No helmet law ahead for Illinois

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http://www.galesburg.com/topstories/x1270144451/No-helmet-law-ahead-for-Illinois
No helmet law ahead for Illinois
Feds encourage states to require motorcycle helmets KEN EXUM/The Register-Mail A Department of Transportation-approved motorcycle helmet sits on display Wednesday afternoon in the showroom at Fremont Tire and Cycle, 1533 E. Fremont St. in Galesburg.
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GALESBURG — While federal safety officials are urging states to adopt laws requiring motorcyclists to wear helmets, Illinois will likely remain one of the few states without regulations at least for the near future.
Currently, Illinois is one of three states, along with Iowa and New Hampshire, with no helmet requirements for its motorcyclists. Twenty states require all motorcycle riders to wear helmets.
Citing a surge in deaths since the late 1990s, the National Transportation Safety Board is trying to push states like Illinois to require all motorcycle riders to wear helmets.
Yet, Illinois lawmakers have balked at the idea as recently as the spring legislation session. A measure requiring teen motorcyclists under the age of 18 to wear helmets was shot down in the Senate. Another bill that would have applied to all motorcyclists didn’t even make it to the Senate floor.
“It kind of comes down to how much of big brother do you want,” said state Rep. Don Moffitt, R-Gilson. “You can’t legislate everything.”
Increase in motorcycle fatalities
Still, national and statewide statistics are grim, as both show an increase in motorcycle fatalities over the last decade.
Last year, 4,400 motorcycle deaths were recorded. From 1997 to 2008, the number of motorcycle fatalities has more than doubled, noted the National Transportation Safety Board.
Statewide, 130 fatal crashes involving motorcycles occurred in 2008. Of those, 75 percent of motorcyclists killed were not wearing a helmet. In addition, the number of fatalities in those crashes were 135, a 31 percent increase from the number of motorcyclists killed in 1999, according to information from the Illinois Department of Transportation.
There is some good news, noted the Motorcycle Riders Foundation, which countered that the number of motorcycle deaths decreased nationally last year by 16 percent. The drop marked the first time in 11 years that fatalities were down.
Law enforcement and shop owners push for helmet laws
While Illinois lawmakers have been reluctant to take action, law enforcement officials contend a motorcycle helmet law would be beneficial for the state.
“We do think it would be a very good tool to make sure people actually wear helmets,” said Trooper Jason Wilson with the Illinois State Police in District 7, which covers Henry, Knox, Mercer and Rock Island counties.
Wilson said a “very large percentage of riders elect not to wear a helmet.” He also noted that many motorcycle accidents aren’t the fault of the cyclist. Instead, the motorcyclist is hit by a careless driver.
Some cycle shop owners also would like to see Illinois require motorcyclists to wear helmets.
“It should be just like seat belts,” said Greg Gustafson, owner of Fremont Tire & Cycle, 1533 E. Fremont St. “We all should be on the same playing field.”
At his shop, Gustafson said a lot of people, particularly scooter drivers, inquire about helmets. The shop sells helmets that are approved by the Illinois Department of Transportation.
Motorcyclists fight back
On the other side of the argument are motorcyclists, many of whom believe a helmet law would infringe on their rights as riders.
A.B.A.T.E. of Illinois, which advocates for motorcyclist rights, believes it should be up the individual to decide if he or she wants to wear a helmet.
“We are simply pro-choice,” said Carleen Grant, public relations coordinator for A.B.A.T.E of Illinois. “We don’t think it should be a state mandate.”
Grant made it clear that the group is “by no means anti-helmet.” Some of its members wear a helmet every day. But the group believes the government would be overstepping its bounds if they required riders to strap on a helmet before they hit the road.
“I’ve never owned a helmet,” said Jim Matthews, a Galesburg resident and motorcycle rider for the last 40 years. “It’s my choice.”
During his time as a rider, Matthews said he tried on a helmet once when someone gave it to him. He complained it obstructed his vision, a sentiment shared by Scott Sornberger, who works public relations with the local A.B.A.T.E. of Illinois chapter.
“It obstructs your vision ... and your hearing,” Sornberger said. “It’s hard to hear emergency vehicles. It muffles the sound.”
The issue has come up over the years in the General Assembly, and it will likely come up in the future. For now, lawmakers seem to side with the motorcyclists who argue against helmet requirements.
“That is the likely scenario, that things will stay the status quo,” Moffitt said.