This week in my town three people have suffered serious injuries, all of which could have been lessened by the use of a helmet. A man crashed after trying to pass someone on the highway and he is still in the hospital with serious injuries. No helmet.
A little girl rode right through a stop sign without looking and ran into a car. She's also still in the hospital. Again, no helmet. And an ATV passenger was seriously injured when the vehicle she was on the back of had a serious accident. The driver, who turned out to be drunk, had a helmet on, but the girl didn't. She's also in the hospital looking forward to surgeries and a long stay.
It's one of those things so often overlooked. The uncomfortable, dorky looking helmet. But when you are flying at an object, out of control, you're really going to be wishing you had one.
I've heard many people argue that if you drive safely you don't have to wear a helmet. But what about the millions of other motorists on the road? Do you think they are driving safely. It's such a roullette game to think that way. There's only one guarantee, if you get into an accident without a helmet, you could be a vegetable.
The National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration recently released a report on motorcycles and crashes. Out of more than 4,000 accidents it found the following to be true:
* The majority of motorcycle crashes involved another vehicle, usually an automobile.
* A motorcyclist is 37 percent more likely to die in a crash, per mile traveled. Mostly because there is no roll cage protecting their body.
* In those fatal crashes, head injury was the leading cause of death.
* Helmets reduce the liklihood of fatality by 37 percent. So if you're 37 percent more likely to get into a crash wouldn't you like that same percentage to favor your chance of living, and not like a vegetable?
* In its evaluation of crashe, the NHTSA found that helmets are 67 percent effective in preventing brain injuries. While I would love it to be 100 percent, it's still way better than the 0 percent effectiveness of not wearing a helmet.
* From 1984 to 2006, helmets saved the lives of more than 19,000 motorcyclists. The NHTSA says if all the people involved in fatal crashes in that time period had worn helmets, more than 12,000 people would have been saved.
* The NHTSA also found that in states where only minors were required to wear helmets when riding on two wheels, only 40 percent of children wore them. So leading by example does happen. Betcha if mom and dad wore helmets the kids wouldn't be so hesitant to put them on.
Now, I'm not sure if I like the idea of people being forced to do something. I've always been of the philosophy if someone does something dumb and gets hurt, why should the rest of us be legislated to death because of it? However, when it costs me money because someone is doing something dumb, I've got an issue with it.
According to the NHTSA report, costs to cover medical bills for motorcyclists in Florida who didn't wear a helmet and crashed were $10.5 million for "charitable and public sources." That is 21 percent of the motorcycling population involved in an accident in Florida .. just Florida. The report said one of those public sources was Medicaid.
Last time I checked my pay stub, I had an awful lot going to that program. While I don't mind helping someone out who is in need, I do mind that money being used to help someone who made a stupid decision when they should have known better. I'd rather see it go to help someone who's suffering isn't their own fault.
Now, before anyone starts lambasting me for being "anti-motorcyle," I'm not. I love motorcycles. I think motorcyclists too often get a bad rap. I'm just concerned that with the increase in popularity of motorcycles (and scooters which are often grouped in that "class" of vehicle) stupidity will take over and smart riders will suffer because of it, if not all ready. There's enough of a stigmatism attached to riding on two wheels, shouldn't the motorcycling and scootering communities be pushing for responsibility before we start getting legislated to death? It hasn't happened yet, but it certainly could.
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