“From time to time, there are accident investigations or safety issues that prompt a large public response.  In previous years, this required the citizen to either place a phone call or write us a letter,” said Ted Lopatkiewicz, NTSB’s Director of Public Affairs.  “The TWA800 investigation is an example of that – most people were still unfamiliar with email and the Internet in the middle 1990s.  Still, we received more than our share of communications from the public.  Even accepting the fact that it is much easier now to opine on government actions, I have to say that no single issue in the almost 25 years I’ve been at the Board has inspired as much reaction from the public as our recommendation on motorcycle safety in 2007 and then our decision to place that issue on our Most Wanted List in November 2010. As with any issue of interest, those who complain tend to be more energized than those who would praise.”

On November 16, 2010, the National Safety Transportation Board (NTSB) held a press conference announcing the state issues for the 2011 Most Wanted List of Transportation Safety Improvements.  The Board placed a new issue area on the list – “Improve Motorcycle Safety.”  

“As the agency charged with improving transportation safety, the NTSB responded to the frightening statistics which showed a significant increase in motorcycle fatalities and added motorcycle safety to our Most Wanted List of Transportation Safety Improvements,” said NTSB Vice Chairman Christopher A. Hart.  “At a time when overall highway deaths have decreased year after year, fatalities among motorcycle riders and passengers have increased, “By 2008, these tragedies were more than double the number of deaths in 1997.”

Currently, the breakdown on states with helmet laws is as follows: 3 states have no helmet laws;27 have partial helmet laws (laws that apply only to certain segments of the population, such as riders and passengers under a certain age): and 20 have universal laws (seven of these states do not specify DOT compliant FMVSSS218 helmets.

As a result of putting motorcycle safety on its Most Wanted List, the NTSB has received numerous emails and letters – some in support, many in oposition.  Below are typical examples of the many responses were received:

1. (1) How in the world can your agency claim that due to increased motorcycle deaths that helmets can have any impact whatsoever?  Consider that California just experienced the highest motorcycle fatality year ever, and yet that state has had a helmet law since 1992. 

Does your agency care about facts in the least?  I understand that NHTSA has put out a bogus study claiming that helmets are “37% effective in preventing deaths” but that bogus study is false. It does not take into account the cause of death, which many times has nothing to do with head injuries.

Your agency studied what, six motorcycle accidents and came up with this conclusion?  How can you possibly base your decision on anything other than a misplaced belief in a piece of plastic?

I would truly love to hear back from you.

(2) You've probably gotten numerous letters like this one but if not here's mine. Leave the motorcycle helmet issue alone, let those who ride decide. If you think helmets are such a good idea then why don't you make automobile operators wear them?

Other motorcycle riders support the Board’s actions:

First off, thank you for addressing the issue of motorcycle safety.  As a motorcyclist, this is a very pressing concern to me.

However, while this issue SHOULD be on your Top Ten list, the resolution does not go far enough.  Wearing a helmet does not keep the crash from happening; it only slightly mitigates the crash effects.  Also, while the DOT standards are a good starting point, they aren’t as rigorous as, say, the SNELL Foundation standards, which also measure impact to the front, side and chinbar of a helmet, demonstrating structural integrity and impact mitigation from directions other than the top of the head.  So, advocating wearing a DOT-certified helmet is not enough to address this issue.

The writer then listed, in great detail, five areas where the NTSB could expand its' recommendations including additional training and education.  

These kinds of comments are not new.  The NTSB also received numerous comments, both supportive and in opposition, after it held its Public Forum on Motorcycle Safety in 2006.  During the forum, the NTSB gathered information about motorcycling, ongoing safety research and initiatives, and safety countermeasures that may reduce the likelihood of motorcycle accidents and fatalities.  Participants at the forum included representatives from the Motorcycle Industry Council, Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation, Harley Davidson, BMW, America Honda, Maryland Institute for Emergency Medical Services Systems, the Motorcycle Safety Foundation, ABATE of Indiana, ABATE of Iowa, the American Insurance Association, and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. 

In 2007, the NTSB received another onslaught of comments following a sunshine meeting when the NTSB approved six safety recommendations to improve motorcycle safety and reduce the number of motorcyclist injured or killed on our nation’s highways.     

As always, the NTSB responds to every comment. 

To view the NTSB 2011State Most Wanted list, click on the following link: http://ntsb.gov/Recs/mostwanted/state_issues.htm.

To view information on the NTSB’s Board meeting on Motorcycle Safety, click on: http://ntsb.gov/events/2007/Motorcycle/presentations.htm.

To view information of the NTSB Public Forum on Motorcycle Safety, click on: http://ntsb.gov/events/symp_motorcycle_safety/symp_motorcycle_safety.htm.