Most people don’t wear any safety gear while they drive. These same people may be very adamant about wearing helmets while biking or skateboarding, but they would never wear one in a car. Instead, they trust that the car’s design — the crash impact zones, seat belts, and other safety features — will protect them.
However, some experts believe that people should actually wear helmets, even if they’re just driving to work or to the store. They point to the way that race car drivers often walk away from terrible accidents without injury, while other drivers are killed in far more minor accidents. Of course, this isn’t a perfect comparison since these race cars have many other safety features, but they are also going 200 miles per hour.
Experts also point to a study that was done, looking at the impact of wearing a bike helmet — not even a full auto helmet — in the car. The study determined that traumatic brain injuries could be reduced by around 50 percent. It also predicted that 20 percent of people who died would be saved.
Finally, it’s been pointed out that over a million people pass away in the world every year from car accidents. There is a lot of pressure on people to wear helmets on bikes, roller skates, skateboards, and other such devices, but far fewer people are killed in these accidents. The pure stats suggest that more needs to be done to protect motorists.
Of course, while helmets could help reduce fatalities, most people don’t use them and the law does not mandate that you should. As long as fatalities statistics remain high, with accidents as a leading cause of death in California, it’s important for those who have lost loved ones to know their rights to compensation.
Source: Driving Without Dying, “10 Reasons why you should consider wearing a helmet while in your car,” Jack Kowalski, accessed June 10, 2016