There has been a sharp increase in the number of motorcycle riders in the United States during the last 10 years. The corresponding observed fatality increase during this time may be due to the decreasing number of states with mandated universal helmet use or the increasing number of riders. The authors examined the effect of the July 2000 repeal of Florida's helmet law so that the hypothesis that the observed fatality increase after repeal resulted from an increasing number of motorcycle riders could be tested. The authors identified all Miami-Dade county motorcycle fatalities (N = 197) during a 3.5 year period before repeal (prelaw), as well as a similar period after repeal (postlaw), using medical examiner records and police crash reports. The authors compared, in the two time periods, number of registered motorcycles, frequency of helmet use in fatal crashes, and number of fatalities. After repeal, helmet use decreased from 80% to 33%, and motorcycle fatalities increased from 72 to 125. A rise in annual motorcycle registrations was also associated with repeal, however, from 17,270 to 39,043. There was not a significant change in fatality rates adjusted for numbers of registered motorcycles: 12.5 deaths per 10,000 motorcycles postlaw, and 11.6 deaths per 10,000 motorcycles prelaw. After Florida's helmet law repeal, motorcycle fatalities rose significantly, which appears to be associated with increasing numbers of motorcycle riders. In light of continuing universal motorcycle helmet law repeal nationwide, there should be injury prevention effort development focusing on other factors than helmet use.
Samenvatting