Vision and Hearing Limitations While Wearing a Motorcycle Helmet | DENENA | POINTS

Vision and Hearing Limitations While Wearing a Motorcycle Helmet

Studies show that a motorcycle helmet can save your life when you have a wreck. Helmeted riders have about a 30% greater chance, on average, of surviving Texas motorcycle wrecks than non-helmeted riders. When you’re hurled from your bike at high speed and land on the road many dozens of feet away, often head first, a good helmet may indeed mean the difference between life and death. But the vast majority of motorcyclists surveyed say that they would prefer not to wear helmets when riding their bikes. And so many states, in deference to their opinions, do not require adult riders to wear helmets.

One of the main reasons that cyclists give for their resistance to wearing helmets is that the headgear limits their vision and hearing. These riders maintain that reduced abilities to see and hear nearby traffic increase their chances of having wrecks. The main complaint seems to be a restricted range of vision when turning or changing lanes. Some riders claim that the extra amount they have to rotate their heads and the extra time it takes their attention from the road in front of them increases their chances of having a wreck. The NHTSA made an extensive study of just this problem, and maintains that motorcycle helmets do not, in fact, limit the range of your vision and hearing while on a bike. The NHTSA data does mention that at higher speeds hearing is more limited because of wind noise effects.

So while motorcycle helmets may not significantly limit your sight and hearing while on the road, there probably is some tradeoff between the safety you derive from full hearing and vision and from the protection of a well-designed helmet over your vulnerable head and neck. In Texas, if you’re over the age of 20, the decision ultimately rests with you as to whether you’ll wear a helmet or not.

With or without helmets, cyclists involved in Texas motorcycle wrecks tend to experience far more catastrophic injuries than car occupants in similar accidents. This is a natural result of bikers’ much greater exposure to the hazards of accident impacts. Trying to recover proper compensation for your motorcycle accident injuries can take you down a hard road – as hard as the one on which you landed when you crashed. You’re likely to come up against a special bias that car drivers don’t experience. This anti-biker bias can naturally prejudice your chances of making an adequate recovery for your wounds.

When you’ve been injured in a motorcycle accident, you could benefit from the help of our Clear Lake, TX motorcycle injury attorneys. We understand motorcyclists and their needs. We’ve been helping bikers recover fair compensation for their motorcycle accident injuries for some years now. Give us a call at (877) 307-9500 for your free consultation and a free book on motorcycle accident cases in Texas. We may be able to help you make a fair recovery.