List date(s) this work was published or aired.
June 7, 2012 (FairWarning’s publication date. Some of FairWarning’s clients published later.)
Provide a brief synopsis of the story or stories, including any significant findings.
Motorcycle accidents, year after year, claim more lives. Even though road fatalities overall have fallen to historic lows, deaths from motorcycle crashes have more than doubled in the last 15 years. Nevertheless, biker groups — contending that helmet laws curtail personal freedom — have succeeded in thwarting such requirements and other safety regulation. The biker groups’ resistance to helmet requirements has come at the federal level and in state after state despite a scientific consensus that mandatory helmet laws are the closest thing to a silver bullet that regulators have to thwart deadly accidents. We focused on the political power of the motorcycle rider lobby — in Congress and in state legislatures — in blocking, repealing or narrowing requirements for riders to wear helmets. Federal officials estimate that helmets saved 1,483 lives in 2009, and that another 732 deaths could have been avoided if all riders had worn them. The social costs of the lack of laws or regulations also are huge: a 2008 federal estimate concluded that $1.3 billion in medical bills and lost productivity would have been saved if all bikers had worn helmets.
Explain types of documents, data or Internet resources used. Were FOI or public records act requests required? How did this affect the work?
Transcripts from congressional hearings; court documents; internal correspondence between federal regulators and motorcycle groups; campaign contribution and lobbying disclosures; government fatality data; archival Internet documents and videos.
Explain types of human sources used.
Motorcycle safety experts, inside and outside of government; motorcycle groups and activists; motorcycle industry representatives; state and federal lawmakers; trauma surgeons and public health experts.
Results:
The story rekindled public debate about motorcycle safety and helmets. The article was re-published widely, by organizations ranging from Mother Jones to The Philadelphia Inquirer to the Industrial Safety & Hygiene News. It was also featured on a number of TV and radio stations; PBS NewsHour did a segment featuring the author of our article, Rick Schmitt. More than 800 reader comments about the story were posted on news websites, although many of those comments may have been generated by an effort by a rider group, the Motorcycle Riders Foundation, to discredit the story. The story also was noted by USA Today and NBCNews.com bloggers.
Follow-up (if any). Have you run a correction or clarification on the report or has anyone come forward to challenge its accuracy? If so, please explain.
No corrections or clarifications. Motorcycle rider groups organized an effort to discredit the story. A vice president of the Motorcycle Riders Foundation issued a news release encouraging its followers to flood news websites that carried the story with comments — or, as the news release put it, to “comment bomb this story like no other.” The main argument made by the group was that the growing number of deaths simply reflects the fact that more people are riding motorcycles (The story, in fact, noted that more riders are on the road.). The Motorcycle Riders Foundation’s argument ignores the fact that traffic deaths overall in 2011 hit their lowest point since 1949, despite a huge increase in the number of cars on the road. Motorcyclists have missed out on that safety dramatic improvement.
Advice to other journalists planning a similar story or project.
This was an issue that had fallen off the radar screen among journalists. Our reporting revealed the importance of assessing statistics to identify trends that have life-and-death consequences. It also revealed the challenges of reporting on a passionate, well-organized lobby that didn’t want to have a spotlight put on its efforts.