Use of U.S. Department of Transportation-compliant motorcycle helmets in 2009 stood at 67%, a gain from 63% in 2008. This result is from the National Occupant Protection Use Survey (NOPUS), which is the only survey that provides the nationwide probability-based observed data on helmet use in the United States. The NOPUS is conducted by the National Center for Statistics and Analysis of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. In the past five years, motorcycle helmet use has been increasing slowly but steadily from 48% in 2005 to 67% in 2009. The 2009 survey also found the following: (1) Helmet use in States that require all motorcyclists to wear helmets significantly increased from 78% in 2008 to 86% in 2009. The helmet use in these States continued to be higher than in those States without universal helmet use law. (2) Helmet use in the Northeast increased by 16 percentage points to 61% in 2009, which is a statistically significant increase. (3) In 2009, helmet use in rural areas continued to increase to 75% while urban areas saw a 15-percentage-point drop to 57%.
Abstract