TENNESSEE - Vanderbilt doctors say repeal of Tennessee’s motorcycle helmet law is a bad idea

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http://www.healthcanal.com/public-health-safety/26720-Vanderbilt-doctors-say-repeal-Tennessees-motorcycle-helmet-law-bad-idea.html
Vanderbilt doctors say repeal of Tennessee’s motorcycle helmet law is a bad idea

16/02/2012 19:26:00 Font size: by Jeremy Rush - Tennessee’s Legislature is again considering a repeal of the state’s mandatory motorcycle helmet law.
The bill, which is scheduled to be heard by the House Transportation General Subcommittee early next week, would allow individuals over 21 to ride motorcycles without a helmet.
Vanderbilt physicians strongly oppose a repeal of Tennessee’s mandatory motorcycle helmet law.
Physicians and staff of Vanderbilt University Medical Center strongly oppose a repeal of the law, claiming motorcycle helmets save lives and reduce health care costs.
Already, convincing accident and injury data exists from states that repealed longstanding motorcycle helmet laws, proving serious injuries increase while costs for treating accident victims—both in the acute health care setting and long-term through rehabilitation and permanent disability –will also rise.
Since other states began repealing helmet laws in 1997, motorcycle-related deaths have steadily increased each year. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 5,290 motorcycle-related deaths in 2008, and estimates that motorcycle injuries and deaths average nearly $12 billion a year in medical care costs and productivity losses.
Richard Miller, M.D., chief of the Division of Trauma and Critical Care, says he treats serious motorcycle injuries each week in VUMC’s Trauma Unit. The Trauma Service admits more than 100 cases a year.
“Similar to seatbelts, helmets reduce the chances of serious head injuries,” Miller said. “Deep brain injuries from motorcycle accidents often result in long-term disabilities for these patients, and their ability to return to a productive lifestyle goes down significantly.”
Miller said motorcycle helmet safety has become a societal issue, since medical institutions and taxpayers are often charged with the residual expenses. It’s estimated that Tennessee’s Level 1 trauma centers provide about $5 million of health care each year to brain-injured motorcyclists.
VUMC researchers estimate a repeal of this law will result in a minimum 30 percent increase in health care costs, or another $1.3 million per year for these patients to be treated by the state’s Level 1 trauma centers. This figure does not include other substantial costs for this patient population, such as associated hospital charges from community hospitals, rehabilitation care, in some instances long-term (nursing home) care, and loss of income to the patient and family during recovery.
Since 1997, many of the states that once repealed their motorcycle helmet laws have reinstated the requirement..

http://www.jacksonsun.com/article/20120215/OPINION/302150020/Our-Opinion-Requiring-motorcycle-helmets-saves-lives?odyssey=mod%7Cnewswell%7Ctext%7CFRONTPAGE%7Cp

Our Opinion: Requiring motorcycle helmets saves lives 
The state legislature should reject a bill that would allow people 21 and older to ride a motorcycle without a helmet.
We are generally cautious any time the government wants to dictate what people should do in their private lives and often believe the government should simply keep out. But, in this case, the state’s law that requires helmet use makes sense. We understand the attraction for some of being able to cruise down the road, unencumbered by a helmet. But this is much more than an issue of personal choice and freedom. It is a matter of life and death. It is a matter of money poured into medical care for those who suffer head injuries. It is a matter of trauma, not just for motorcycle riders involved in accidents, but for the police, emergency medical technicians and hospital employees who will be involved after a crash. A number of organizations have said they oppose the bill (HB2661), including the American Automobile Association, the Tennessee Association of Chiefs of Police, and several medical associations. AAA notes that studies of states that have weakened their helmet laws show increases in both human and financial costs. A study published in the American Journal of Public Health in 2008 showed a 66 percent increase in deaths due to head injuries and a 25 percent increase in non-head-injury deaths in Pennsylvania after that state changed its law, according to AAA. The number of people hospitalized for head injuries as a result of motorcycle crashes increased 78 percent, and admissions for other injuries increased 28 percent, according to the study. AAA says a statistically representative survey it conducted in 2011 showed that 92 percent of Tennessee voters want the state’s helmet law kept unchanged. A study by the National Center for Statistics and Analysis of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reviewed motorcycle wrecks from 2003. It found that 3,661 people died in motorcycle accidents that year and estimated that an additional 1,158 people would have died if they were not wearing helmets. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that more than 147,000 lives were saved by seat belts from 1975 through 2001. While putting on a seat belt may be annoying, there is no doubt that it can save your life. We should treat motorcycle helmets no differently.