Excerpt from: Motorcycle Addict
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| October 13, 2008 | | No One Has All the Answers | Elsewhere I pretty much repeated the post on the increase in motorcycle deaths in Northern California.
One thing I found interesting, is that the CHP did not provide statistics on whether or not there are more motorcycle accidents. In other words, are there more accidents, or more deaths without much increase in the number of accidents?
It seems like getting the answer to this question would be a simple first step in the quest for motorcycle safety.
Instead, the CHP reflexively is trying to link the increase to helmet use. This doesn't seem the most useful approach, since helmet use has been mandatory for years in California, and it doesn't seem like that is going to change.
I recently re-read some of the material available on the trade off between helmets that protect in lower impact accidents, and those that protect better in higher impact accidents. This is the harder shell v softer shell debate that finds European standards on the opposite side of the debate from US standards.
There is a huge study underway that is supposed to name names in the helmet industry. Europe again leads the way, with a study that is supposed to compare specific helmets.
Another issue that seems buried, is whether the deaths supposedly affected by helmet wear stem from any of the more obvious helmet differences. Are the deaths caused by fractured spine, maybe related to inadequate padding of the chin bar? Are the deaths related to shorty helmets? Where on the helmet are the impacts? What kinds of injuries do the riders have? Would different helmet material, maybe softer, make a difference? Are helmets even involved?
We simply must have some answers.
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