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Friday, January 7, 2011

BRINGING BACK PA. HELMET LAW:

OFF THE WIRE
http://www.blogger.com/goog_894993114


Editorials from around Pennsylvania - The Associated Press January 6, 2011

BRINGING BACK PA. HELMET LAW:

A recent recommendation by the National Transportation Safety Board that states require all motorcycle riders to wear helmets is sure to rekindle the debate in helmetless Pennsylvania.
Motorcycle safety, including the required use of government-approved helmets, was added to the board's "Most Wanted List of Transportation Safety," a federal government initiative aimed at the states.
Other items on the list include eliminating distractions for young drivers, improving child-occupant protection, enacting primary seat belt enforcement laws (now a secondary offense in Pennsylvania) and tackling hard core drinking and driving.
Of all the items, the helmet requirement is likely to unleash the most passions of the many die-hard motorcycle riders in Pennsylvania who have spurned helmet use since the helmet law's repeal in 2003.
The repeal came after 35 years, which were punctuated by annual pilgrimages by anti-helmet advocates who mounted their cycles and converged on the state capitol, where they lobbied legislators for repeal of the measure.
Opponents of the law claim helmets obstruct vision and hearing and increase the odds of spinal cord damage. Most of all, they say the helmet requirement violates freedom of choice and individual rights.
As it stands now, Pennsylvania allows motorcycle riders 21 or older to go helmetless, if they have been licensed to operate a cycle for at least two years or have completed a motorcycle safety course.
That could change, if helmet-law supporters are successful in getting the Legislature to restore the requirement. A bill toward that end is expected to be introduced in the upcoming legislative session.
The law's proponents point to statistics from the NTSB, which says motorcycle fatalities more than doubled during a period when overall highway fatalities declined (1997-2008).
The NTSB also says helmets not only save lives, they save money. Some $13 billion was saved from 1984 to 1999 because of motorcycle-helmet use, according to the board.
These statistics, while alarming, nonetheless do not provide a complete picture of the issue.
What was the role of automobiles in the cycle accidents cited by the NTSB? Cyclists aren't always angels on the roadways, but neither are drivers of four-wheel vehicles, who fail to yield the right of way or commit some other violation that leads to a collision.
What about the so-called distracted drivers? How many cyclists have you seen on cell phones or texting? Not many, we'd say. But cell-phone use - abuse, really - is blamed for a number of traffic accidents involving automobiles.
Mandatory helmet laws do nothing to prevent accidents, and they may even cause them in some cases.
Comprehensive motorcycle-rider education and improved licensing and testing would do more to keep a cycle rider safe than any protective gear, including a helmet.
That's not bad advice for drivers of four-wheel vehicles, either.
Like previous studies, the NTSB neglects to admit a salient fact: A majority of riders already choose to wear helmets, even among those who were involved in crashes.
Also, while one head injury is too many, head injuries make up less than 0.001 percent of U.S. health care costs.
The bottom line is this: Motorcycle-helmet use should be encouraged, not required. Adults are capable of making personal-safety decisions on their own.
-Intelligencer Journal/Lancaster New Era