Statistics to back up motorcycle helmet use

When learning how to ride a motorcycle and looking into the gear that you’ll need to buy, the top recommendation from most experts is to take your time and buy the best helmet for you. It should fit perfectly, it should be highly rated and it should give you protection every time you get on your bike — from short trips across town to long road trips all over the country.

That said, there are riders who feel like a helmet is uncomfortable and unnecessary. There are also those who simply don’t find them fashionable. They choose not to wear them, figuring it cannot make that much of a difference.

But it does. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), your head injury risks are about 69% lower if you get into an accident with a helmet on, as opposed to getting into an accident without a helmet. They also say that your risks of passing away in a crash are 37% lower if you have a helmet on at the time of the crash.

It’s clear that helmets work. Are they perfect? Do they prevent every death and every head injury? Of course not. Motorcycle accidents are very violent, and no helmet offers enough protection to guarantee safety. That’s one of the risks you take when riding. But it’s still obvious that your best bet is to have a helmet on.

At the end of the day, you never know when a crash will take place. Another driver can cause it. You need to be prepared. If you still get injured, you also need to know how to seek compensation.