Dr. Hugh H. (Harry) Hurt, the driving force behind the ground-breaking Hurt Report, has died at the age of 81. The cause of death is reported to be a heart attack after complications from previous back surgery. An in depth obituary can be read in the LA Times: Harry Hurt dies at 81

Dr. Hurt is best known for his work in the 1981 motorcycle accident report that bears his name. Hurt conducted the accident report in the late seventies for the NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) while a professor at USC. The report studied the cause and aftermath of more than 900 accidents in the Southern California region. A summary list of 55 findings from the Hurt Report confirms a number of conclusions that riders now take for granted.

Perhaps most prominent on the list (number 47) is “the use of the safety helmet is the single critical factor in the prevention or reduction of head injury.” Specifically, the Hurt report confirmed the protective benefits of FMVSS 218 (aka DOT) certified helmets, and full-face helmets in particular. The Hurt report also refuted common beliefs that helmets could limit visual fields or hearing critical traffic sounds.

A comprehensive European crash study conducted from 1999-2000 called MAIDS (Motorcycle Accidents In Depth Study) used much of the same methodology from the Hurt report. Since the Hurt Report there has yet to be a major official crash study compiled in the United States, though there is currently a study being conducted by the Oklahoma Transportation Center at Oklahoma State University.