Helmet Laws

[pkpk]

Cue the ABATE "studies" showing the danger from helmet use.  <sarcasm>

[pkpk]

BTW, I got a chuckle on how the writer took a dig at Mississippi and Alabama in the first paragraph of that Strib opinion piece.

[Jared]

Some of the nuggets from the publication:

Alcohol: When people drink and ride, they are at much greater risk of crashing and dying. Twenty-eight percent of motorcycle riders who died in 2010 had a blood alcohol concentration that was at or above the legal limit of .08 g/dL.10

Motorcycle Type: The majority of people who die in crashes are riding sport motorcycles with mid-size engines designed to maximize speed and agility.9

A study of 105 motorcyclists hospitalized at a major trauma center determined that 63% of their care was paid for by public funds, with Medicaid accounting for over half of all charges.16

Unhelmeted motorcycle riders injured in a crash and admitted ?to hospitals face substantially higher healthcare costs than do helmeted riders. Unhelmeted riders also use more of a hospital’s critical resources.17

Unhelmeted motorcycle riders are twice as likely to suffer traumatic brain injuries from crashes.17,18,19,20 The median hospital charges for motorcycle riders hospitalized with severe traumatic brain injuries were 13 times higher than the charges for those who did not have a traumatic brain injury.17

Unhelmeted motorcycle riders are less likely to have health insurance and are therefore more likely to have their medical expenses paid by government-funded healthcare.15

Helmets are estimated to reduce the likelihood of death in a motorcycle crash by 37%.23 The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) estimates that helmets saved the lives of 1,544 motorcycle riders in 2010 alone.24

The United States saved $3 billion due to helmet use in 2010.

The United States could have saved an additional $1.4 billion in 2010 if all motorcyclists had worn helmets.

[Vander]

The following got my brain juices flowing... there are some compelling point/ counterpoints made here:

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/law/jan-june12/motorcycles_06-19.html