Optional Helmet Law Is a Disaster for Pennsylvania Essays

Background and Audience Relevance: According to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, in 2015, about thirty-five hundred people were killed, and four hundred thousand were injured in car crashes.

In 1967, the Highway Safety act created a federal highway safety grant program. Prior to this act, no state in the U.S. had a motorcycle helmet law. In order for states to receive federal funds, they were required to have a highway safety program in place. If a state did not enact a universal motorcycle helmet law, portions of these federal funds could be withheld. By

The governor of Michigan just signed a law that overturned the state’s long-standing helmet requirement for motorcyclists. Senate Bill 291 overturned the 35 year old safety requirement that was created to protect motorcycle riders from traumatic brain injuries and fatalities in the event of a crash. This decision has sparked national controversy and debates about the costly affects that the repeal will have on the lives of motorists in the state.

By 1975, 47 states and the District of Columbia had adopted universal helmet laws. This trend reversed dramatically in the latter half of 1975 when Congress acquiesced to the pressure exerted by groups such as ABATE, and amended the Act to remove the contingency of federal highway funds on universal helmet laws. The amendment led to the repeal of universal coverage in 27 states shortly thereafter (Derrick, Allison J., and Lee D. Faucher 229).

In 1995 the government withdrew highway funding due to the fact that people who drive motorcycles were not required by law to wear helmets while driving this was established and then reinstalled in 1991. President Clinton then passed a law that eliminated the speed limit and the helmet law now still three states have no rules against wearing helmets.

In a research report done by Mayrose about the effects of a mandatory motorcycle helmet law on helmet use, he compared the effects of motorcycle fatalities and injury patterns based on helmet usage. Mayrose found that "[the] District of Columbia, which currently has a primary helmet law, 84.0% of fatally injured riders were wearing a helmet" (Mayrose 429). However, helmet use continued to decrease as the laws became laxer across the states. Helmet usage in states with secondary laws decreased to 32.6%, and in states with no helmet laws usage dropped to 17.5%. These statistics are important

Adopting and implementing a universal helmet law for the State of Arizona is associated with a variety of costs as well as benefits. The most obvious benefit is the amount of lives that could potentially be saved by a universal helmet law. Studies and research have consistently proven that wearing a helmet while operating a motorcycle greatly decreases the prevalence of injuries and fatalities associated with motorcycle accidents. There is no price that can be put on a human life. In my opinion, if a universal helmet law can save even one life then it is worth whatever the monetary cost necessary to implement it.

When most people think about traffic accidents, they think about collisions between motor vehicles. However, it is estimated that a pedestrian dies every two hours in the United States in a crash related accident. During 2013, 150,000 pedestrians were treated for injuries resulting from traffic crashes and 4,735 pedestrians lost their lives in traffic accidents. In fact, pedestrians are about one and half times more likely to be killed in a traffic accident compared to the occupants of passenger vehicles.

Under most circumstances, I'd argue that the government, whether at the state or federal level, should not have the right to govern the "moral" conduct of it's citizens. However, I am a strong believer that the state should have the right to tell motorcyclists that they must wear a helmet when riding. It has been statistically proven that motorcyclists experience much greater injuries (due to direct physical exposure) when they are in an accident than do individuals involved in automobile accidents. When a motorcyclist is in an accident, it is highly likely that they will experience severe head trauma, causing for a very long recovery period, which is tremendously expensive. Regardless of the fact that a motorcyclist may have insurance, it

Not all states require you to get motorcycle insurance, even though it is highly recommended to provide protection in case of an accident. Florida has exemptions if you have a good driving record, but mandates that you use a helmet if you don’t have $10,000 in coverage. Montana has exemptions for motorcycles,

The compulsory wearing of helmets does reduce the number of fatalities associated with motor cycling and pedal cycling accidents. Data from a variety of studies overwhelmingly supports this fact. When discussing motorcycle helmets, there is a 40% prevention of fatal and 13% prevention of nonfatal serious injuries associated with their use, according to Adam, et al. (1453). After Florida repealed its mandatory helmet law in favor of one that allowed helmets for those over 21 with $10,000 in insurance to be optional, motorcycle fatalities increased across the state (Hooten and Murad, 1329). According to Boone, et al., the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) estimated that the use of helmets prevented 1,630 deaths in 2013 and could have prevented 715 more if all motorcyclists wore helmets (3). In a study of almost 17,000 patients admitted to the hospital for motorcycle crashes, 37% of the riders were not wearing helmets. These 37% accounted for 69% of the deaths among these patients (Dua, et al. 1184).

According to the Kansas Department of transportation, there were, 1,087 motorcycle crashes in 2016. Of those, 860 people involved in the crashes were injured, 52 people died; while only 21 of those people were wearing helmets (Kansas Department of Transportation). There are only 17 states in the United States that require helmets be used always, 19 states say that you must wear a helmet if you are under the age of 18, while 11 states say you must wear a helmet if you are under the age of 21, leaving only four states that have no helmet laws at all (Motorcycle Helmet Laws)

Helmets are not the universal remedy many claim them to be. Training riders and educating the motoring public to share the road while being aware of motorcycles are among the most effective ways to prevent accidents, injuries and deaths.

Legal factors: Legislation enforces all the motorcycle riders to wear a helmet when on a motorcycle and if found without one, fines are applied. Financial incentives for the states were repealed by the Congress wherever universal helmet laws were not enforced. Licensing of motorcycles is required to be done again in the city even if it had been done once in the suburbs. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is responsible for regulation of automobile and motorcycle emissions.

People ride bikes for various reasons. Some people ride bikes for fitness purposes, some ride bikes to get from place to place, and some ride bikes to clear their mind after having a long day. Whether you ride for fun or for sport it is important to know the factors that go into bicycle and helmet safety. A study in 2014 shows that 103.7 million people rode a bike that year and 34 percent of Americans age three or older rode a bike at least once in that year (“Study: 103.7 Million Americans Ride Bikes”). The importance of bicycle safety cannot be underestimated. According to the 2008 Alabama Traffic Crash Facts, there were 182 bicycle crash injuries and four fatalities. In 2008, children 14 and under accounted for 27% of the bicycle crash injuries. Bicycle helmets are 85% - 88% effective in preventing head and brain injuries; however, only 20% - 25% of all bicyclists wear bicycle helmets (“Bicycle Safety”). One of the first factors that go into bicycle and helmet safety is learning how to ride a bike. Many people learn how to ride a bike when they are four or five years old and some do not learn until they are older (Donaldson). Learning how to ride a bike is the first and most important step because without knowing how to ride a bike you will not know what type of bike you will need.