SC: Live to ride another day

OFF THE WIRE
http://www.independentmail.com/news/2012/jan/11/live-ride-another-day/
Live to ride another day.....

 The legislative session has barely started and Gov. Nikki Haley is already threatening to veto a measure that would reduce highway deaths: a requirement that motorcyclists in South Carolina wear helmets.
Although our state does require helmets for riders and passengers under 21, 20 other states — including North Carolina and Georgia — require them for all riders. South Carolina should join their ranks.
In an editorial last summer, we agreed with the views of the president of New York’s ABATE chapter, that “a large percentage of motorcycle fatalities are due to inexperience and drivers not seeing motorcyclists when switching lanes and making turns.” It should not have to be endlessly repeated that drivers should be more aware of fellow travelers to ensure we all stay safe. Distractions of all types are needlessly dangerous.
We also support Ed Harmon, assistant director of highway safety for the state Department of Public Safety, in his quest for mandatory training in order to obtain a license to operate a motorcycle.
But bikers and passengers can take a simple step to make the ride a safer one. It shouldn’t take a law; it should be a matter of common sense and a sense of self-preservation.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, motorcycle helmets reduce the likelihood of a crash fatality by 37 percent. Along with the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, NHTSA collected data for 25 years on the use of helmets by motorcyclists and how helmet use correlated with reducing the chance of death to a rider or passenger. Its study found that motorcyclists are more than 30 times more likely to be in an accident than drivers or passengers of a car or truck. It’s just not worth taking the chance.
Yet Haley told a crowd of about 150 bikers Tuesday. “Tell those guys up in the legislature don’t waste your time because the governor is going to veto (a helmet law).” While we would agree that lawmakers must make headway on unfinished business from last year, passing a helmet law should also be on its admittedly full plate. Yes, the General Assembly is concerned about jobs. We are all concerned about jobs. The General Assembly is concerned about the economy. We’re all looking for ways to help improve the economy. And yes, lawmakers have a problem to resolve regarding the state’s pension system and keeping our state’s word to retirees, present and future.
But in addition to jobs and the economy, we’re concerned with saving lives. And the General Assembly should be more concerned about that than the governor’s publicity stunts.
It would be a perfect world if we all did the things that would help keep us safe without the interference of government or a new law.
It isn’t, too many people don’t and lives are being needlessly lost when a helmet could keep operators and passengers safe to ride another day.