BY: KEVIN McDERMOTT
stltoday.com
Missouri - JEFFERSON CITY • Hundreds of thousands of bikers
converge on South Dakota every August for the annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally.
For those coming from the eastern U.S., one obstacle sits in their path:
Missouri, and its law requiring motorcyclists to wear helmets.
A state lawmaker argued Tuesday that Missouri should suspend its helmet
requirement for the month of August each year, to let those bikers ride through,
bringing their wallets with them.
"This will allow all those thousands of people . . . to come though Missouri compliantly," Rep. Delus Johnson, R-St. Joseph, told members of the House General Laws committee, introducing what he called his "Helmet Holiday" bill. "It's going to promote tourism, it's going to promote economic development, it's going to promote a lot of freedom in our state."
But others warned that head injuries are head injuries, regardless of what month it is.
"Without a helmet, these injuries are considerably worse," said Kenny Jackson, spokesman for the Missouri State Medical Association.
The medical association was one of several that stood in opposition to Johnson's bill and another measure, which would lift the helmet requirement for all riders 21 years old and older at all times.
Before a small committee room packed with leather-clad motorcycle enthusiasts, Rep. Eric Burlison, R-Springfield, presented it partly as an issue of economics. He cited an annual motorcycle rally at Branson, Mo., which draws between 3,000 and 5,000 riders - far less than the hundreds of thousands drawn to similar events in South Dakota and Arkansas, which don't have adult helmet laws.
Burlison also couched the issue in terms of freedom of choice.
"In America we have the freedom to get on a motorcycle, we have a freedom to snow-ski, the freedom to go skydiving . . . a lot of freedoms that potentially put us in harm's way," said Burlison. "We do a lot of things that are not necessarily safe, but they're decisions that you and I make, as long as they're not causing harm to someone else."
Rep. Mike Colona, D-St. Louis, countered: "There is no constitutionally guaranteed right not to wear a helmet.
"Common sense tells me if it's a head injury and you're wearing a helmet, your head probably wouldn't get hurt as much as if you're not wearing a helmet," he said. "It does affect other people. It affects family members. It affects kids."
The Legislature passed a bill in 2009 repealing Missouri's motorcycle helmet law, but Gov. Jay Nixon vetoed it. In his veto message, he cited concerns about increased health care costs and safety. "In terms of lives and of dollars, the cost of repealing Missouri's helmet law simply would have been too high," Nixon said at the time.
The bill to lift the helmet law during the month of August is HB341. The bill to lift the helmet law for all riders 21 and over is HB555.
"This will allow all those thousands of people . . . to come though Missouri compliantly," Rep. Delus Johnson, R-St. Joseph, told members of the House General Laws committee, introducing what he called his "Helmet Holiday" bill. "It's going to promote tourism, it's going to promote economic development, it's going to promote a lot of freedom in our state."
But others warned that head injuries are head injuries, regardless of what month it is.
"Without a helmet, these injuries are considerably worse," said Kenny Jackson, spokesman for the Missouri State Medical Association.
The medical association was one of several that stood in opposition to Johnson's bill and another measure, which would lift the helmet requirement for all riders 21 years old and older at all times.
Before a small committee room packed with leather-clad motorcycle enthusiasts, Rep. Eric Burlison, R-Springfield, presented it partly as an issue of economics. He cited an annual motorcycle rally at Branson, Mo., which draws between 3,000 and 5,000 riders - far less than the hundreds of thousands drawn to similar events in South Dakota and Arkansas, which don't have adult helmet laws.
Burlison also couched the issue in terms of freedom of choice.
"In America we have the freedom to get on a motorcycle, we have a freedom to snow-ski, the freedom to go skydiving . . . a lot of freedoms that potentially put us in harm's way," said Burlison. "We do a lot of things that are not necessarily safe, but they're decisions that you and I make, as long as they're not causing harm to someone else."
Rep. Mike Colona, D-St. Louis, countered: "There is no constitutionally guaranteed right not to wear a helmet.
"Common sense tells me if it's a head injury and you're wearing a helmet, your head probably wouldn't get hurt as much as if you're not wearing a helmet," he said. "It does affect other people. It affects family members. It affects kids."
The Legislature passed a bill in 2009 repealing Missouri's motorcycle helmet law, but Gov. Jay Nixon vetoed it. In his veto message, he cited concerns about increased health care costs and safety. "In terms of lives and of dollars, the cost of repealing Missouri's helmet law simply would have been too high," Nixon said at the time.
The bill to lift the helmet law during the month of August is HB341. The bill to lift the helmet law for all riders 21 and over is HB555.