The Daily Toreador - Student Newspaper of Texas Tech

Issue date: 10/3/07 Section: News

Media Credit: Kat Hilsabeck

They may be fun, fast and chic, but motorcycles also can be dangerous.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 3,181 Americans died in motorcycle crashes in 2001, and nearly 60,000 more were injured on highways during the same year.

According to the Motorcycle Safety Foundation's Web site, in 2003, there were 261,553 motorcycles registered in Texas and 264 fatalities from motorcycle accidents on highways.

Dr. Juan Fitz, an emergency medicine specialist at Covenant Hospital who has ridden a motorcycle before, said motorcycles are much more dangerous than cars.

Also, he said he has seen quite a few victims of motorcycle accidents come into the emergency room.

"You have no seatbelt, you have no other protection, and you hit, you're going to fly," Fitz said. "You're going to fly, and you're going to hit the ground. You're going to have multiple broken bones, broken necks, head injuries. It's a significant kind of injury."

The single most important thing to do when riding a motorcycle, Fitz said, is to wear a helmet to protect your head. He also advised wearing thick denim or leather to help protect your body tissue.

"You'll get a nice big accident ­- that's it - with a head injury and not survive it," he said. "You can have internal injuries and broken bones and have a good chance of surviving it that way, but if you injure your head, and it's a severe injury, you can die or be left in a vegetative state."

According to the 2001 National Highway Traffic Safety Administration study, motorcycle helmets are 67 percent effective in preventing brain injuries during a crash. Helmeted riders have a 29 percent higher chance of surviving an accident, according to the study, and are 40 percent less likely to suffer a head injury.

"One day I drove on the Autobahn on a motorcycle at a high speed with no helmet, no nothing," Fitz said. "When I got there I said, 'What the hell did I do?'" I drove back very slowly, and I took the side roads. I've seen too much damage."

Current Texas law does not require motorcyclists to wear a helmet if they are at least 21 years old and have completed a motorcycle training course, or are at least 21 years old and have at least $10,000 in medical insurance.

John Young, program supervisor for the Texas Department of Public Safety's Motorcycle Safety Unit and a certified motorcycle-training instructor, said it is a good idea for new riders to take an accredited motorcycle-training course for their own safety and for that of others.

Continued...

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