Helmets Save Lives in Motorcycle Accidents

Motorcyclists are far more exposed than people riding inside a car or truck. With no steel frame, no airbags, and no seatbelt between them and the road, riders absorb the force of a crash directly, which is exactly why a motorcycle accident is so much more likely to cause serious injury than a collision between two enclosed vehicles. The single most effective thing any rider can do to protect themselves is also the simplest: wear a helmet, every time.

How Much Protection Does a Helmet Really Provide?

The data is not subtle. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, wearing a DOT-compliant helmet reduces a rider's risk of dying in a crash by about 37% and the risk of a serious head injury by 69%. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that helmets have saved tens of thousands of riders' lives over the past two decades, and that hundreds more would survive each year if every rider wore one.

For many riders, a helmet is the difference between:

• A concussion instead of a permanent traumatic brain injury
• A survivable crash instead of a fatal one
• Weeks of recovery instead of a lifetime of disability

Ohio's Motorcycle Helmet Law: Who Has to Wear One?

Ohio does not require every rider to wear a helmet. Under Ohio law (R.C. 4511.53), helmets are mandatory only for:

• Riders under 18 years old
• Novice riders: anyone in their first year of licensing or operating on a temporary instruction permit
• Passengers of any rider who falls into one of the categories above

Every other adult rider can legally ride without a helmet in Ohio. But "legal" and "safe" are not the same thing. As the numbers above make clear, riding without a helmet sharply raises the odds that an otherwise survivable crash becomes a catastrophic or fatal one.

Even the Best Gear Can't Prevent Every Injury

No amount of protective equipment makes a motorcyclist invincible. When a rider is thrown from the bike at highway speeds, broken bones, road rash, and internal injuries are extremely hard to avoid, even with a helmet, jacket, and gloves. A helmet is built to protect the head and brain; it does nothing to shield the spine, limbs, or internal organs.

That is why serious motorcycle crashes so often lead to traumatic brain injuries and other life-altering harm that demands long-term medical care, and full compensation.

When Another Driver Is at Fault

In a large share of crashes involving a motorcycle and another vehicle, the rider had the right of way and the other driver simply failed to yield it. "I didn't see the motorcycle" is the most common thing at-fault drivers say after a wreck, but it is not a legal excuse. Every driver has a duty to watch for motorcycles and share the road.

When a careless driver causes a crash (by turning left across a rider's path, changing lanes without looking, or following too closely), that driver and their insurer can be held responsible for the rider's medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, and more. When a crash is fatal, the rider's family may have a wrongful death claim.

Does Riding Without a Helmet Hurt My Claim in Ohio?

It is one of the first questions injured riders ask us. The short answer: in Ohio, if you were not legally required to wear a helmet, the fact that you weren't wearing one generally should not bar you from recovering compensation when another driver caused the crash. That said, insurance companies routinely try to use a missing helmet to argue you share the blame and to shrink your payout. An experienced attorney knows how to push back. We explain this in more detail on our Cincinnati motorcycle accident page.

Talk to a Cincinnati Motorcycle Accident Lawyer for Free

Gregory S. Young Co., LPA has stood up for injured riders and their families across Cincinnati, Dayton, Columbus, Northern Kentucky, and Toledo since 1958. If you or someone you love was hurt in a motorcycle accident, we will review your case at no charge, and you pay nothing unless we win.

Call us 24/7 at 513-721-1077 or request your free consultation online. There is no obligation, and the call is always free.

Sources: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.