Ride Smart This Summer

June 17, 2024

A guest blog by Hailey Kanipe and Missy Akinlolu

June is National Safety Month! As the South Carolina weather heats up and people start spending more time outdoors, it is important to remind the community about motorcycle safety. If you plan to ride your motorcycle this summer, you should always wear a Department of Transportation (DOT)-compliant motorcycle helmet. Motorcycle riders are 28 times more likely to lose their lives in a fatal driving crash compared with other motorists on the road and four times as likely to sustain an injury in a collision (NHTSA.gov). Did you know that only 18 states in the U.S. have laws requiring all motorcyclists to wear a helmet? Unfortunately, South Carolina is not one of those states and only requires riders under age 21 to wear helmets (IIHS.org). Riding without a helmet increases the risk of traumatic head and brain injury in the event of an accident and may prevent lifelong disability or death. Helmets are 67% effective in preventing brain injury and 37% effective in preventing motorcycle deaths (NHTSA.gov). In 2022 alone, 24.5% of American motorcycle riders rode without helmets. Of those who wore helmets, only 66.5% of the helmets were DOT-compliant, meaning that they meet the safety requirements of the U.S. Department of Transportation (Crashstats.nhtsa.dot.gov). Don’t know which helmet to choose? For starters, make sure to avoid helmets with the following features:

Unsafe helmets will be less than 1 inch thick and usually lack a stiff foam inner liner.
Helmets meeting the DOT safety standard have sturdy chin straps with solid rivets. Unsafe helmets may have plastic buckles that can easily break in the event of a crash.
Depending on design, unsafe helmets may weigh a pound or less. Helmets meeting the federal standard generally weigh about 3 pounds.
Be suspicious of helmets with advertisements such as “thinnest helmet available” and “lightest weight helmet.”
The DOT safety standard does not allow anything to extend further than two-tenths of an inch from the surface of a helmet. For example, while visor fasteners are allowed, a rigid spike or other such decorations indicate an unsafe helmet.
A design such as the German Army or skullcap style may indicate an unsafe helmet. Unsafe helmets are noticeably smaller in diameter and thinner than ones meeting the DOT standard. However, some German Army-style helmets may meet federal requirements.

For more information and tips on choosing the right helmet and getting the right fit, visit https://www.nhtsa.gov/motorcycle-safety/choose-right-motorcycle-helmet. Let’s make wearing a helmet a priority so all motorcyclists enjoy a safe summer!

Are you not a motorcycle rider? Did you know that most accidents involving motorcycles are caused by vehicle blind spots? It is easy to miss seeing motorcycles when driving a vehicle, so take your time when changing lanes and pay attention to your surroundings. Give motorcyclists plenty of space to ride, and always look in both directions twice before pulling out of a driveway and onto the highway. These simple tips can save lives!