The Helmet Law And Public Health Implications Of The Bill

Helmets are not always safe to wear while driving. It can be a distraction to others and it can cause a collision. For example, Football players wear helmets

Football is one of the most sports that involve interaction with other players, such as the opposing team. The interactions can lead up to very dangerous injuries. Especially injuries leading to concussions. Researchers are working to prevent concussions and minimize the rate of head injuries created by direct impact lead by injuries from football.

Have you ever had a concussion. Were you wearing a helmet. Well even though helmets cannot prevent every concussion but they definitely lower the number of concussions every year. Helmets save lives said Dr. Nav Persaud a doctor at a family center in toronto. There are about 70 cycling deaths per year with helmets we could lower that by 28.5 %every year. In some places around the world it is illegal to not wear a helmet if you are below the age of 18 which proves that helmets can prove concussions.

The problem with helmet-to-helmet hits is that it is too dangerous for the player being hit and the player doing the hitting. “You could have a helmet with 6 inches thick of padding and it will not change a thing”(Essay about). Because of the speed and force of the impact it takes to tackle someone, it can still be life threatening. So there’s really no way to make a helmet-to-helmet hit safe.

Helmet laws throughout the U.S. have always created a great deal of controversy. Currently there are two types of helmet laws in the United States; a universal helmet law, which requires all motorcyclists to wear a helmet and partial helmet law that has age requirements. The helmet debate has been a long battle between free-rights organizations and government officials.

Tai and Miltenberger (2017) studied the effects of behavioral skills training (BST) on tackling safety with 10 to 11-year-old football players. This research is important to look at, because there has been a growing rate in the amount of injuries in football in the past few years which usually links back to poor tackling form. This tackling forms consists of the player leading with their head, which can cause injury to them and to the other player if their heads collide. Also, most research has been done on high school aged kids, so they chose to see the effects on a younger group of kids. They specifically chose to use BST because this approach had been used to train children in many areas of safety such as fire safety, abduction prevention, firearm safety, and school

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.

The great American football is full of exciting competition, but do we realize the danger! Helmet safety in football remains an immense problem as the sport accounts for the highest incidence of concussions. Since leather football helmets, the technology for safer football helmets has improved drastically and continue to improve. The development of newly designed helmets and technology has lowered the risk of head injuries for players. Furthermore, improvements in helmet testing methods have led to better understand head injuries and the protectiveness of the helmet. However, football helmet safety still remains a challenge, such as a necessity of a proper categorization system to rank helmets and

Over one hundred years removed from this decision, this case is still discussed and analyzed in scholarly works, indicating the sustained relevance of the tensions and conflicts. The U.S. Supreme Court cited this case 69 times through 2004 (5). In addition to granting compulsory vaccination at the state level, Jacobson v. Massachusetts has been used to justify public health initiatives ranging from quarantine of diseased individuals to mandatory motorcycle helmet laws (6). Despite establishing a legal precedent for mandatory vaccinations, resistance to government required vaccination persists, often from ideological, cultural, or religious beliefs, and many states have amended the vaccination laws to allow for exemptions (6). It is therefore important for public health to recognize its powers are not only a legal action, but also a moral obligation to consider individual preferences.

Across the United States, every year millions of license drivers choose to ride motorcycles rather than drive automobiles for a variety of reasons; Reasons range from individual pleasure to a much more cost effective way to travel. The universal motorcycle helmet law debate over the past forty years has revolved around whether the federal government should adopt a universal helmet law that mandates all motorcyclists to wear helmets at all times when riding to reduce societies economic cost, or whether the individual rider should have the right to choose rather to wear or not wear a helmet.

1. September 4, 2003 was a sad day for Pennsylvanians. Governor Rendell signed the new motorcycle helmet law into effect, sentencing riders to death and increasing the tax burden caused by this new law. Pennsylvania is the 31st state to repeal its all-rider helmet law (Berenson 2). The new law states “no helmet is required for a person 21 years of age or older who has been licensed to operate a motorcycle for not less than 2 full calender [sic] years or has completed a motorcycle rider safety course approved by the Department of Transportation or the Motorcycle Safety Foundation” (Lobel 3). This new helmet law has increased accident fatalities and the burden on taxpayers.

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.

June is a special month for my family for two reasons: (1) It is the month my oldest brother was born and (2) it is the month he almost died. Early June, after a morning of fun my brother, his fiancée, and a friend were on the road headed to my father’s house. All seemed well—they were alive, they were young, they were happy—what could go wrong? While driving down a country road, Edward, my brother, miscalculated the turn, and at that moment three lives were at stake. An overturned car, broken bodies and glass, and a great deal of blood was the scene as help finally arrived. Thankfully they walked away from the accident—hurt, but alive. However, not everyone can say the same as they can. For this reason, the change and enforcement of new and old laws is vital to making our roads and highways better and safer. Strictly enforcing laws already in place, redesigning highways, and enacting laws to enforce hands-free policies are just a few ways in which this goal can be accomplished.

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.