ILLINOIS:Bikers rule - we're just along for the ride

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http://www.southtownstar.com/news/tridgell/2226918,050310tridgell.article Bikers rule - we're just along for the ride
May 3, 2010
By Guy Tridgell
State c ops, some suits with the Illinois Department of Transportation and various motorcycle enthusiasts gathered at a Harley-Davidson store on Chicago's near North Side last week.
They told somber story after somber story of bikers who needlessly died in avoidable accidents. A chart to the side of the room tracked the grim number of motorcycle fatalities through the years. A yellow banner with the order "Start Seeing Motorcycles!" was strung up in back of the group.
Terry Redman, director of the Illinois Department of Transportation's Division of Traffic Safety, speaks last week at the kickoff to the state's motorcycle safety campaign. (GuyTridgell/SouthtownStar) The event was the start of the $250,000 publicity campaign the state will wage this summer to make sure you are aware of motorcycles on the road.
But ask bikers to do their part by trying to protect themselves as much as possible - well, that's asking too much.
As the weather heats up this spring and more bikes hit the streets, take a good look around. You are in the wild, wild west when it comes to motorcycle safety laws.
Illinois has no helmet provisions whatsoever. None. We are one of just two states that don't, according to the Web site www.bikersrights.com. Iowa is the other. And who wants to be lumped together with Iowa?
With 48 of the 50 states enacting some sort of helmet law, it's not like we're talking about quack science. Federal studies have shown a 40 percent drop in deaths when bikers involved in accidents are wearing helmets.
But Illinois has completely lost its collective mind on this one.
Want to bungee your 4-year-old to the back of your cycle as you cruise down the interstate, the little tyke's exposed head and Elmo T-shirt flapping in the breeze? Go ahead. As ridiculous and wrong as that sounds, it's perfectly legal.
The motorcycle lobbyists who are asking you to look out for their members want it that way.
The state chapter of ABATE - A Brotherhood Aimed Towards Education - claims it has beat back legislation that would have required some kind of helmet law 40 different times.
"The way they word it is they want to make it mandatory for everybody to wear a helmet," Patrick Jones, ABATE's Chicago chapter president said at the gathering last week. "In the United States of America, it's your choice to do what you want to do."
Two of ABATE's prouder accomplishments this legislative session were to successfully lobby against bills aimed at protecting children.
One would have mandated helmets for anyone on a motorcycle younger than 18. The other would have required kids riding their bikes in the street to wear a bicycle helmet.
Jones said his organization was looking out for parents.
"As a parent, don't you think you should be able to regulate what your kids should do instead of the government coming in and saying, 'OK, Mom and Dad, you don't have a choice in what your kid can do?' " Jones said.
I think it's safe to say you can't assume a parent is even halfway competent solely because he is a parent. Kids shouldn't be penalized because of that.
There are laws stating that infants need to be in car seats. You are not allowed to beat them once they are home or feed them beer for breakfast, either. But putting a helmet on a kid plopped on a motorcycle is crossing a line? I don't get it.
As far as the argument that bikers riding solo without a helmet are only potentially hurting themselves, that sounds cool - if everyone lived in a vacuum, with no one's action affecting another.
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety researched accidents involving bikers who weren't wearing helmets.
Half of those injured didn't have health insurance.
So guess who's picking up the tab in those cases?
You and me, the irresponsible car drivers.
We pay in the form of higher insurance premiums and government subsidies to provide medical care.
"To go without a helmet is not just a choice that affects riders," said Russ Rader, the institute's spokesman. "When there is a crash, it hits all of us in our pocketbooks. We all end up paying."
Bikers and their lobbyists should direct their attention to make sure an expansive universal health care system is available nationwide.
They already have proven to be pretty skilled at pushing around politicians at the state level.