The Quickshift
- 12 riders were killed in road traffic accidents
- Only three of the deceased riders are confirmed to have been wearing helmets
- That's one more death when compared to the 2023 rally
The Sturgis Rally finished on August 11th, and in the period just before, during, and after the event, 12 riders were left dead as a result of road traffic accidents. Of the riders killed, just three were confirmed to have been wearing helmets, while seven of the riders weren't wearing helmets. It's still under investigation whether or not two of the riders were wearing helmets.
It's almost undebatable that some of these deaths could've been avoided, and we'll look into that more in a second. But first, this is the point of view I'm coming from.
If I could vote in the US, I would likely vote that it not be mandatory to wear helmets. I would also likely never avail of that law myself because I think riding a motorcycle without a helmet is ridiculous. But that's part of the beauty of modern societies—we can encourage and even help people to live in ways that we wouldn't ourselves.
Sure, there's an argument that riders without helmets could end up in a hospital, and taxpayers could end up footing the bill. But the reality is that there's a fair chance that a rider without a helmet will die instead of needing much medical treatment.
I've written tongue-in-cheek about rising death rates after helmet laws have been repealed. But since I'm openly saying I have a "you do you" attitude toward wearing a helmet, I feel I also must inform people when the consequences of "you doing you" are clear as day.
And the statistics from the Sturgis Rally are a prime example.
Depending on what studies you go by, wearing a helmet can reduce a rider's risk of death from a crash anywhere from 37% to 42%. In this situation, the statistics indicate wearing helmets would've saved the lives of about three riders. So instead of media outlets having another way to point the finger at motorcyclists and the Sturgis Rally, as there were more deaths this year than the previous, there'd be one less reason to lambast us.
My condolences go out to those who lost loved ones at Sturgis this year. I hope the information laid out in this piece will encourage a few people to helmet up so that not all of the deaths this year will have been in vain. But, now armed with some more information, it's back to you doing you and making the choice you want.
