This month's observance of Motorcycle Safety Month comes amid good news and bad.
First, an emphasis on the positive.
A report by the Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA) projects annual motorcycle fatalities will decrease in 2013, for only the second year since 1997.
Although 2013 results are not finalized, the projected 4,610 fatalities last year would mark a 7 percent decrease from the 4,957 in 2012, according to the report's author, Dr. James Hedlund, who also is a former senior official with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).
Now the bad news.
A Washington Post news story reported: "Motorcyclists are more than 26 times as likely to die in a crash as occupants of cars, and five times as likely to be injured, NHTSA said.
Alcohol consumption and failure among motorcycle riders to wear helmets are among the contributing factors.
The Washington Post also reported "alcohol is a bigger factor in motorcycle crashes than it is for cars, with 27 percent of riders intoxicated, compared with 23 percent of drivers."
Helmet use also dropped, from 66 percent in 2011 to 60 percent in 2012, according to the GHSA. According to the Washington Post report, "It is estimated that 1,699 lives were saved by helmets in 2012, and that 781 more riders would have survived had they been wearing them."
In 28 states, helmets are required only for riders younger than age 18 or 21; three state have no requirements. Missouri is among the 19 states and District of Columbia with unversal helmet laws.
Missouri lawmakers, however, are considering a bill again this session to ease helmet requirements.
This new data compels us to renew our objection to this proposal.
Riding a motorcycle inherently is riskier than riding in a car. Riding a motorcycle without a helmet would increase the risk exponentially for no justifiable reason.
Motorcycle Safety Month - or any month, for that matter - is not the time to ease Missouri's universal helmet law.