For National Motorcycle and Bike Safety Awareness Month, here are safety tips for drivers, motorcyclists and bicyclists

Urban Milwaukee photo

May is National Motorcycle and Bike Safety Awareness Month, and state officials are reminding Kentuckians to look out for one another – whether on two wheels or four.

“We’re entering the warmer months, which typically means more motorcycles and bicycles on our roadways,” Gov. Andy Beshear. “Safety is a mutual responsibility and we encourage all road users to do their part in making sure everyone makes it to their destination safely – every trip, every time.”

The state Transportation Cabinet points out that a motorcycle or bicycle is a vehicle with all of the rights and privileges of any motor vehicle though it may be in the blind spots of cars, trucks and SUVs.

“We’re asking motorists to take simple yet important actions when behind the wheel,” Transportation Secretary Jim Gray said. “Taking the extra step of looking twice at intersections and before changing lanes or making turns could be the difference between life and death for a motorcyclist or bicyclist.”

In 2022 motorcycle crashs in Kentucky caused 1,198 injuries and 99 deaths (all of them motorcyclists). Of the 1,575 crashes, 824 involved a motorcycle and at least one other vehicle.

Bicyclists' crashes resulted in 229 injuries and 13 deaths. Of the 344 crashes, 340 involved at least one other vehicle.

The Kentucky Office of Highway Safety offers drivers these tips:

• Put the phone down and pay attention. Driving while distracted increases risk for all road users;
• Perform a regular visual check by checking mirrors and blind spots before entering or exiting a lane of traffic, and at intersections;
• Use a turn signal before changing lanes or merging with traffic to alert others of your intentions;
• Don’t be fooled by a flashing turn signal on a mo­torcycle. Motorcycle signals are often not self-canceling and riders sometimes forget to turn them off. Wait to be sure the motorcycle is going to turn before you proceed;
• Obey the speed limit. Driving at the posted limit allows you to see, identify and react to possible obstacles;
• Drive sober. Alcohol and drugs affect judgment, balance and reaction time. Always make a plan for a safe ride home;
• Buckle up. Wearing a seat belt gives you the best protection against injury and death;
• Allow at least a three-second following distance between you and the vehicle in front of you;
• Do not use designated bike lanes for parking, passing or turning; and
• Pass to the left of a bicycle, allowing at least three feet clearance.

The office offers these tips for motorcyclists:

• Wear a Department of Transportation-compliant helmet;
• Use turn signals for every turn or lane change, and combine with hand signals;
• Wear brightly colored protective gear and use reflective tape and stickers to increase visibility;
• Position in the lane where most visible to other drivers;
• Pay attention by avoiding any action that takes your eyes, your ears or your mind off the road and traffic;
• Obey the speed limit. Driving at the posted limit allows you to see, identify and react to possible obstacles;
• Ride sober. Alcohol and/or drugs can impair your judgment, coordination and reaction time;
• Take a rider training course. Find information at www.ride.ky.gov.

And these tips for bicyclists:

• Ride in the same direction as traffic;
• Wear a properly-fitted helmet that meets that meets the Consumer Product Safety Commission standards;
• Use hand signals when changing lanes or turning;
• Wear brightly colored protective gear and use reflective tape and stickers to increase visibility;
• Pay attention by avoiding any action that takes your eyes, your ears or your mind off the road and traffic;
• Scan ahead for possible obstacles in your path, such as parked cars or cars pulling out or into parking spaces or driveways;
• Check your equipment before riding. Make sure your brakes are working and tires are properly inflated;
• Never ride when impaired. Alcohol and/or drugs can impair your judgment, coordination and reaction time.

How much do motorcycle helmets reduce the risk of head injuries? A lot, UK study shows

Image from Fox News

It goes without saying that wearing a helmet can reduce the risk of head injuries while riding a motorcycle, but a study at the University of Kentucky backs it up with hard numbers.

Motorcycle helmets "are associated with a 69 percent reduction in skull fractures, 71 percent reduction in cerebral contusion, and 53 percent reduction in intracranial hemorrhage," and "a 20 percent reduction in cerebral concussion," says a release from the UK College of Public Health.

Dr. Michael Singleton, an assistant professor of biostatistics, examined accident data to compare helmet protection against skull fracture, cerebral contusion, intracranial hemorrhage and cerebral concussions of motorcycle operators, and hospital billings from 2008 to 2012, to estimate the relative risks of each type of head injury for helmeted versus unprotected motorcyclists.

Kentucky once had a law requiring motorcyclists to wear helmets, but the legislature repealed it at the behest of state Sen. Dam Seum, a Republican from Louisville.

Though there was little doubt that wearing a helmet increases safety, Singleton said helmeted motorcycle operators may still be at risk. "Current motorcycle helmets do not protect equally against all types of head injury," he said.

Centers for Disease Control working to find ways to prevent traumatic brain injury; affects one in five Kentucky households

The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is using a public-health approach to find strategies to prevent traumatic brain injuries and reduce the physical, psychological, economic and social impacts they cause.

Image: brainline.org

Traumatic brain injuries are those that happen because of a blow or jolt to the head, like a fall or a motor vehicle accident. It contributes to 30 percent of all injury deaths in the U.S., killing 138 people every day, according to the CDC.

Nationwide, the most common cause of brain injury is falls, but in Kentucky, most brain injuries and brain-injury-related deaths are caused by traffic accidents. About 5 percent of Kentucky's population has a brain injury, which is double the nation-wide rate, affecting one if five Kentucky households,  according to the Brain Injury Alliance of Kentucky.

Survivors of serious brain injuries have a range of disabilities, from memory issues, personality changes to debilitating physical disabilities, having a lasting effect on families and communities.

In partnership with the traumatic brain injury and rehabilitation communities, the CDC, using research, is working to meet these goals and results of this research can be found in a special issue of the Journal of Head Trauma Rehabilitation.

One article looks at the problems of unemployment after traumatic brain injury, with data showing that 60 percent of patients who received inpatient rehabilitation for TBI are still unemployed after two years of discharge -- and 35 percent of those who were employed two years after injury were employed only part-time. In Kentucky, 45 percent of those with brain injury reported a loss of employment or educational opportunity because of their injury.

Another article focuses on motorcycle crashes as a cause of TBI and says, "People injured in motorcycle crashes use more health-care resources and are three times more likely to die in the emergency department, compared to those with other causes of TBI." Kentucky had 6,552 hospital visits in 2013 for TBI caused by motor vehicle crash and of these 419 were motorcycle related, according to the Brain Injury Alliance. Kentucky no longer has a law requiring motorcyclists to wear helmets.

Other articles look at the high impact of sports- and recreation-related TBIs, reporting that "About 7 percent of all emergency department visits for sports- and recreation-related injuries are TBIs, with at least 3.4 million sports- and recreation-related TBI emergency department visits occurring over a 12-year study period." Kentucky hospitals had 2,600 TBIs in 2013 related to sports and recreation injury, according to the alliance.

Kentucky ranks 10th in nation for injury-related deaths

Injuries are the third leading cause of death nationally, the leading cause of death for Americans between the ages of 1 and 44. Kentucky is among the nation's most problematic states, and it could take several more steps to prevent injuries, says a new state-by-state report on injury-prevention policy.

Kentucky ranks 10th in the nation for injury-related deaths, with a rate of 76.5 such deaths per 100,000 people, and the state spends about $26.8 million for injury-related medical expenses. New Mexico has the highest rate of injury-related deaths, 97.8 per 100,000 people, and New Jersey has the lowest at 36.1. The national rate is 57.9, so Kentucky's rate is almost a third higher than the nation.

Kentucky scored with only three of a set of 10 key indicators for injury prevention: its primary seat belt law, which most states also have; its prescription drug monitoring program, driven by heavy abuse of painkillers; and a strong law on youth sports concussions. Among the injury-prevention indicators that Kentucky lacks, it does not:

• Require bicycle helmets for all children.
• Require that children ride in a car seat or booster seat to at least the age of eight.
• Require helmets for all motorcycle riders. (It once did, but when the law was repealed, deaths rose 50 percent, the report says.)
• Does not require mandatory ignition interlocks for convicted drunk drivers.
• Does not allow people in dating relationships to get protection orders.

The report by the Trust for America’s Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation concludes that millions of injuries could be prevented and billions of dollars could be saved in medical costs each year if more states adopted, implemented and enforced additional research-based injury prevention policies and programs. (Read more).

States with helmet laws have far fewer motorcycle-related deaths; Kentucky doesn't require bikers to wear protective headgear

Petersburg (Tex.) Volunteer Fire Dept. photo

“Fewer motorcyclists die in states that require helmets, and the costs to society are lower too,” reports Mike Stobbe for The Associated Press. About five times as many no-helmet biker deaths occur in states with less restrictive laws.

Kentucky once had a helmet law for motorcyclists, but repealed it several years ago. Nationwide, 20 states had universal motorcycle helmet laws in 2010, but Michigan has since reversed course and allowed helmets to be optional for riders over 21.

The study, conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, looked at 14,283 motorcycle-related deaths from 2008 to 2010. Of those, 6,027 bikers did not wear a helmet. “Only about 12 percent of those deaths occurred in the 20 states that required everyone on motorbikes to wear helmets,” Stobbe reports.

The study also found that helmet use saved $3 billion in U.S. medical expenses. Another $1.4 billion could have been saved if all states had helmet laws, the CDC concluded. Motorcycles account for about 3 percent of vehicles on the road, but 14 percent of deaths caused by traffic accidents. (Read more)