Springtime is upon us, and with the season comes another annual rite: young squid throttling up their crotch rockets on the big slab, avoiding Clydes and road gators, but many times doing so with no skid lid.

Huh? Motorcycle jargon aside, this is the time of year young riders hit the highways and back roads, and while they're careful to avoid other automobiles and the occasional shredded tire tread, some fail to take the basic precaution of buying and wearing a helmet while riding. But that could change if U.S. Secretary of Transportation Mary Peters gets her way.

Citing statistics that showed only 58 percent of riders wear helmets today, Secretary Peters is advocating motorcycle manufacturers to include or heavily discount a Department of Transportation-certified helmet with every motorcycle purchase. According to her statistics, 700 drivers would survive crashes every year if they wore helmets, and while motorcycles account for only two percent of the vehicles on the road, they are involved in more than 10 percent of all crashes. She also said that motorcycle fatalities have more than doubled in 10 years and now account for over 4,500 highway deaths and 78,000 injuries each year. Even worse, the crash rate among motorcyclists in the 50-plus age group has increased by more than 400 percent, she said.

These statistics can turn into substantial claim figures. In November 2002, the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration reported that 25 studies of the costs of injuries from motorcycle crashes “consistently found that helmet use reduced the fatality rate, probability and severity of head injuries, cost of medical treatment, length of hospital stay, necessity for special medical treatments, and probability of long-term disability.”

“Helmets and proper training are just as important as brakes or headlights when it comes to the well-being of motorcyclists,” said Secretary Peters, in a release. “We shouldn't be letting any customer take a bike out of the store without a helmet as part of the package. Safety shouldn't have to be an option when purchasing a motorcycle.”

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