MOTOR CYCLE HELMET AND HEADLAMP CHECKS 1973

In December 1973 the wearing of safety helmets by motor cyclists and power cyclists became compulsory at all speeds. Prior to this the compulsion to wear applied only when speeds exceeded 30 mph. Check of safety helmet usage after the extension to the law showed almost complete compliance. Before the law was introduced the average helmet wearing rate was about 74% and this increased to almost 100% after the law's introduction. The most popular type of helmet was found to be the "jet" (about 80%), followed by the "full facial" (13%) and "pudding basin" (7%). The number of pillion riders reduced when the law was introduced probably because many motor cyclists did not have or were not carrying a second helmet. Also checked was the proportion of motor cyclists using headlamps during the day and this was found to be of the order of 20-25%.

• Corporate Authors:

  Ministry of Transport, New Zealand

  Road Transport Division, Private Bag
  Wellington,   New Zealand 
• Authors:
  • Singh, C
  • Robson, S H
  • Toomath, J B
• Publication Date: 1975

Media Info

• Features: References; Tables;
• Pagination: 10 p.

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Headlamps; Helmets; Laws; Motorcycles; Speed; Utilization
• Uncontrolled Terms: Speed laws
• Subject Areas: Highways; Law; Research; Safety and Human Factors;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00098909
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: Highway Safety Research Institute
• Report/Paper Numbers: No. 9
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Sep 30 1975 12:00AM