Crashworthiness experts at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration answer the questions “DO MOTORCYCLE HELMETS INTERFERE WITH THE VISION AND HEARING OF RIDERS? ‘
Motorcycle crash statistics show that helmets are about 29 percent effective in preventing crash fatalities. That is, on average, riders wearing a helmet have a 29 percent better chance of surviving a crash than riders without a helmet.The hearing test showed that there were no significant differences in the riders’ ability to hear the auditory signals regardless of whether they were wearing a helmet or not. There was a difference, however, in the hearing threshold between travel speeds of 30 and 50mph. At the greater speed, all riders needed a louder auditory signal because of increased wind noise.