DRIVE TIME
Survey finds helmet use low among moped riders
| • | Chart: Helmet use in Hawai'i |
By Mike Leidemann
Advertiser Transportation Writer
More motorcyclists and bicyclists are wearing helmets in Hawai'i. Unfortunately, fewer moped riders are using them.
That's the bottom line in a new survey by University of Hawai'i researchers who spent several months earlier this year watching out for helmet use at 136 sites around the state.
It turns out that motorcycle riders have the best rate of helmet use in the state. This year's survey — conducted from January to March — found that 43.3 percent of motorcycle drivers and their passengers were wearing helmets, up slightly from the year before.
The number of bicyclists wearing helmets also increased; this year's survey saw a nearly 15 percentage-point jump in helmet use among bicyclists, with the rate going from 20.3 percent to 35 percent.
The news isn't so good for moped users, though. Helmet use among moped riders declined in 2003, to 8 percent.
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Hawai'i does not have a law requiring helmet use for most operators or passengers of motorcycles, moped or bicycles. There is, however, a law passed in 2001 that requires bicycle riders under the age of 16 to wear a helmet.
Commuting
Some riders have long maintained that helmet use should be a matter of personal choice, rather than mandated by law. The 2003 survey, however, suggests that "further study is necessary to understand the relationship between helmet use rates, rider characteristics (such as age, gender and socioeconomic status) and vehicle types."
There are some significant differences on helmet use from county to county and for people driving under different circumstances.
Among motorcyclists, for instance, the rate is highest on O'ahu — 46.4 percent this year. The lowest helmet use was found on Kaua'i, where 19.4 percent of operators and passengers were seen with a helmet.
When it comes to bicycles, though, O'ahu has the lowest rate of helmet use — 14.7 percent, while the highest rate is found on Maui, where more than 66 percent of the observed riders were using a helmet.
The UH researchers don't argue that helmet use should be made mandatory in Hawai'i, but their report includes a final suggestion:
"Programs of public education and public information should be developed in order to increase helmet use — especially among moped riders."
Mike Leidemann's Drive Time column appears every Tuesday. Reach him at 525-5460 or mleidemann@honoluluadvertiser.com.
