Motorcycle Accident Attorneys Explain North Carolina Helmet Law

North Carolina is a beautiful state with the Atlantic Ocean to the east, the Blue Ridge Mountains to the west and scenic countryside with gentle rolling hills in between. Not to mention our vibrant and exciting cities with Southern charm, arts, culture, culinary delights, and some outstanding sports teams…North Carolina has it all, and with its temperate climate a great way to navigate the state is via motorcycle – stunning scenery and roads for every level of rider make North Carolina an ideal state for motorcycle riding.

Motorcycling can be a great way to travel…BUT…it can also be very dangerous if you don’t get the proper training and take the necessary and sometimes mandatory safety precautions.

So, what can you do to make your ride safer and what are you required to do by law?

The most important piece of safety equipment is a motorcycle helmet. There are three states that have no laws pertaining to motorcycle helmet use, another 28 states have partial helmet laws that require only some riders to wear helmets, and the other 19 states and the District of Colombia have what is known as universal helmet laws – meaning that all motorcycle riders AND their passengers are required to wear crash helmets. North Carolina is one of the 19 universal helmet law states.According to North Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles “all operators and passengers on motorcycles and mopeds must wear a motorcycle safety helmet of a type that complies with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 218.”

Motorcycle helmets can save your life or greatly reduce the severity of your injuries when involved in a motorcycle crash.

If you’ve been involved in a motorcycle accident you may well have incurred hospital and doctor’s bills. You may not be able to work or provide for your family while you are recovering. If you have not yet been involved in an accident we recommend that you read on and take proactive steps to minimize your risk of personal injury.

In the past, more states had universal helmet laws. By the early 1970’s almost all of the states (47 to be exact) had universal helmet laws. This was due to pressure from the Federal Government which required the states to enact helmet use laws to qualify for Federal highway construction funds. In 1976, however, states got Congress to stop the Department of Transportation from financially penalizing states without helmet laws. Despite the overwhelming evidence that wearing a helmet saves lives, many states changed their laws to partial helmet laws which require only some riders, usually minors, to wear helmets.

Is North Carolina right to require you to wear a helmet?

Does it make you safer?

YES, and YES!

TheCenters for Disease Control and Prevention(CDC) states “the single most effective way for states to save lives and save money is a universal helmet law”.

According to the CDC, the use of motorcycle helmets saved 1,895 lives in 2016. More people could have been saved if they had been wearing helmets, 802 people to be exact. Also, for survivors of a motorcycle crash, wearing a helmet can reduce your head injury risk by 69%.

Proper rider training and experience, protective clothing and boots, obeying all of the traffic laws, and driving sober will also help keep you safer on a motorcycle, moped or scooter, but nothing can protect you 100%. Accidents still happen no matter how prepared you are. There are almost 200,000 licensed motorcyclists in North Carolina. There are also three and a half million cars, four and a half million trucks, and around thirty three thousand busses registered in the state….plus drivers from neighboring states, tourists, etc…many of whom drive frequently above the speed limit, drive under the influence of alcohol, or just drive distracted. With all of those vehicles on the road it is actually quite astonishing that there were only 3,722 motorcycle accidents in NC in 2017. Unfortunately, 145 people were killed in those accidents and another 2,991 people were injured.

If you have lost a loved one to a motorcycle accident or if you were injured in a crash that was caused by another vehicle, one of the first things you need to do is hire an experienced motorcycle accident attorney. Kellum Law Firm has over 40 years’ experience dealing with the aftermath of motorcycle accidents and helping survivors get their lives back together.

We will be with you all the way navigating the laws, dealing with insurance companies, and working to get you the best possible settlement for your case.

Speak with a motorcycle accident lawyer today and we’ll work to get you the settlement you deserve. CONTACT US HERE.