U.S., Motorcycle Makers Press for New Safety Studies

In a victory for the vocal anti-helmet contingent among the country’s 5.7 million motorcycle owners, a long-awaited government-industry report released Friday stops short of recommending new safety legislation.

But with motorcycle fatalities on the rise in the last two years, the report calls for more in-depth studies of rider education, protective equipment and motorcycle design. The lack of research, the study says, “created a shortage of information about why motorcycles are crashing at the turn of the millennium.”

The 110-page National Agenda for Motorcycle Safety, compiled by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the manufacturer-sponsored Motorcycle Safety Foundation, also did not suggest that any new regulations be imposed on manufacturers.

NHTSA Deputy Director Rosalyn Millman said the federal agency will use the report to guide future motorcycle safety policy. She pointed out that the number of motorcyclists killed in the U.S. in accidents last year was 2,472, an increase of 188 over 1998. Fatalities have sharply declined, however, in the last decade. In 1989, the number of deaths was 3,141.

Other key recommendations are that programs be developed to discourage the mixing of cycling with alcohol and drug use, the increased use of effective helmets and educating motorists to make them more conscious of the presence of motorcycles.

The report, unveiled Friday in Long Beach where a motorcycle exhibition is being held over the weekend, states in its introduction that specific legislative recommendations were omitted “in an effort to maintain harmony among all groups holding a stake in motorcycle safety.”

That language reflects the influence of organized rider groups that have lobbied against many motorcycle laws, especially those concerning helmet use.

“Helmets were the toughest issue,” said NHTSA spokesman Rae Tyson. “We had to recognize there are a number of different ways in addition to legislation of increasing helmet use. We are not saying that one is necessarily better than another.”

Members of motorcyclist rights groups were grateful that no suggested legislative measures were included. At a news conference, Bill Bish of the National Coalition of Motorcyclists thanked the panel that produced the report for “hearing our voice.”

Kawasaki Motor Co. spokesman Roger Hagie said the manufacturer-sponsored safety foundation got involved because “the success of the motorcycle business depends on paying attention to safety issues.”

The only comprehensive scientific analysis of motorcycle accidents ever done in the U.S. was a federally funded study produced at USC and released in 1981. In urging that another study be done, the new report points out that motorcycles, driving conditions and the demographics of cyclists have changed significantly since the USC study. For example, motorcycles today have far more power, and the average rider is 38 years old, compared with 24 in 1980.

The report does not shy away from saying that regulation helmets are a rider’s best protection in case of a crash. “There are no compelling medical arguments against helmet use,” it states, citing studies showing that mandatory helmet laws have been effective in reducing head injuries and fatalities in states where enacted.

Although the report says that current motorcycles in general have better brakes, stability and controls than those of even a decade ago, some aspects of design do “raise safety issues and suggest further research.” Among these are high-rise fuel tanks that can cause pelvic injuries in impacts.