The other day I wrote about rates of helmet compliance for motorcyclists in the United States. We looked at what those rates were and how they were affected by helmet laws (or the lack thereof). We also compared helmet laws to seat belt laws and compliance rates for front and back seats in the United States, and then took a final look at helmet compliance in the United States vs in other rich (OECD) countries. The long and short of it is that we don’t require helmets in most states, we don’t make seat belt use a primary requirement (one for which you can be stopped and ticketed) in most states, and as a result, we have significantly lower rates of helmet and seat belt use compared to rates in our fellow rich countries. While I didn’t specifically address rates of seat belt compliance in fellow OECD countries, you can rest assured that, as is often the case, the US has much to learn from our wealthy neighbors.
Today we’re going to take a closer look at helmet compliance by referencing one of those wealthy neighbors–the one that’s brought the most knowledge to the world in domains related to child vehicular safety–Sweden. However, we’re not going to look at child safety today, but at how often motorcyclists in Sweden use helmets compared to how often they do in the United States, and what relevant laws are like. From the article’s introduction, the prior article on compliance and regulatory differences between the US and other rich countries, and the general history of this site, you likely have an idea of where these comparisons are headed.
What percentage of Swedish motorcyclists wear helmets?
Once again, we turn to the IRTAD 2019 Road Safety Annual Report. It turns out that the Swedes, as is almost always the case when it comes to road safety, are much better at following best practices than we are.
For motorcyclists, helmet wearing is the most effective passive safety habit. In Sweden, helmets have been compulsory for users of all of powered-two wheelers since 1975. The helmet-wearing rate of riders of powered two-wheelers is high, at 96-99%.
First of all, there’s the repetition of what we learned in the previous article: helmets are the best passive safety technique you can follow as a motorcyclist. However, the Swedes then took the logical step of requiring helmets, given how much of a difference they make between dead and injured motorcyclists. Helmets have been required for all motorcyclists, regardless of age or region, since 1975. Forty-five years later in the United States, we still haven’t gotten to where the Swedes were in the seventies. This isn’t unusual. We’re the same way when it comes to rear-facing.
Because helmets are required for everyone and have been for a generation, Swedes are used to using them. Between 96 and 99% of motorcyclists are estimated to use them. In other words, if 100 motorcyclists and scooter pilots ride past you, all but 3 of them will be wearing helmets. In the United States, around 29 of them with lack helmets, as we have a 71% compliance rate.
What percentage of Swedish drivers and passengers use seat belts?
The scene is no different when it comes to four-wheeled vehicles. Front occupants have been required to use seat belts without exception since 1975 and rear occupants have had to use them since 1988. Again, in the United States, while most states require occupants to use seat belts, only 18 require front and rear occupants to do so while giving police the authority to enforce belt use without viewing additional traffic violations. In other words, in many states in the US, you can’t be pulled over for not using a seat belt in the front seats without breaking an additional law, and the same exclusion applies to the vast majority of states for rear seat belt avoidance. This sounds foolish because it is foolish. But a lot of laws related to public safety are just like these in the US.
Because the Swedes don’t have foolish seat belt laws, they don’t have foolishly low rates of seat belt use. In fact, compliance rates in Sweden are estimated at 99% for front seat occupants and 94% for rear seat occupants. In the United States, the respective rates are at 89.6% and 76.1%. In other words, if 100 vehicles with 2 people in each of them (one in the front, one in the back) drive by you in Sweden, you’ll see, on average, only one front seat occupant and 6 rear occupants without seat belts. In the United States, you’ll see 10 in the front seats and 24 in the back lacking seat belts.
Why are Swedish rates of helmet and seat belt compliance so much higher than US rates?
Compliance rates are higher–much higher–in Sweden for motorcycle helmets and front and rear seat belts because they have much more stringent laws requiring helmets and seat belts. Our laws are lax and as a result, so is our population. You can’t make responsibility optional and decry a population that doesn’t respond. In the triad of best practices, these decisions fall under both driver behaviors (the decision to use or eschew helmets and seat belts) and infrastructure (the presence or absence of laws encouraging safe behaviors). Some people will use helmets and seat belts even if they aren’t required. Many won’t. And we all suffer for it, whether through the loss of loved ones or through needlessly stressed medical and emergency response systems (making it more difficult for other individuals to receive medical help as needed).
Our laws are lacking. Until they catch up, follow best practices–even if you have to learn them from other countries.
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