Helmet laws throughout the U.S. have always created a great deal of controversy. Currently there are two types of helmet laws in the United States; a universal helmet law, which requires all motorcyclists to wear a helmet and partial helmet law that has age requirements. The helmet debate has been a long battle between free-rights organizations and government officials.
In 1967, the Highway Safety act created a federal highway safety grant program. Prior to this act, no state in the U.S. had a motorcycle helmet law. In order for states to receive federal funds, they were required to have a highway safety program in place. If a state did not enact a universal motorcycle helmet law, portions of these federal funds could be withheld. By 1975, forty-seven states responded and passed helmet laws. Congress amended the Incentives for State Helmet Laws in 1976. Although in 1991, they passed the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act to give states incentives and penalties based on the helmet laws. This had little effect on the states and Congress rescinded this helmet policy in 1995. States, under pressure from free-choice groups like ABATE, weakened, and began repealing their helmet laws. (Laws)
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), only 20 states still require all riders to wear helmets today. Three states have no helmet law at all, and the other 27 have age restrictions.
I currently live in PA and the helmet law is a very personal one to me. I have many friends and immediate family members including myself, who are avid motorcyclists. We are all fully aware of the dangers associated with riding first hand. This debate has been discussed around our dinner table many times. Despite...
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Rhoades, Jim. "Helmet Law." ABATE of Michigan 248 685 9150. Web. 16 Nov. 2011. .
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Heinrichs, Allison M. "Pitt Study Says Helmet-less Riders Hazard to Health." Pittsburgh Tribune-Review [Pittsburgh, PA] 13 June 2008. Gale Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 15 Nov. 2011. .
Auman, K. M., J. A. Kufera, M. F. Ballesteros, J. E. Smialek, and P. C. Dischinger. "Autopsy Study of Motorcyclist Fatalities: The Effect of the 1992 Maryland Motorcycle Helmet Use Law." American Journal of Public Health 92.8 (2002): 1352-355. Business Source Elite. Web. 18 Nov. 2011.
In 1989, plaintiff Joseph Benning was cited for a violation of § 1256 for operating a motorcycle without wearing approved headgear in Caledonia County, Vermont. The statue states that “No person may operate or ride upon a motorcycle upon a highway unless he wears upon his head protective headgear reflectorized in part and of a type approved by the commissioner.1 The headgear shall be equipped with either a neck or chin strap.1” The County State’s Attorney dismissed the citation because he deemed the statue vague and unable to establish the elements necessary to prosecute the crime.1 However, the plaintiffs filed suit against the state, seeking to have § 1256 declared unconstitutional.
On May 22, 1990 two Sacramento County sheriff’s deputies were responding to a call to break up a fight. While returning to their cars one of the officers, Murray Stapp noticed a motorcycle moving at rather high speeds. The motorcycle was being operated by 18-year-old Brian Willard and carrying a 16-year-old passenger by the name of Phillip Lewis. Neither the operator nor the passenger of the motorcycle had anything to do with the fight being responded to.
2014 Issues Analysis By Dino Nuker Sport Safety: Should headgear be made mandatory for all contact sports? Injuries are common in most sports that have a contact component attached. Whether it’s at a professional level, or a school level, injuries are always bound to occur in contact sport. This analysis will look into the role headgear could, should and would play, and debates whether it should be made mandatory. Olympic sports such as Ice Hockey, Bicycle Riding and Baseball are just some examples that currently require athletes to wear a form of headgear.
6. No matter what helmet players are wearing they are all susceptible to concussions, especially if the rules to not protect player well enough.
Millions of people all over the United States choose motorcycles over automobiles for the thrill, speed, and high performance capabilities. On the other hand, motorcycles are not at all the safest way of transportation. Motorcycles do not provide the passenger with the outer protection that cars provide, therefore, when one crashes, the results are usually much more serious. Injuries to the head are responsible for 76% of fatalities when dealing with motorcycle crashes many of which could have been prevented had the rider been wearing a helmet. For this reason, many states have adopted the motorcycle helmet law. The law states that every passengers must wear a helmet at all times when riding on a motorcycle. This law has created a great deal of controversy. One side supports the law, believing that it protects motorcyclists from danger and saves the economy a great deal of money. The other side argues that the law is unconstitutional and it violates our right to freedom. However, statistics show overwhelming support in favor of the motorcycle helmet law. Although wearing helmets cannot prevent motorcycle crashes, they can greatly reduce the number of deaths caused by head injury as well as lowering taxes, insurance rates, and health care costs. Therefore, the helmet law should be put into effect in every state across the United States.
While wearing a helmet can improve a rider’s chances of surviving an accident, it is not a failsafe. In a motorcycle accident, any evidence that the victim can gather is helpful in ensuring that the negligent, careless or reckless driver is held responsible. Hiring a personal injury attorney may increase the chances that compensation for the damages covers medical bills, especially when long-term care is
In 1966, the National Highway Safety Bureau (NHSB) was designed by the Highway Act. NHSB’s director, Dr. William Haddon, noticed that he could prevent motor-vehicle injuries by applying public health methods and epidemiology. Various passages demanded the government to set standards for the highway and motor vehicles. The federal government responded by developing new safety features in cars such as safety belts, head rests, and shatter-resistant windshields. Barriers, reflectors, and center line strips were placed on roadways to provide direction and illumination. Traffic safety laws, wearing a safety belt, and public education encouraged drivers to make safer decisions. The use of safety belts has skyrocketed from 11% in 1981 to 68% in 1997 and decreases When the community and government understood the necessity for motor-vehicle safety, various programs such as Prior to the implementation, the rate stood at 18 per 100 million vehicle miles traveled in 1925; however, the rate stood at 1.7 per 100 million vehicle miles traveled in 1997. With all of the new safety features with cars, public education and enforcement of safety laws, “motor-vehicle crashes remain the leading cause of injury-related deaths in the United States.” Over 23.9 million vehicle crashes were reported in 1997; estimated costs were around $200 billion.
IIn 1978, a seatbelt law began in Tennessee for infants and young children. By the middle of 1985, all 50 states and the District of Columbia had enacted any child restraint using seat belts, and then New York extended this law for other ages. The law starts requiring all front seats to use safety belts on December 1987 (Williams & Lund, p. 1438). According to 625 ILC 5/12-603.1, driver and passengers are required to use safety belt (Public). The penalty from this law, depending on the states such as New York’s fine is 50 USD and 25 USD for Illinois states. Does the safety belt help save people’s life? Absolutely, using the safety belt is an option to save a driver and passengers life from any accidents but should it be a law? Should people obligate to pay fines if they don’t want to use a safety belt? According to Human rights, people should hold their freedom to choose, if they want to use the safety belt or not on liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Furthermore, police officers can save their time to do other duties instead of enforcing the seat belt law.
Web. The Web. The Web. 21 Feb. 2014. Buckman, Adam. A.S. & Co.
While the use of helmets does aid in protecting players from brain trauma, they also increase the risky behavior of players; this is called risk compensation. Risk compensation is the adjustment of individual behavior, responding to the perceived changes in risk (TheFreeDictionary.com). Most people that wear helmets have a pre-conceived idea that, because they have a helmet on, they can possess more daring behaviors and be fine. The helmet is basically thought of as a tool to hit harder, or improve performance in today’s culture. Adventure writer and pilot, Lane Wallace (2011) accurately understands the dangers of helmets being used incorrectly, and how they are used as weapons instead of safety. Wallace also theorizes like the NFL, a change in football culture and of viewpoints towards helmets would vastly reduce trauma to the
Different ideas and creative thinking towards the prevention or lessening of damage to the body can play just as large of a role as research on repairing that trauma. Research has been conducted in the United Kingdom on the prevalence of chest trauma. From January 1998 to January 2003; the findings presented the information, “Over the six-year period, out of 25,467 trauma patients admitted in our institution there were 1,164 (five percent) patients with at least one chest injury” (Veysi, 2009). Out of those 1,164 patients with at least one chest injury, fifty-seven percent of the those patients sustained the injury due to some form of mechanical vehicle accident (Veysi, 2009). “From the fifty-seven percent of patients, nineteen percent were pedestrians, seventeen percent were drivers of a motor vehicle, and nine percent were motorcyclists” (Veysi, 2009). The majority of cases where a patient receives some form of thoracic trauma are due to vehicle accidents, meaning they were preventable in one way or another. With new technologies and the general population abiding the laws of the road, motor vehicle accidents that cause serious harm the driver or a pedestrian can be
This paper is being written to identify and provide demographic information on a population that has been through trauma and resiliency following motorcycle accidents. This population has been through some form of trauma whether they realize it or not. Some people deal with trauma differently. For example, many motorcyclists engage in drug and alcohol to feel most comfortable because they face traumatic situations on the road, daily. Many of the traumatic experiences are caused by automotive drivers. According to “Nolo” (2016), Crashes involving motorcycles and other vehicles account for fifty-six percent of motorcycle accident deaths. In the vast majority of these accidents, the car strikes the
Bicycles, the one way we got to move around as kids, and as adults it is the one way we get around too, because cars are mainstream. Safety is an issue when it comes to bicycling and that why the helmet is an important factor when it comes to safety for bikes. Every year, in the U.S, nearly 900 persons die from injuries due to bicycle crashes and over 500,000 persons are being treated in emergency departments. Head injuries are by far the greatest concern for bicyclists, causing one third of emergency department visits, two thirds of hospital admissions, and three fourths of deaths. There are other injuries such as facial injuries, which occur at a rate nearly the same to head injuries. It is hard to trust that helmets would be protective against head injury, but establishing the real effectiveness of helmets is important.
People ride bicycles for various reasons. Some people ride bicycles for sport, fitness purposes, as a mode of transportation, fun activity, and some people ride bikes to simply relax and clear their mind after a long day. Regardless of the reason you ride, it is important to know the factors that contribute to bicycle and helmet safety. A study in 2014 shows that 103.7 million people rode a bike that year and 34 percent of Americans age three or older rode a bike at least once in that year (“Study: 103.7 Million Americans Ride Bikes”). The importance of bicycle safety cannot be underestimated. According to the 2008 Alabama Traffic Crash Facts, there were 182 bicycle crash injuries and four fatalities. In 2008, children 14 years old and under
Helmets are used to protect the head from falling objects or hot embers. Helmets started out as nothing more than a leather hard hat made for construction which doesn’t provide much protection or safety for the people