FL: More talk about reviving helmet law,Recent crashes outline need for helmets

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http://www2.jcfloridan.com/news/2010/oct/12/recent-crashes-outline-need-helmets-ar-953844/ Recent crashes outline need for helmets
Credit: Dothan Eagle
Clint Gentry, right, works with Michael Smith, accessories manager at Dothan Powersports, to pick out a new helmet Tuesday morning at the store.
Related Content Helmet laws by state Twenty states require helmet use for motorcycle riders and passengers; 27 stat ...
Helmet laws by state
Twenty states require helmet use for motorcycle riders and passengers; 27 states require only those under a certain age to wear a helmet. Three states have no laws regarding helmet use.
Alabama – All riders must wear a helmet
Florida – Riders 20 and younger must wear a helmet. Riders 21 and older can ride without a helmet if they can prove they are covered by medical insurance.
Georgia – All riders must wear a helmet
Source: Insurance Institute for Highway Safety
View more By MATT ELOFSON | Media General News Service Published: October 12, 2010 » 0 Comments | Post a Comment vote nowBuzz up!Clint Gentry saved up for several years, and for his 19th birthday he bought a Honda CBR600 motorcycle.
Gentry turned 19 Monday, and his long-awaited birthday wish has nearly come true with the purchase of a motorcycle helmet and jacket on Tuesday at Dothan Powersports. Gentry’s mother, Christine Maddox, who is a Dothan police officer, said he bought the used motorcycle last week, but he had not ridden it before they purchased a helmet and it was legally tagged.
Maddox said her son’s motorcycle came with a helmet, but she wanted him to have a new, unused helmet for the motorcycle.
“If he’s going to own it, he’s going to do it safely,” Maddox said. “He bought the motorcycle, and for his birthday we’re buying him the helmet and jacket.”
Maddox called motorcycle safety, including wearing a helmet, important. Her brother died in a motorcycle accident involving a head injury.
Over the past three days, state troopers have responded to three motorcycle accidents, two of which happened on U.S. Highway 231 South in Alabama and Florida. A third accident, which happened Monday evening in Jackson County, left a Marianna couple seriously injured.
Florida Highway Patrol Sgt. J.D. Johnson said at least three of the four motorcycle riders over the past three days either were not wearing a helmet or were wearing it improperly. Johnson said the crash Monday left James K. Rogers, 61, and his wife, Marilyn H. Rogers, 52, both seriously injured after the motorcycle they were traveling on struck a deer. He said neither was wearing a helmet at the time of the crash. Marilyn Rogers, who was a passenger on a 2008 Harley Davidson motorcycle, was airlifted to Tallahassee Memorial Hospital with head trauma. He said she suffered critical injuries, but they were not life threatening.
“It protects the computer up there, the brain,” Johnson said of helmets. “You really got to drive defensively on a motorcycle to be able to do it safely.”
Johnson said Willie Peach, 67, of Midland City, Ala., remained on life support after he suffered a severe head injury in a motorcycle accident while riding his 2000 Harley Davidson on Sunday evening on U.S. Highway 231 in Jackson County.
“There’s a greater likelihood of surviving a crash while wearing a helmet,” Johnson said. “You take Mr. Peach, if he had a helmet it didn’t do him no good because it likely wasn’t strapped to his head.”
Johnson said Gordon Ward, 50, of Dothan, Ala., who was traveling with Peach, wore his helmet properly. He was injured in the crash. But Johnson said he was not ejected from his motorcycle like Peach.
Johnson said motorcyclists are not required to wear a helmet in the state of Florida if they’re 21 and older.
In Alabama, Trooper Kevin Cook said he has seen a growing trend of motorcycle riders who fail to wear a helmet as required in the state.
Cook encouraged motorcyclists to wear Department of Transportation approved helmets while riding their motorcycles.
“I’ve stopped people on 231 South, and I’ve written them a ticket for not wearing a helmet. They still think it’s the same as Florida,” Cook said. “They’re forgetting, or they’re not familiar when they cross over into Alabama about the helmet laws.”
Cook said some motorcyclists wear what he referred to as novelty helmets. But those helmets are not DOT approved and are illegal in Alabama. Houston County Circuit Clerk Carla Woodall said the helmet violation could cost the motorcyclist as much as $200 in court.
Michael Smith, the accessories manager at Dothan Powersports, said a DOT approved helmet can cost anywhere from about $90 to $700. He said they do not sell novelty helmets.
“I would say 95 percent of the people buy a helmet when they purchase a motorcycle,” Smith said. “There’s no amount of money that tops the safety for your head.”