| Ride safe or ride free Does Arizona need a motorcycle helmet law? | ||||||||
Arizonans are known for their independent nature and for their desire for a hands-off attitude from government. Those are a couple of the reasons our state - along with 27 others - has no mandatory motorcycle helmet law for adult motorcycle riders. Three states don't require helmets for riders of any age: Illinois, Iowa and New Hampshire. Some 19 states, among them California and Nevada, mandate helmet use for anyone riding a motorcycle. In Arizona, anyone 17 or younger must wear a helmet; some states use 18 or 20 as the cut-off. There was a time when nearly every state had mandatory helmet laws for all riders. In 1967, the federal government tied highway funding to the helmet laws. But in 1976, the states successfully lobbied Congress to stop the Department of Transportation from penalizing states without helmet laws. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's (NHTSA) statistics are overwhelmingly in favor of all riders wearing helmets. "From 1984 through 1995, helmets saved the lives of more than 7,400 motorcyclists. If all motorcyclists and their passengers had worn helmets during those years, more than 6,300 additional lives could have been saved," a NTSHA report said. "I've seen customers who have been in a wreck and have hurt themselves that still refuse to wear a helmet," Shirley Renfroe at Grand Canyon Harley-Davidson said. "They say that it's their personal decision and they're not hurting anyone but themselves." NHTSA said that the cost to others may be more than expected. "A privately conducted California study put the average cost of hospital admissions for a non-helmeted rider at $17,704. Of this initial amount, 72 percent of the costs for hospitalization were paid by the State of California, with another 10 percent being paid by other tax-based sources," the report said. In Arizona, between 1984 and 1995, the report found that if all riders who were in accidents wore helmets, it would have saved 231 lives and $323 million. But in Seattle, a Harborview Medical Center study disputed the cost-factor argument. It demonstrated that the percentage of motorcyclists who relied on public funding for medical treatment, 63.4 percent, was actually lower than that of the general population, at 67 percent. On Wednesday, Scott, a member of the Iron Order motorcycle club, was filling up his bike at the gas pumps of a convenience store. He said he chooses not to wear a helmet. "At a low-speed impact, it would help you, but if you're on the highway, nothing's really going to help you too much," he said. "I saw a guy who wore a helmet, (a crash) snapped his neck, and he was a quadriplegic," he added. "I don't want to live that life." A lot of his fellow riders seem to agree, Renfroe said. "I would say it's about 75 percent (ride) without a helmet, from what I see coming into the store. "They're saying, 'I've been riding for this many years and I've never worn a helmet and I choose not to wear a helmet,'" she added. David "Doc" Pratt, coordinator for the Yavapai chapter of American Brotherhood Aimed Toward Education (ABATE), a motorcyclists' advocacy group, said, "I've worked in a hospital - I worked in an emergency room in Prescott. Helmets do save lives. I'm not saying that. I'm saying the government doesn't need to tell me to wear one." It's all about freedom of choice, he added, noting that he knows "a lot of bikers that won't swing a leg over their motorcycle without a helmet on. "But Big Brother doesn't need to be telling them to put on a helmet," Pratt said. He said he would like to see Arizona adopt a law like the one in Texas, which exempts adult riders from wearing a helmet if they complete an approved training course or carry a specific amount of medical insurance. Law enforcement officials, who frequently see the results of crashes involving motorcycles, say the helmets save lives. "The helmet could be a deciding factor whether the rider lives or dies," said Yavapai County Sheriff's spokesman Dwight D'Evelyn. "YCSO deputies have handled accidents in which helmetless riders have died from significant head injuries over the years. In many cases, it is believed the helmet would have increased the chance of survival greatly in these cases." "But if you have guys that have been riding for years, you're not going to convince them to wear a helmet." "I always tell them, don't spend more on a helmet than your head is worth to you," Renfroe said. "How much is your brain worth?"
Coordinator Contact David "Doc" Pratt
928-713-2568 or syfd124@hotmail.com
Mailing Address for the Yavapai Chapter is:
Yavapai ABATE P.O. Box 11319 Prescott, AZ 86304
Not all ABATE officers suck but this guy seems to be willing to sell out. Here is the info to contact his ass and let him know how you feel.
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Tuesday, August 19, 2014
Does Arizona need a motorcycle helmet law?
OFF THE WIRE
