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Going helmetless has benefits

2 min read

After so many pro-helmet letters, I thought I’d weigh in with one from the pro-choice side. Helmets and helmet laws do not prevent accidents; education and awareness do. Presently there are very few schools in the state that include motorcycle awareness as part of the driver education curriculum. Why? According to the same PennDOT report that the media likes to quote from, we see that the majority of riders killed in the years 2004 and 2005 were in fact helmeted. Yes, helmeted. Interesting how the media left that out. It’s also interesting how the media never fails to report when a rider wrecked while going helmetless, yet rarely seems to mention the helmeted ones.

In another study the National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration (NHTSA) admitted that motorcycle accidents make up only one-tenth of 1 percent of all medical expenses. Furthermore, a study conducted by Harborview Medical Center in Seattle found that motorcyclists were proportionally no more of a public burden than their four-wheeled counterparts. There goes that argument.

The University of Utah Speech and Hearing Clinic found that helmets restrict hearing and distort sound direction, thus causing confusion. When you apply the laws of inertia, a four-pound helmet at 50 mph becomes 200 upon impact. At this speed a helmet can exacerbate neck injuries. Not to mention that temperatures inside of a helmet can reach 130 degrees.

I’ve got one for the doctors, too. An article authored by Dr. Barbara Starfield of the Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene and Public Health described how over 200,000 people die each year from iatrogenic (physician-induced) causes. Seems safer to ride helmetless.

At last, we come to the automobile drivers. Studies have shown that two-thirds of the car-versus-motorcycle accidents are the fault of the driver. What’s more, it’s been shown that you’re four times as likely to have an accident driving while using a cell phone.

Add to this the drivers that run stop signs, tailgate, fail to yield, seldom if ever use their turn signal, and those that suffer from the, “Just have to get in front of you” syndrome. Perhaps before telling me how to ride my motorcycle, certain members of the non-riding community should first learn to drive responsibly by obeying the laws that already exist. I’ll bet accidents would plummet.

Deny Walk

Clarksville

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