photo by flicker user Randy's World (Kinda)

The Centers for Disease Control published a study that concludes helmets on motorcycle operators and passengers save lives.  In other news, the sky is still blue.

The study finds that while motorcycles only accounted for <1% of miles traveled in 2010, deaths of motorcyclists accounted for 14% of all traffic fatalities.  The researchers also looked at the relationship between the number of deaths in states where there are universal helmet laws, partial helmet laws, and no helmet laws.  South Carolina falls into the category of "partial" helmet laws.  Not surprisingly, those states with lesser helmet requirements for motorcycle drivers and passengers had higher fatality rates.

For more information, check out the full CDC report or have a look at a great write-up by WPDE.