TX Helmet debate starts up again

OFF THE WIRE
http://www.amarillo.com/stories/061010/new_motorcycle.shtml Helmet debate reignites Injured cyclist a firm believer in head gear
Michael Norris Michael Norris / Amarillo Globe-News Aaron Carter was involved in a motorcycle accident on May 6th and spent 14 days in the hospital 8 of which were in the ICU Wednesday, June 02, 2010. Aaron sets is next to the motorcycle he was riding on the day of his accident.
ARTICLE TOOLS: Email Article | Print-Friendly Format SHARE THIS STORY: 0diggsdiggThere's a gap in 18-year-old Aaron Carter's memory of the day his motorcycle collided with a car near Georgia Street. "I don't remember the ride. I don't remember pulling the bike out of the garage. I don't remember anything," Carter said.
Carter was seriously injured in a south Amarillo traffic accident when he laid down his motorcycle to avoid a collision with a car that pulled out in front of him, and he was wedged under the car.
Sgt. Steve Davis, four firefighters and two off-duty police officers lifted the car off Carter.
"There was no movement from him at all. How he survived that one, I'll never know," Davis said. "It had to be the full-face helmet."
Last year, a new state law went into effect mandating that riders seeking their first motorcycle operator's license take a safety course. But recent fatalities in and near Amarillo have reignited the debate over whether more safety measures should be required for motorcycles, and whether helmets should be mandatory in Texas.
Texas motorcycle riders are required to wear a helmet until they turn 21 years old. They can then ride without a helmet if they carry proof that they have hospitalization insurance.
Cody Moulton, an Amarillo motorcycle enthusiast and member of the Texas Motorcycle Rights Association, an organization that lobbies in Austin on behalf of motorcyclists, said the key to rider safety is educating drivers and riders, not mandating helmet use.
"Every summer somebody wants to start up the whole argument again. But there are so many different reasons people get hurt on motorcycles," Moulton said.
In other countries, people are more aware of motorcycles on roads because bikes are the most popular and cheapest forms of transportation, Moulton said. But cars are king in the United States, and drivers are less aware of their two-wheeled counterparts on the roads, he said. TMRA has been successful in getting Texas to enact safety programs aimed at making drivers more aware of motorcycles, Moulton said.
But responsibility for motorcycle safety lies chiefly in the hands of the riders, he added.
"That guy should be aware of everything around him. The one thing that will save your life is to remember that as soon as you throw your leg over a motorcycle, you're invisible," Moulton said.
Because he's only 18, Carter is required to wear a helmet, but he said that he would wear one even if he didn't have to.
"I won't ride without a helmet," Carter said. "The doctors told me if I'd had on a cheap helmet, I wouldn't have lived."
Police said there have been two fatalities from motorcycle accidents in Amarillo in 2010. Over the past 10 years, the city has averaged five deaths from motorcycle accidents each year. In 2006, there were nine motorcycle-involved fatalities. In 2001, there were seven.
Preliminary numbers for 2009 indicate there were 414 motorcycle fatalities statewide, according to the Texas Department of Transportation. Final numbers are expected late this month. During the past decade, 2008 stands out as the year when the most fatalities occurred ' there were 529 that year.
Davis, the city's traffic sergeant, has been on Amarillo's motorcycle squad since 1981. Davis said it's not unusual to have a spate of serious motorcycle accidents as summer approaches. He said people who haven't been on a motorcycle for up to eight months would benefit from a refresher course every spring.
"I think if people would get themselves trained, wear a helmet and observe traffic laws, we wouldn't see as many accidents," Davis said.