www.womanmotorist.com/motorcycles/features/mo-safety3.html. Accessed July 22, 1999.