OFF THE WIRE
Push for Helmet Laws
October 18, 2015
Right now, the push for
motorcycle helmet laws is stronger than ever. Its bigger than a handful
of the usual government agencies pushing for mandatory helmet laws, It
is that of course too, but there is another factor at work as well. And
its a very natural thing to happen, the desire to protect children. Many
skate parks, bmx parks, horse rides, go carting, etc all now require
helmets for youngsters, and we are ok with that. So long as that the
continues the likely hood of keeping states helmet law free gets
slimmer.
But it certainly is coming from agencies and departments
all over the country, and its getting nasty. Recently at the State
Motorcycle Administrators annual conference the Vice President of
Government Relations for the Governors Highway Safety Association, Erik
Strickland, touted the benefits of an Obama backed transportation plan
that would have given the federal Department of Transportation back the
ability to lobby state legislatures about implementing helmet laws. Then
in the next breath, he referred to the language in the transportation
currently working its way through Congress, and is likely to pass soon,
Specifically he called the language to stiffen the lobby ban to the
whole of the federal government, state governments and local
governments, “A real pain in the ass”. That bill also contains language
that would commission a study to determine the best practices to avoid
motorcycle crash in the first place. Saving lives instantly. Is that
also a “real pain in the ass” Erik Strickland? Thats your governors
direct pipeline for ideas for state law.
In recent publication by
the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety they had a two page article
about the actions that the National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration has taken to enforce helmet laws by law enforcement
officers. The proposed rule by the safety agency would effectively give
law enforcement the ability to pull over, ticket, or worse, any
motorcyclists wearing a helmet that the officer felt did not meet the
new appropriate standards with a visual test on the road. So, should
this rule become final, and that is almost a certainty at this point,
any helmet that appears, to a traffic cop, to be less than one inch in
the thickness can pull you over for further inspection. Of course the
Insurance Institute publication just echoed the same un truths that all
of the other safety groups march out. It is interesting and troubling
that the agencies that are charged with making things safer, most who
don't ride motorcycles, do not care to listen to the very people they
are trying to protect. Bureaucracy at its best.
Then, in the Wall
Street Journal this week was an article where groups of bicyclists are
opposing mandatory bicycle helmet laws. They say mandatory helmet laws,
particularly for adults, make cycling less convenient and seem less
safe, thus hindering the larger public-health gains of more people
riding bikes. They think that more bicycles on the street will result in
greater degree of visibility in numbers and therefore reduce injuries
and fatalities. Cycling advocates are quick to say they’re not
anti-helmet. Instead, they’re opposed to helmet laws and their
unintended consequences. Sound familiar? Make strange bedfellows.
For all is not lost. We need to stay engaged and active. We, the
guardians of motorcycling, must do what those before us and those before
them have done. A fight is brewing and we need to be ready. The forward
force to pass mandatory helmet laws is swelling. We need to push back
with a tidal wave.
To start that wave you should email your new best
friend, Erik Strickland, Vice President of Federal Relations for the
Governors Highway Safety Association. You can reach him here:
estrickland@ghsa.org or give him a ring at his direct line, 202-789-0942
x180
You can tell him the MRF sent you!
