Effect of the 1989 Motorcycle Helmet Law on Motorcycle Accident Deaths in Texas

摘要

This study evaluates the effectiveness of the 1989 comprehensive motorcyclehelmet law in Texas. Data from the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles and Bureau of Vital Statistics were compiled to determine the mortality rates for the six-year time periods before and after this law. The six-year average of yearly motorcycle accident-related deaths per 10,000 registered motorcycles was 11, and the trend of the yearly averages was increasing during the years before the comprehensive helmet law. After enactment of the helmet law, the six-year average was 8 and the yearly averages were decreasing. The risk of dying from a motorcycle crash was 27% less when there was a comprehensive motorcycle helmet law in the state of Texas. Had the pre-helmet law mortality rate continued past 1989, there would have been an estimated 648 additional deaths from motorcycle accidents in Texas, an 85% increase.