THE PREVENTION OF INJURY FROM MOTORCYCLE USE: EPIDEMIOLOGIC SUCCESS, LEGISLATIVE FAILURE

Following the repeal of the North Dakota mandatory motorcycle helmet law in 1977, the State Highway and Health Departments initiated a study to examine the impact of the change on driver safety. Motorcycle crash data gathered by the State Highway Patrol and other law enforcement agencies was augmented by death and injury reports submitted to the State Health Department by medical care providers. The combined data set produced 2934 crashes, 2162 traumatized victims, 3718 injuries and 53 deaths between January 1977 and December 1980. Reporting from medical providers increased the volume of crash reports, improved the reliability of the highway data and added an unrecognized population of victims to the data base. In spite of the clear indication that injuries and deaths had increased among motorcycle users who rode without helmet protection, legislative passage of a mandatory helmet law in either the 1979 or the 1981 North Dakota legislative session failed. The reasons behind the legislative rejection of efforts to improve highway safety are examined. The forces that affect politics are reviewed.

• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/issn/00014575
• Corporate Authors:

  Pergamon Press, Incorporated

  Headington Hill Hall
  Oxford OX30BW,    
• Authors:
  • Weisbuch, J B
• Publication Date: 1987-2

Media Info

• Features: References; Tables;
• Pagination: p. 21-28
• Serial:
  • Accident Analysis & Prevention
  • Volume: 19
  • Issue Number: 1
  • Publisher: Elsevier
  • ISSN: 0001-4575
  • Serial URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/00014575

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Fatalities; Helmets; Injuries; Laws; Motorcyclists; Politics; Prevention; Repeal; Statistics
• Geographic Terms: North Dakota
• Subject Areas: Data and Information Technology; Highways; Law; Safety and Human Factors; Security and Emergencies;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00491811
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
• Report/Paper Numbers: HS-040 013
• Files: HSL, TRIS, USDOT
• Created Date: Mar 31 1990 12:00AM