Published: June 17, 2006 10:15 am      

It’s time to pass a helmet law

CHICKASHA — One of the biggest stories of last week was Super Bowl hero Ben Roethlisberger's motorcycle accident.

The Steelers quarterback collided with a car and was hurled head first into the windshield, breaking his jaw, his nose, several teeth and other facial bones.

He was not wearing a helmet. In hindsight, he regrets that decision. Had he been wearing a helmet, the severity of his injuries most likely would have been reduced.

Each year, almost 2,500 people are killed and more than 50,000 injured in motorcycle crashes, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation's National Highway Traffic Administration.

Many of those killed and maimed were not wearing helmets.

The argument that most helmetless riders make is that helmet laws are government interference. They say they have the right to take risks and to gamble against death and permanent injury. They argue that the helmets don't prevent crashes and sometimes exasperates the injuries.

Here are the facts, according to the NHTA:

• Motorcycle helmets save lives.

• Motorcycle helmets reduce the severity of injuries.

• State helmet use laws result in many more people using helmets, and when more people use helmets, the costs to family and society resulting from motorcycle deaths and injuries go down.

Let's take a closer look at a couple of those points.

Louisiana mandated in 1982 that all riders wear helmets. In that first year after the law was enacted, motorcycle fatalities were reduced by almost one-third. Fairly convincing evidence - helmets do save lives.

Opponents say imposing helmets on riders does not impact the rest of the population. But numerous studies comparing hospital costs of helmeted and unhelmeted motorcyclists involved in crashes have found costs for unhelmeted riders to average $3,000 more than for helmeted riders. And, riders who don't wear helmets are less likely to have health insurance, resulting in the cost of their care being forced on to taxpayers. It does impact me if you don't wear your helmet.

Oklahoma is among the states which don't require helmets for adults.

It's time for that to change. A helmet law makes sense.

Jerry Pittman is publisher of The Express-Star. You can e-mail him at jpittman@cnhi.com