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http://www.wickedlocal.com/dighton/news/x1980200868/Taunton-cop-Statistics-prevail-over-proposed-motorcycle-helmet-billTaunton cop: 'Statistics prevail' over proposed motorcycle helmet bill
By CHARLES WINOKOOR Staff Writer Posted Dec 26, 2011 @ 11:50 PM
Taunton — He’s been a cop for 24 years, rides and owns his own motorcycle and is convinced that wearing a safety helmet both saves lives and prevents serious injuries.
“Statistics prevail as far as I’m concerned,” said the 42-year-old Taunton patrolman, who asked that his name not be used.
And he says that’s why he objects to a bill proposed by state Sen. Stephen Brewer, D-Barre, that, if passed into law, would allow motorcyclists and passengers 21 and older to ride without wearing a protective helmet, as is the case in Rhode Island.
Other recently proposed motorcycle-related bills submitted for consideration on Beacon Hill include one from state Sen. Robert Hedlund, R-Weymouth, that would permit motorcyclists from states without any helmet restriction — such as New Hampshire — to ride in Massachusetts sans protective head gear.
Motorcycle deaths
There were two motorcycle fatalities in Taunton in 2010. In May, a 26-year-old city man was killed just after 1 a.m. when he collided with a car on West Water Street after leaving a bar.
And, in August, a 37-year-old Dighton man died after the motorcycle he was driving collided with a car just before 8 p.m. at the intersection of Baker Road West and Somerset Avenue.
Latest figures from the Registry of Motor Vehicles indicate 55 Bay State motorcycle fatalities in 2010, up from 52 in 2009.
According to the nonprofit Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, the number of driver and passenger deaths on motorcycles in 2007 was about 37 times that of people killed in cars.
The Taunton cop said it’s also worth noting that most motorcyclists in the area, because of the cold weather, typically only ride from about April through October.
“Stats can be deceiving,” which is all the more reason, he said, that existing state law requiring motorcyclist to wear helmets “makes perfect sense to me.”
“Even a low impact crash creates a significant risk of head injury,” he added.
Taunton Police Chief Edward Walsh said he wants more time to study the issue before publicly issuing a statement.
But he said when it comes to motor vehicle driving laws and regulations there’s always a measure of common sense that is apparent.
“Seat belts save lives, and there’s a reason for it,” Walsh said.
He also dismisses Hedlund’s proposal allowing out-of-state motorcyclists to drive through Massachusetts without a helmet as “unenforceable.”
“How do you enforce that?” Walsh said, noting that a resident of a state with more liberal riding laws might decide to drive a motorcycle that happens to have Massachusetts plates.
Setting a bad example
The Taunton patrolman notes that Taunton has a significant number of children and teens who are attracted to driving dirt bikes and ATVs, both of which are not allowed on the street.
He also said anyone 12 and younger is required by law to wear protective head gear when riding a bicycle. Passing a law inviting adults to not wear a motorcycle helmet sets a bad example, he said.
“We try to send a message to kids to wear helmets, so how will that help?”
He recounts an incident 12 or 13 years ago when a young boy nearly died when he was riding his bike on Washington Street in front of Morton Hospital.
When the boy turned his head to look for his friends his front tire jumped the curb, and he pitched forward so that his head landed straight into the pavement.
“His head split open. I was looking into his brain,” the officer said.
As a result, the boy suffered severe brain injury and to this day is confined to a nursing home, he said, the point being it doesn’t take much for a motorcyclist with no helmet to endure similar injuries as a result of a low-speed crash.
Dangerous situations
Perhaps the most commonly dangerous scenario for motorcyclists, he said, is a “T-bone” wherein a driver of a vehicle attempting a left-hand turn fails to exhibit sufficient care and doesn’t notice an oncoming motorcycle.
Such was the case this past July, when a 47-year-old Taunton man was killed on Broadway, near the former Friendly’s restaurant, when a small car pulled out and made a left turn out of the parking lot.
In that case the motorcyclist was wearing a helmet. But the Taunton cop said one shouldn’t assume that avoiding death and serious injury is simple a matter of luck.
He recounted investigating a crash involving a man, wearing a helmet, who while traveling at a moderate speed drove into the side of a car, which was making a left-hand turn onto another street.
“His head went into the hood of the car, but he walked away without any injuries,” the cop said.
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