Group advocates helmet mandate in Illinois for Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month

[May 23, 2022] By Scot Bertram | The Center Square contributor

(The Center Square) – May is Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month and a national organization claims Illinois can do more to keep bikers alive.

Fatal motorcycle crashes jumped 13% in Illinois last year, higher than the national average of a 9% increase. Nationwide, 6,101 people were killed in motorcycle crashes in 2021, the highest number on record.

“We know that they're the most hazardous form of transportation because they're less stable,” said Tara Gill, Senior Director of Advocacy and State Legislation for Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety. “They offer less protection and less visibility in traffic. When crashes occur, motorcyclists really need adequate head protection.”

Illinois is one of only three states that doesn’t have any form of motorcycle helmet law. Iowa and New Hampshire are the other two.

“We really recommend that states adopt an all-rider or a universal motorcycle helmet requirement,” Gill said. “These laws are proven to get riders to wear helmets and wearing helmets reduces injuries and fatalities in crashes.”

Eighteen states and the District of Columbia already have all-rider motorcycle helmet laws. Twenty-nine other states have partial or age-specific helmet regulations.

“In states that have all-rider motorcycle helmet laws, the number of un-helmeted rider fatalities compared to states that don't have the requirement is greatly reduced,” Gill said. “Requiring riders to wear a helmet certainly helps to protect them and reduce fatalities and injuries.”

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, in states without all-rider helmet laws, almost 60% of motorcyclists killed in 2019 were not wearing helmets. That compares to 9% in states with such laws.

Illinois had a helmet law up until 1970, when lawmakers repealed the measure. Gill says she’s “optimistic and hopeful” legislation to reinstate a similar measure could pop up in the state.

“These efforts are a really heavy lift to reinstate all-rider motorcycle helmet requirements,” Gill said. “I think the most work we do in states regarding helmet requirements is to play defense, because [in] every session, repeals of the all-rider helmet laws come up.”

According to Advocates, per vehicle mile traveled, motorcycle riders are nearly 29 times more likely to be killed in a traffic crash than occupants of passenger vehicles.

“We often hear, ‘Let those who ride decide,’ ” Gill said. “And our response has always been, ‘Let those who pay have a say,’ because the costs from motorcycle crashes are shared by all of the residents in the state.”