June 18, 2012

The AP (6/17, Stobbe) reported, “About five times as many no-helmet biker deaths occur in states with less restrictive laws, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study found.” In a review of 14,283 motorcycle deaths between 2008 and 2010, CDC found “only about 12 percent of those deaths occurred in the 20 states that required everyone on motorbikes to wear helmets.” CDC Director Dr. Thomas Frieden said in a statement, “In 2010, more than $3 billion in economic costs were saved due to helmet use in the United States. Another $1.4 billion could have been saved if all motorcyclists had worn helmets.”

Agency warns about motorcycle helmets. The Martinsburg (WV) Journal (6/16) reported NHTSA “is urging motorcyclists not to wear the 5X5 brand, SA-08 model motorcycle helmet because it fails to meet federal head protection requirements. Officials said as many as 14,000 of the helmets were imported and sold by Tank Sports Inc. of California, which declared bankruptcy without completing a government-requested recall.” The agency “said that under federal testing, the helmets failed to meet penetration protection requirements.”