GODSPEED DOCTOR HARRY HURT (1927-2009): Helmet Safety Pioneer Passes Away, But Saved Many Lives During His Career

On Nov 30, 2009

GODSPEED DOCTOR HARRY HURT (1927-2009):
HELMET SAFETY PIONEER PASSES AWAY, BUT SAVED MANY LIVES DURING HIS CAREER

Harry Hurtÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ L.A. Times/Don Kelsen

According to the Washington Post and Los Angeles Times, Dr. Hugh H. (Harry) Hurt, Jr. died Sunday, November 29, 2009, in the Pomona Valley Hospital from a heart attack following back surgery (caused by an auto accident years ago).

Hurt was the principal investigator of the Hurt Report, an in-depth, on-scene investigation of 900 motorcycle accidents in Los Angeles from 1976 to 1977. Published in 1981, his groundbreaking research continues to form the basis of many of the country’s motorcycle safety programs and is credited with saving countless lives.

Hurt was a professor of safety science at USC’s Traffic Safety Center in the early 1970s, when roughly ten percent of U.S. highway traffic fatalities were because of motorcycle accidents. In 1975, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reached out to Hurt and the university to develop an accident investigation methodology and study that would determine the causes of motorcycle crashes and injuries.Hurt, along with colleagues David Thom and James Ouellet, put together a team of investigators who would dash out to motorcycle accident scenes, day or night, over two years. Crucially, all of the investigators were experienced motorcyclists. The team did an exhausting study of each crash, determining approximately 1,000 data elements. They took photos, examined wreckage, measured skid marks, and interviewed survivors. They even returned to the same site at the same time on the same day of the week, with the same weather conditions, to measure traffic and interview motorcyclists who managed to get through the same situation without having a problem. The team collected data on more than 900 motorcycle accidents, interviewed 2,310 passing motorcyclists, and studied 3,600 police reports from the same area.

Hurt was a lifelong motorcyclist and never had a crash according to his wife Joan. He rode “a garage full of things: Hondas, Triumphs, Nortons, dirt bikes, street bikes — all kinds of stuff,” his son Harry said, including a Suzuki trail bike he used to walk his pet, “Gurl Dawg,” as recently as a decade ago, when he gave up motorcycles because he was no longer physically able to ride.

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Although he is best known for the Hurt Report, his more recent work included a large-scale motorcycle accident causation study in Thailand. Hurt supervised it through his Head Protection Research Laboratory in Paramount, a nonprofit organization he established to evaluate helmets and other forms of head protection equipment after he retired from USC as a professor emeritus.

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.