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Harry Hurt, Author of Benchmark
Motorcycle Study, 1927-2009
December 3, 2009 - The
American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) offered its most
sincere condolences to the family, friends and
co-workers of Hugh H. "Harry" Hurt, who died of a heart
attack on Nov. 29. He was 81.
Professor Hurt was an award-winning author best known
in the motorcycling community for conducting a benchmark
motorcycle safety research study in 1981 entitled
"Volume I: Technical Report, Motorcycle Accident Cause
Factors and Identification of Countermeasures, January,
1981 - Final Report."
Commonly referred to as the "Hurt
Report", the study was widely viewed to be the most
comprehensive motorcycle safety study of the 20th
century.
In addition to that groundbreaking study, Hurt was
the author of dozens of publications in the fields of
motorcycle handling, safety, crash analysis, and helmet
performance. It was on this basis that Hurt was
inducted into the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 2007.
"Harry Hurt was an icon in the motorcycling
community, and there's no doubt that his research
prevented many motorcycle crashes and saved many lives,"
said Rob Dingman, AMA president and CEO.
"On a personal level, he was such a good friend to so
many people. He will be missed greatly, and yet his
legacy will live on and inspire all of us to achieve
excellence."
Hurt was a lifelong motorcyclist. Born in 1927, he
grew up and began riding as a kid in west Texas.
His first motorcycle was a worn-out Cushman scooter that
he brought back to life.
Hurt graduated from Texas A&M University in 1950, and
became a Navy pilot during the Korean War. After
the war, Hurt loaded up his 1947 Harley-Davidson 61 and
headed west for California. He completed a
master's degree in aeronautical engineering at the
University of Southern California (USC), and soon after
he joined the faculty at USC.
The 1970s motorcycle boom led to an increase in
crashes, and the National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration issued a contract to study motorcycle
accidents. The USC Traffic Safety Center got the
job, and Hurt was the professor responsible for carrying
out the study.
The study's objectives were to determine the causes
of motorcycle crashes, analyze the effectiveness of
protective gear, such as safety helmets, and then
determine what countermeasures might help prevent
crashes or reduce injuries.
Hurt's investigative team, all of whom were
experienced motorcyclists, went to motorcycle accident
scenes, day or night, for over two years. The team
collected exhaustive data on more than 900 motorcycle
accidents, and interviewed 2,310 passing motorcyclists
and studied 3,600 police reports from the same area.
Numerous recommendations flowed from the study regarding
protective apparel, riding practices and rider training.
Hurt summed up his advice about motorcycle safety in
one sentence: "There is no magic bullet other than
getting smart."
That perspective led the motorcycling community to
focus on the creation of research-based rider training
and licensing standards, and making them available in
every state. As a result, hundreds of thousands of
riders have since benefited directly from Hurt's
pioneering work.
"The most satisfying experience for any research
scientist is to see public acceptance and wide
application of their research results," said Hurt in a
2007 interview with the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame.
"We were thrilled that the public and industry so widely
accepted and used the 1981 report."
In the same interview, Hurt looked forward to new
research that would update the results of his own study.
"As the years passed by without further studies to
update the 1981 findings, we were proud that our
research was so durable, but it was apparent that
current information was needed and the 1981 research was
being stretched to the point of desperation," Hurt said.
" What are the effects of many years' changes in
motorcycle riders, motorcycle design, training and
licensing, law enforcement, etc.?"
Hurt received numerous awards for his studies of
motorcycle safety. In 1977, the Society of
Automotive Engineers cited Hurt with the Outstanding
Presentation Award for his "Human Factors in Motorcycle
Accidents, 1977."
In 1989, he was given the Key Award from the
Motorcycle Industry Council. He was named
Motorcyclist of the Decade by Motorcyclist magazine in
1989 and in 1997 he was presented with the Chairpersons
Award from the National Association of State Motorcycle
Safety Administrators.
Hurt is survived by his wife Joan; sons Harry and
John; three daughters, Julie, Vivien and Vera; and 10
grandchildren.
A remembrance will be held in January 2010 in Hurt's
honor at the Head Protection Research Laboratory that he
created in Paramount, Calif.
NHTSA Requests Feedback on Amber Turn Signals
May 15, 2009 - The U.S. National Highway
Traffic Safety Administration is
requesting feedback on it's report, "The Effectiveness of Amber Rear
Turn Signals for Reducing Rear Impacts".
NHTSA is requesting comments regarding the effectiveness of amber
rear turn signals for reducing rear impacts.
Note
that this report does not specifically mention
motorcycles, but the visibility of vehicle
turn signals affects all road users, including
motorcyclists.
The U.S. Federal Motor Vehicle Safety
Standard (FMVSS) 108 currently allows either red or
amber rear turn signals. The purpose of the new
report is to determine whether color has a significant
impact on the likelihood of rear-end crashes.
NHTSA’s conclusion was that amber turn
signals are 5.3% more effective than red turn signals at
preventing involvement in two-car crashes where a lead
vehicle is rear-struck in the act of turning left or
right, merging into traffic, changing lanes or
entering or leaving a parking space.
One quote from the report says that "Two
analyses of crash data report that amber turn signals
are approximately 20 percent more effective than red
turn signals at preventing vehicles from being
rear-ended while performing a maneuver that typically
involves signaling. One study did not find a
statistically significant difference between red and
amber turn signals. There has been no research presented
that is in favor of rear turn signals being red."
The study was designed around passenger
vehicles that had switched rear turn signal color.
The report is available here in .pdf format.
Comments must be submitted by September 6, 2009.
The request for comments was published in the May 11,
2009 Federal Register,
Vol. 74, No. 89, pages
21850-21851.
To submit comments, identified by Docket
Number NHTSA-2009-0095, visit the
Federal Rulemaking
Portal and follow the online instructions for
submitting comments.
Our feeling on this has been stated
before: "One light, one function". In other words,
signal and brake light functions should not be combined.
So a brake light should not also function as a turn
signal, and this goes for color also.
We support amber-colored lights for turn
signals; this would mean, for example, that a vehicle
that is stopped with the brake lights on making a turn
will have a separate amber turn signal that is blinking.
The difference in colors makes the intent of the vehicle
much more readily apparent and increases safety for all
other road users.
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New Study Shows
Motorcycle Helmet Law Repeal Caused Fatalities
June 25, 2008 - Two University of Pittsburgh
researchers have published a new study in the most
recent edition of the American Journal of Public Health.
It is entitled “Changes
in Motorcycle-Related Head Injury Deaths,
Hospitalizations, and Hospital Charges Following Repeal
of Pennsylvania’s Mandatory Motorcycle Helmet Law,”
and it is available for a small fee from the American
Journal of Public Health.
The researchers are Kristen J. Mertz of the
University of Pittsburgh, Graduate School of Public
Health and Harold B. Weiss, University of Pittsburgh,
Center for Injury Research and Control.
The study found that after the 2003 repeal of
Pennsylvania’s motorcycle helmet law, helmet use by
riders involved in reportable crashes decreased from 82
percent in 2001–2002 to 58 percent after the repeal
(2004–2005).
Motorcycle-related head injury deaths increased 66
percent, whereas non-head injury deaths increased 25
percent. In addition, motorcycle head injury
hospitalizations increased 78 percent compared with 28
percent for non-head injury hospitalizations.
These data were obtained from Pennsylvania’s
Departments of Health and Transportation. Researchers
suggest that the repeal was most likely responsible for
the relatively large increase in head injuries and that
this study is significant for two main reasons.
First, it used population-based hospital discharge
data compiled from all acute care hospitals in the
state, whereas the majority of previous studies of
post-repeal changes in motorcycle-related
hospitalizations include data only from selected trauma
centers. Second, the researchers attempted to
control for non-helmet factors by comparing changes in
head injuries to non-head injuries.
“Data alone, however, are not sufficient to reverse
helmet law repeal; many states maintain repeals despite
multiple studies showing increases in deaths, injuries
and costs. Until life-saving mandatory helmet
policies are reinstated, voluntary helmet use programs
should be developed and evaluated,” the study’s authors
recommended.
Abstract: "To evaluate the 2003 repeal of
Pennsylvania’s motorcycle helmet law, we assessed
changes in helmet use and compared motorcycle-related
head injuries with non-head injuries from 2001–2002 to
2004–2005.
Helmet use among riders in crashes decreased from 82%
to 58%. Head injury deaths increased 66%; non-head
injury deaths increased 25%.
Motorcycle-related head injury hospitalizations
increased 78% compared with 28% for non-head injury
hospitalizations. Helmet law repeals jeopardize
motorcycle riders. Until repeals are reversed,
states need voluntary strategies to increase helmet
use."
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