TEXAS: Fatal motorcycle wrecks bring helmet laws into question

OFF THE WIRE
http://www.connectamarillo.com/news/story.aspx?id=649428
Fatal motorcycle wrecks bring helmet laws into question

by Kyndel Lee 
AMARILLO, TEXAS -- Motorcycle helmet laws have come into question after motorcycle wrecks took the lives of two men over the weekend.
The current laws in Texas require riders to have a minimum of 10,000 dollars of health insurance coverage for injuries sustained in a motorcycle accident. That coverage exempts the rider from the offense of Operating Or Riding A Motorcycle Without A Helmet. The penalty for riding helmetless without that insurance is a 50-dollar fine. However, it is not illegal to ride without a helmet as long as the rider is 21 or older.
Texas State Senator Kel Seliger has been riding motorcycles for 10 years and is no stranger to the helmet laws. And he said if people want the helmet laws to change, they will have to go to the legislature.
"Current helmet laws are a product of public participation in the process," he said. "Right now, outside the medical community, the general public seems satisfied with situations that exist now regarding motorcycle helmets."
Cpl. Jerry Neufeld of the Crime Prevention Unit said accidents can result at the fault of both riders on motorcycles and people driving other vehicles, and the best way for everyone to stay safe is to be alert.
"People will say that motorcyclists are harder to see, so we need to be more aware," he said. "You know, that's something that, as a driver, we need to be aware of our surroundings and pay attention. Are we turning left? Is there a car coming? Do I have the right of way? Speed is not the only factor when it comes to motorcycle wrecks."
Christy Tripp-Rowley's family owns Tripp's Harley Davidson and she has been around motorcycles all her life. She acknowledges that wearing a helmet is a personal choice, and for her, the choice is easy.
"I choose to wear one because I feel like, you know, your head, obviously, that's going to be the most vulnerable thing if you go down. But you can't tell me that protecting your head if you go down- when your head bounces off the pavement- if it's in a helmet you're not going to do better than your bare head bouncing off the pavement. I do it because of safety, just for that reason right there. I believe that if I went down, I'd be more protected with a helmet."
The National Center for Statistics and Analysis of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration released a report back in 2005 stating that motorcycle helmets were about 37 percent effective in preventing fatalities. In 2003, 3,661 riders were killed in crashes, and the 37 percent effectiveness suggests that 1,158 additional lives would have been saved if the riders had been wearing helmets.


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