Posted September 10, 2024 • 5 min read
Motorcycles are much smaller and less well protected than other motor vehicles and inevitably come out the worst in a crash between the two. A helmet can mean the difference between life and death, but Texas does not require all riders to wear helmets.
Those who choose to ride helmetless may wonder how this decision can affect a motorcycle injury claim—or whether they can file a claim at all if they were injured while riding without a helmet.
The insurance company might try to argue that a lack of helmet use contributed to your injuries. Don’t take their word for it until you talk to a motorcycle accident lawyer.
Motorcyclist Deaths On the Rise in Texas
Texas has more than 394,000 registered motorcyclists. Of those, nearly 600 were killed in 2023, according to the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT), and more than 2,400 were seriously injured in approximately 8,900 motorcycle crashes. More than half of these (5,973) occurred in urban areas like Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio, while 2,894 motorcycle crashes occurred in rural Texas.
- Over the last five years (2019 – 2023), Texas fatal motorcycle accidents increased by 43% and killed a total of 2,578 motorcyclists.
- In 2023, there was a 3% increase in Texas motorcycle accidents compared to 2022, a 7% increase in motorcycle fatalities, and a 2% increase in motorcycle serious injuries.
- On average, one motorcyclist dies on Texas roadways every day.
- Around 1 in 6 Texas vehicle fatalities involve motorcyclists.
- May through October is a particularly dangerous time for motorcyclists in Texas, with more than 60% of fatalities occurring in this period.
Intersections a Hotspot for Motorcycle Accidents
More than half of fatal motorcycle crashes result from collisions with other vehicles. Motorcycle collisions most commonly occur at intersections. In 2023, 37% of Texas motorcycle fatalities were in an intersection or intersection-related area.
TxDOT notes in its Share the Road motorcycle safety campaign that motorcycles are harder to spot and can easily be overlooked in traffic. Drivers often don’t see them or misjudge their distance and speed due to their small size.
A veteran of the Texas Department of Public Safety told Dallas-Fort Worth Spectrum News that in his two-plus decades of crash investigations, most motorcycle crashes were caused by vehicles failing to yield right of way to motorcyclists at intersections.
Helmets Save Lives
Being smaller not only makes motorcycles less visible on the roadway, but it also makes them more vulnerable in a crash. And when motorcycles crash, riders lack the protection of an enclosed vehicle and are more likely to be injured or killed.
- The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) estimates that, per mile traveled, the number of motorcyclist deaths is nearly 24 times the number of passenger vehicle deaths.
- Research from the Texas A&M Transportation Institute found that 28% of motorcycle crashes are fatal or incapacitating, versus 4% of non-motorcycle crashes.
Head injury is a leading cause of motorcyclist fatalities. Helmets are the best protection against head injuries in motorcycle crashes.
- Helmets reduce the odds of a motorcycle fatality by around 37% and are about 67% effective at preventing brain injuries.
- Unhelmeted motorcyclists who crash are three times more likely to suffer brain injuries than helmeted riders.
Motorcycle fatalities in Texas had been on a downtrend prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. But like other types of deadly traffic crashes, that trend has reversed over the last few years.
One area that has seen improvement is helmet use. Although the number of motorcyclists involved in crashes has increased in recent years, the number of people not wearing helmets in these crashes has dropped for three straight years, from 3,500 in 2021 to 3,353 in 2022 to 3,119 in 2023.
Texas Motorcycle Helmet Laws
Despite the effectiveness of helmets at preventing brain injuries, only 17 states and the District of Columbia require all riders to wear helmets.
Texas is not one of those states. Motorcycle riders and drivers under age 21 must wear a helmet in Texas. But state law exempts riders from wearing a helmet if they:
- Have completed a state-approved motorcycle operating training and safety course; or
- Have a health insurance plan that can cover any injuries they suffer in a motorcycle crash.
Texas transportation code states that law enforcement may not arrest someone or issue them a citation for violating the state’s helmet law when they satisfy one of these conditions.
Texas Motorcycle Crashes, Helmets, and Comparative Negligence
While many Texans can legally ride motorcycles without helmets, TxDOT still encourages riders to wear them for safety. Riding with a helmet can also help a rider to obtain full compensation for their injuries after a crash.
Texas follows a comparative negligence rule that allows an injured person to recover damages even if they are partially at fault for a crash—as long as their percentage of fault does not exceed 50 percent. If they share blame for the crash with another driver, and are not more than 50 percent liable, their award will be reduced by an amount equal to their percentage of fault.
To illustrate how the issue of helmet safety might play out with the insurance company, let’s say you were hurt in a motorcycle accident and not wearing a helmet.
- The insurance company could argue that riding helmetless contributed to your injuries, and that a helmet could have lessened your injury severity or even prevented you from getting hurt.
- They could offer you less compensation—or no compensation—based on the assertion that your actions (e.g., not wearing a helmet) contributed to your injuries (i.e., comparative negligence).
This line of reasoning might hold up if you suffered a head injury, such as a concussion, due to the well-documented ability of helmets to prevent head injuries. It could also reasonably apply to injuries to the neck or face.
However, if you sustained motorcycle crash injuries to other parts of the body, like your legs, arms, or torso, while not wearing a helmet, it does not stand to reason that a helmet would have made any difference.
Comparative negligence is also unlikely to be relevant if you were faultless in an accident and not wearing a helmet. For example, you might have been turning left at an intersection and had the right of way, but a car turned in front of you and hit you, causing you to suffer a head injury.
The insurance company could still try to argue that you are partly to blame for your injuries, but it’s a weak argument. Legally, you did nothing wrong. Texas law doesn’t require you to wear a helmet, and the accident was entirely the fault of the other driver.
Remember: it is in the insurance company’s interest to shift blame from the insured to the injured party, because doing so reduced how much they pay. An accident case should be focused on an investigation of what caused the crash and medical records that show what injuries were sustained. Anything outside of this narrow, factual scope could just be insurance company games to justify paying you less.
Insurance Company Taking You For a Ride? Get The Texas Hammer on The Case.
Riding a motorcycle, and especially riding without a helmet, is dangerous. But that doesn’t mean motorcyclists who choose to ride unhelmeted are “asking for it” when they hit the road or deserve to be paid less for their injuries when another vehicle hits them.
Unfortunately, negative stereotypes about bikers abound, and a motorcyclist hurt in an accident might have to go the extra mile to obtain fair and full compensation.
With Jim Adler & Associates on your side, you’re never riding alone. Call or contact “The Texas Hammer” for a free case review.
