Allan Rutter: 0:00
Howdy, everyone. Welcome to Thinking Transportation, conversations about how we get ourselves and the stuff we need from one place to another. I’m Allan Rutter with the Texas A&M Transportation Institute. Popular culture would have you believe that motorcycle riders wear leather, ride together in gangs, and are involved in criminal activities. In the real world, motorcycle riders are normal people just trying to do their thing amidst lanes full of heavier, larger vehicles. A group of Texans concerned about the safety of motorcyclists gathered in Austin recently. Today, we’re going to talk with two people at that meeting about how they are helping motorcycle riders make good choices about their safety. We’re joined by Hong Zhang, the director of education for the Snell Foundation, and by Cathy Brooks, project specialist in the Road User Safety Program for the Texas A&M Transportation Institute’s Center for Transportation Safety. Welcome to you

Hong Zhang: 1:12
Glad to be here.

Cathy Brooks: 1:13
Thank you for having me.

Allan Rutter: 1:16
So let’s let our audience get to know you two a little bit better. How have each of you made the journey to motorcycle safety? Hong, let’s start with you.

Hong Zhang: 1:26
I joined the Snell Memorial Foundation back in New York. I didn’t know anything about riding a motorcycle or anything about helmets, but Snell Foundation’s mission is exclusively on establishing the toughest helmet standard for autoracing motorcycling. So I took a basic riding class from the Motorcycle Safety Foundation. That’s how I first got engaged with motorcycling and motorcycle helmets.

Allan Rutter: 2:05
Okay. Cathy, what about you?

Cathy Brooks: 2:07
I come from a motorcycling family. My parents both rode actively when I was a child. I’m considered a tank survivor. As soon as I was able to sit up and hold on, I was on the tank in front of my dad riding on his motorcycle with him. He wanted to get into motorcycle safety training and And he was going to take the Motorcycle Safety Foundation basic course as part of preparing to become an instructor rider coach and invited me to go with them. And so I did. I did not have a motorcycle license at the time. So I went to class with them and the instructors there, the rider coach there said, you should think about becoming an instructor with your dad. So I finished the class successfully, bought a motorcycle and started riding with my dad, spent over a week traveling through 11 of the southern states, starting from Texas and back, traveling a lot of windy roads, including the Tail of the Dragon, for those that are familiar, multiple times on that trip. And then decided, hey, this is really cool. So I spent the next year going around the state of Texas with multiple safety writing schools, helping out and learning about the curriculum, learning about becoming a writer coach. Fell in love, was in the next training class. and been continuing and growing ever since.

Allan Rutter: 3:33
So I came to this subject by watching Hong talk to the Texas Motorcycle Safety Forum back in May in Austin. So first, Cathy, can you tell us a little more about what the Motorcycle Safety Forum is, how often it convenes, who helps organize it, who helps it sponsor it?

Cathy Brooks: 3:52
So the Motorcycle Safety Forum in Texas is unique from what I understand with my colleagues across the country. And it was started many, many years ago through a statewide motorcycle safety grant to Texas A&M Transportation Institute, or TTI, funded by the Texas Department of Transportation. There are many objectives within that grant each year, and one of them has been an annual forum. They’re very proud of that. And there’s also a Texas Motorcycle Safety Coalition. A committee of that coalition would work with staff at TTI to plan and organize the annual forum. Unfortunately, the COVID pandemic kind of changed the world, including the annual forum. We ended up having one virtual forum and then tried to do hybrid and then in-person. And so our numbers are not built back up to what they were pre-COVID, but we’re working on it and we are looking for more engagement with the community, finding out what they want to learn more about. So this year we brought Hong as one of our guest speakers from out of state, which has been greatly accepted within the forum this year.

Allan Rutter: 5:03
Yeah, it was really impressive. Here’s one of the things I noticed about Hong’s remarks at the forum. They seem to contrast with a more imperative tone to some safety messages. Of course, that just may be how I hear them as a guy. Use your seatbelt. Don’t drive drunk. Obey the speed limits. Pay attention in work zones. The tenor of Hong’s talk was a little gentler. Here’s some information we should consider as a community of motorcycle riders. It was consistent with the call my wife and I tried to repeat to our daughters throughout their young lives: make good choices. That kind of messaging must be more effective with a community of independent, almost iconoclastic people who choose to ride a motorcycle. Cathy, am I reading too much into this, or is your safety messaging to motorcyclists a little more inclusive and collaborative?

Cathy Brooks: 5:55
I think it’s a little bit of both. We do have a lot of slow down, wear- your- gear kind of messaging. So there is some of that. But yes, we do call on the community to help us kind of pilot test some of our messaging before it goes out. Motorcyclists in general are a bunch of freedom seekers. They don’t like being told what to do, but also it’s just one big, huge community. Riders are looking out for each other. They wave to each other when they pass on the street. There’s bike nights and meetups and group rides, motorcycle clubs, groups; even those that go out if there’s a fallen rider that they work together to support that rider and or their families in case of a tragedy. And safety hasn’t always been a part of motorcycling culture. If you think back over the years, it wasn’t cool to wear a helmet. So there’s part of that. That’s a culture change. And the best way to change a culture is within the community itself, peer to peer. And one final thought on that is in Texas, there is a motorcycle helmet law. However, if you are 21 or older, you are not required to wear a helmet if you have enough approved medical coverage to cover injuries of a motorcycle crash, or you can prove completion of a motorcycle safety training course.

Allan Rutter: 7:23
So to get back to that collaborative culture, Hong, is that something that you try to do as part of your educational outreach throughout the country?

Hong Zhang: 7:32
Yeah, indeed, it has been. And I’ve been the education director for over 20 years. In this position, I get involved with all these safety-oriented people a lot, and a lot of them assume Snell Foundation’s own mission is head injury prevention through helmet use. So when I go out and sometimes people say, hey, don’t get out there too far, maybe you’ll get egged by those people who are against helmet use. And I said, no, because we always take the position that our role is to encourage the manufacturing of the most protective headgear, create the best helmet out there for people who are inclined to wear them to have the best one on their head. And my job as the education director is to offer them information about how these protective helmets can really change an outcome in the scenario of a crash and let them make their educated decision. Living in California and New York before that, both state have mandatory helmet law, We still see quite a large percentage of the riders choose to use no helmet or non-protective helmet of their choice. We call it bogus helmets or beanie helmets. So we still believe the most effective way for riders to get best protection is to educate them with the facts. And so that even when they choose to buy a protective helmets, there’s still the element of using those protective helmets in the correct fashion. And every time they ride, rather than leaving helmets in a garage, for instance, on a short run- – who said those short runs are safer, right?

Allan Rutter: 9:45
Well, I appreciate being able to learn some inside baseball terminology. I’m going to have to figure out where to use the word beanie helmet somewhere. So let’s talk a little bit more about motorcycles in Texas. According to the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles, about 335,000 motorcycles were registered in Texas in 2021. And that number is about 22 percent lower than motorcycle registrations 10 years before. So we have fewer motorcycles on the road. Cathy, can you share any data on demographics of motorcycle riders in Texas?

Cathy Brooks: 10:20
Sure. According to our 2021 Texas driver licensing data, there’s over a million licensed motorcyclists in the state of Texas. In 2021, about 88 percent were male and 12 percent were female. As far as age goes, our biggest percentage in 2021 was the 51 to 65 year olds; 43 percent of the females fell within that range and 38 percent of the males fell within that age range for that year. And I went back and kind of compared some of our crash data through our crash records information system from Department of Transportation. And in 2021, There were over 7,800 motorcycle-involved crashes, and of those, 6 percent were female riders and 93 percent were male riders.

Allan Rutter: 11:22
So male riders are proportionally more of the motorcycle license holders, and they tend to also be overrepresented in crash statistics.

Cathy Brooks: 11:32
Correct.

Allan Rutter: 11:34
So, Cathy, can you tell our listeners a little bit about licensing of motorcycle operators in Texas? Are they required to have a special motorcycle license? And as an adult, what would I need to do to obtain a motorcycle license?

Cathy Brooks: 11:49
So, yes, a Class M or motorcycle license is required in the state of Texas, and that can be either a standalone Class M license, as a motorcycle only or in combination with any other class, such as the Class C for passenger vehicles or the commercial Class A or B. Without a Class M when you’re riding a motorcycle, you’re unlicensed for that vehicle type. The only way to get the license is by taking the course. So what do you need to do? In Texas, you’re required to take an entry-level rider training course approved by the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation. They have beginner for someone with absolutely no experience, intermediate for those that currently have experience and may have got caught or may not have gotten caught yet, and also three-wheel entry-level or license waiver courses that qualify. So find a course, get a completion certificate, or MSB- 8, contact your local Department of Public Safety licensing office. Take your MSB-8 and anything else they ask you to bring, pay your fee, and you have your Class M license. You’re legal.

Hong Zhang: 13:04
Cathy, earlier you said the Texas law only require people under 21 to wear helmets. Anybody over 21 are waived as long as they have medical insurance or have passed your class. Does that mean that those people who get motorcycling licenses through your class automatically got the permission to ride a motorcycle not only legally, but also without a helmet, even though they are under 21?

Cathy Brooks: 13:41
You bring up a great point because since September 1 of 2009, it has been required to take a motorcycle safety course to get your license in Texas. And at the same time, you can become exempt from wearing a helmet if you are 21 or older and have completed a motorcycle safety course. If you are under 21, even if you have completed a motorcycle safety course and have your Class M license, you still must wear a helmet.

Hong Zhang: 14:12
I see. I see.

Cathy Brooks: 14:15
However, I will say this. In the class, we strongly recommend and show the benefits of wearing a helmet. We highly encourage choosing safety and lowering risk in riding. And we even talk about the different types of motorcycle helmets and which ones can give you more protection versus less. So by taking the course, we’re educating on the importance of wearing one and wearing a good one. It’s worth the investment to protect your head and brain when riding. A helmet is your best protection against serious injury and fatalities on a motorcycle.

Allan Rutter: 15:00
Speaking of license holders, let’s talk a little bit more about motorcycle safety, the title subject of the forum just held in Austin. Cathy, are there more crashes that involve non-license holders than those that have a license?

Cathy Brooks: 15:17
Going back to that data that I looked at to compare our 2021 licensed motorcyclists, of all the crash injury types, 49 percent did not have a class M to almost half; 37 percent did not have a helmet. And again, the men were higher percentages than the women in both of those categories. Although in the no-helmet [category], they were getting kind of close.

Allan Rutter: 15:45
So it would seem to say something about the value of that motorcycle safety training that’s required to have a license that not having one is about half of all crash types.

Cathy Brooks: 15:57
Correct. In 2021, when we had over 7,800 crashes, over 2,500 of those resulted in a serious injury or fatality.

Allan Rutter: 16:11
One of the speakers at the forum had a set of slides about some of that crash data, and they had mentioned that 57 percent of riders in those serious crash types, fatal or serious, did not have a license at the time of the crash. Does that sound about right?

Cathy Brooks: 16:28
So looking just at the 2021 data that I looked up this morning of the suspected serious injury and fatalities, there were 42 percnet that did not have a Class M license just for that year. If you look over the long term from 2016 through 2023, there’s 49 percent that were not licensed, did not have a Class M. There’s another 6 percent that we don’t know what kind of license type they have.

Allan Rutter: 16:56
One of the trends that you noted in your remarks was that while motorcycle registrations might be declining, motorcycle fatalities in Texas have been increasing. Other speakers at the forum noted that this upward trend included both fatalities and serious injuries. Is this Texas trend something you’re seeing in other states with high numbers of motorcyclists like California and Florida? Are fatalities for motorcycles on the rise recently?

Hong Zhang: 17:25
I didn’t compare them for this time period. Texas’ number, the fatality number rising was right after COVID consistently for four years for the data that’s available. For other states, depending on which state you’re comparing to, yes, some are going up, some are holding flat. As far as I know, California seemed like the same trend in Texas. It’s going up.

Allan Rutter: 17:56
So what might some of the factors be that are leading to growing numbers of fatalities among motorcycle riders?

Hong Zhang: 18:05
Ii don’t have data to really talk about specific ones but generally I think the trending up has a lot to do with the number of people in these states. So if [in] Texas, the general population is on the rise too, so the general road traffic condition would be worse just by common sense. And the numbers that Cathy cited, close to half of these fatal accidents involve riders without a license. I would assume that has a lot to do with these fatalities and seriousness of crashes.

Allan Rutter: 18:53
So some of that’s about exposure and some of that’s about training or lack of it.

Hong Zhang: 18:59
Right. I think Cathy’s point earlier is very well taken here. At Snell Foundation, we work with different groups of people and motorcyclists have this tendency of being the risk takers because by common sense, people would know motorcyclists are exposed to higher impact severity, right? But also this group, probably like a lot of other people, just from their own experience, assume motorcyclists especially on short ride, neighborhood ride might be safe compared with, say, GP racing or even auto racing. But the fact is, traffic condition is a lot worse for collision and serious impact for motorcyclists compared with high- speed F1 or NASCAR racing. because people are not thinking about the racing track actually was designed to increase safety. There’s bump protection rules and skilled drivers and the vehicles that’s padded up in every way to increase the level of protection in case of collision. Whereas motorcyclist was open for so many risk factors that are not involved in racing at all.

Allan Rutter: 20:33
So let’s talk a little about something that we’ve mentioned in passing, motorcycle helmet use. And Hong, you were talking about the fact that the Snell Foundation’s job is to make sure that people have choices of the most protective devices possible. But you also noted that nationally over a period from 2014 through 2023, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, motorcycle crash fatalities included about 49 percent with a helmet and 46.5 percent without one. What is your data telling about motorcycle crashes and helmet use in Texas?

Hong Zhang: 21:14
There isn’t a lot of information for Texas, per se, except the data that Cathy already shared, which is about a third of the motorcyclists involved in fatal collisions had no helmet at all. So that is slightly higher than the national data. And also from the national data on helmet use, actually from 2020 and 2021 and up, the survey from NHTSA showed that there’s almost a 9 percent increase of helmet usage, nationwide average. Whereas in Texas, we don’t see that rate of increase among helmet users.

Allan Rutter: 22:06
So let’s talk a little bit about more of some of the data that you shared at the forum that demonstrates the effectiveness of motorcycle helmet use. That’s certainly one of the things to try to help people understand in your work at the Snell Foundation. How effective are helmets in mitigating the safety impacts after a crash?

Hong Zhang: 22:27
In the data collected nationally by NHTSA, motorcycle helmets are effective in preventing 37 percent of fatalities. In other words, if nobody were using helmets at all, nationwide fatalities related to motorcycling is going to increase by 37 percent. And for preventing brain injury, the number is effectiveness at 68 percent. So by that number, this is very beneficial; because you think about the exposure, motorcyclists are– like I mentioned earlier– the environment is very hostile for motorcyclists. And like Cathy just pointed out, [a] helmet is the number one safety device that you can use as a motorcyclist while you are out there, no matter how slow you’re going. Even just standing still [you] hit your head on a concrete floor could be fatal. So imagine the traveling velocity that a moving vehicle is involving your whole body into. So going bareheaded is really, really risky for anybody, no matter how skillful their riding level is.

Allan Rutter: 24:00
Well, it’s certainly one of the reasons why when I’m even biking on my bicycle around our neighborhood or on our trails or on our local streets, I’ve always got a helmet. So you’ve talked a little bit about how the Snell Foundation has been engaged in helmet design or at least helmet certification. Tell us a little more about the origins of the foundation and what you do in setting helmet standards and certifying helmets that meet those standards.

Hong Zhang: 24:26
Snell Memorial Foundation was the name for the Snell Foundation when it was established to memorialize a auto racer. His name is Pete Snell. He died in an auto racing accident hosted by the Sports Car Club of America in 1956. So there was a lot of sadness and memorial funds were raised. And one of the board member for Sports Car Club of America, Dr. George Slively, started this idea of setting up a nonprofit organization with the sole purpose of research on how to set higher performance standard for crash helmet to protect the racers better. A year later, after Pete Snell died, the foundation was set up in San Francisco and the research was done in two years. And for the first standard in 1959, when the Snell standard was published, only two helmets were qualified and recommended to racers. Basically, Dr. George Snively had a very pragmatic approach. As a physician, he understood what [the] human head needs in crash scenarios. Then when all the racing events only allow Snell-certified helmets to participate in these events, all the manufacturers of the helmets at the time start to build better helmets, because otherwise nobody would purchase their helmet. So the foundation’s goal is always to point out to the helmet industry where the bar is in terms of head- injury prevention and helmet testing criteria. And the foundation only qualifies the most protective headgear, and the reputation remains today. People look for the snail name inside a helmet or on the boxes, and they use it as a way to choose the most protective gear. So the NASCAR racers all wear Snell- certified helmets, for instance.

Allan Rutter: 26:57
So it sounds like that research has been leading toward both in terms of the racing helmet and the motorcycle helmet, trying to protect from brain injury in those events of vehicles in motion. I think it can be contrasted with helmet design for football players. That’s more lower impact, repetitive head injuries. These are higher speed, higher impact. And once you’ve been in an accident, don’t you usually recommend somebody to go get a new helmet?

Hong Zhang: 27:27
Yes, definitely. Snell standards are all applying to vehicular activity or high speed, one-time crash scenario. it’s not for sports activities such as baseball, football; and because the material used for the crash helmets has the capability of really managing very high level of impact, the downside is, once it’s used to absorb these high- level impact, they are not useful anymore; they’re only good for one blow. And so that helmet is no longer going to provide any adequate level of protection. So it should be replaced.

Allan Rutter: 28:15
Similarly, something else that our TTI colleagues do a lot is test guardrails. If somebody drives a vehicle into a guardrail, it needs to be replaced because it’s done its job, but it’s not going to be able to do that job again.

Hong Zhang: 28:28
Exactly, because the structure inside the helmet that takes the blow is a foam that does not have memory. Once it’s collapsed in the process of this crash, it won’t bounce back to take another blow. So we say here, use your helmet like a tissue paper– blow it once and throw it away.

Allan Rutter: 28:51
It’s something that’s easy to remember.

Hong Zhang: 28:53
Right.

Allan Rutter: 28:54
Well, I can tell from our conversation today that both of you have plenty of passion for motorcycle safety. What are some of the reasons that motivate you to show up for work every day? Cathy, we’ll start with you.

Cathy Brooks: 29:06
Motorcycling has had a huge impact in my life, both in the positive and the negative. And anything that I can do to help other riders find the joy of riding while considering the risks and choosing to reduce their risks–get trained, get licensed, wear good gear, a good helmet, and make good choices while riding- -it’s worth getting up and reaching out to those folks.

Allan Rutter: 29:35
Hong, how about you?

Hong Zhang: 29:37
Well, my parents were both retired physicians. So when I was going to college, their expectation was I’m going to the medical school. And so when I decided I didn’t want to be a doctor, this is still in my head that my parents wanted me to be in a service of saving people and doing work that’s worthwhile. So I felt very, very rewarding when I work in this field for so many years now, more than 30 years. And I can always proudly tell my parents that I have saved more lives than the two of them combined.

Allan Rutter: 30:22
That’s a great line. I like that a lot. Well, listen, I really appreciate the two of you spending time with us today and helping our listeners understand more about motorcycle riding and how to do so safely. It’s been a real pleasure. I’ve learned a lot and I really appreciate it. Thanks to both of you.

Hong Zhang: 30:40
Thank you for having me. Anybody has questions, always feel free to call me or email me at the Snell Foundation.

Speaker 01: 30:49
Thank you, Allan. It has been a pleasure. I appreciate the invitation.

Allan Rutter: 30:55
Hong and Cathy identified two things motorcycle riders can do to stay safe on Texas roads. First, learn how to ride at a motorcycle safety course so that you can get the Class M license required by law. Second, wear a certified helmet whenever you ride to improve your odds in surviving a crash. In these ways, motorcycle riders can do their part in driving like a Texan, the phrase our TxDOT partners use to encourage us all to drive with kindness and courtesy to make every mile a safe one. Thanks for listening. If you liked what you heard or learned something, please take just a minute to give us a review, subscribe, and share this episode. I invite you to join us next time for another conversation about getting ourselves and the stuff we need from point A to point B. Thinking Transportation is a production of the Texas A&M Transportation Institute, a member of The Texas A&M University System. The show is edited and produced by Chris Pourteau. I’m your host, Allan Rutter. Thanks again for joining us. We’ll see you next time.