Process Essay-The Ten Second Life Savor
The Ten Second Life Savor In 2002, 3,244 motorcyclists died and approximately 65,000 were injured in highway crashes in the United States. Many of those lives lost could have been saved if a helmet was used. In the United States, laws are always seen as something to be changed constantly especially when dealing with motorcycles. The law dealing with wearing a helmet is one law that will always change state to state. When on a road trip on your bike the last thing you want to be thinking about is “Do I have to wear my helmet right now? Or is it ok to ride ‘free’ for an hour or so?”. Of the fifty states, only three are 100% helmet law free. Illinois, Iowa and New Hampshire have no restrictions on wearing a helmet. Of the other 46 states, 20 have full helmet laws. For these 20 states, no matter your age or number of years riding a motorcycle you must have a helmet on any time while on the bike. The remaining 27 states have partial helmet laws for
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their bikers. With the partial laws each state decides an age in which they think the driver is responsible enough no longer need to wear a helmet. It ranges from the youngest in Main at age 14 to age 20. Some states have tried changing some of these laws and letting them have more leeway, but in the end it has only shown that the injury rate has increased. The states with strict helmet laws have fewer fatalities for motorcycle drover. It takes ten seconds to put on a helmet that in the end can save your life or prevent you from worse injury. In an eighteen year period, 13,774 lives have been saved form placing a helmet on the drivers and passengers head. 9,508 more lives could have been saved if a helmet had been worn. 85% of injury that occurs in an accident is reduced by wearing a helmet. Many drivers believe that wearing a helmet obstructs your view of the cars coming around you or that your hearing is impaired. In 1994 the National Public Services Research Institute conducted a study proving that wearing a helmet doesn’t restrict the rider’s ability to perform any task or block hearing. By wearing a helmet while riding the riders risk of fatality in an accident is reduced by 37%. A helmet is also 67% effective in preventing brain damage/ injury. An example of this is when Oregon put it’s helmet law in effect; the percentage of fatalities went down by 33%. Wearing a helmet has proven over and over again to save lives and reduce the extent of an injury if involved in wreck.
Yet drivers and states refuse to see this and don’t enforce the laws needed to be in place. Drivers without a helmet are 40% more likely to have a fatal head injury and 15% more likely to have a no-fatal injury leading to hospitalizing. They are also three times more likely to suffer from brain injury either right away or later on down the road. Not only does your health pay for this but so does your wallet. Studies have shown that inpatient charges double form $2,325,000 to $4,095,000 for those who ride with out a helmet. Cost for non-helmet riders is also increased because they are the riders who tend to have little to no insurance. If they are in a wreck they are also the ones who suffer from a worse injury, which not only increases their medical bills but then raises the economical cost. From 1984 to 2002, if all riders wore a helmet they could have saved over $19 billion dollars in economical
cost. From fall 2000 to summer 2002 helmet use in the United States dropped from 71% to 58%. In that time period the death rate in motorcycle related accidents went by 43%. The use of helmets on a motorcyclist should be a law in all 50 states because studies show that by taking ten seconds to place a helmet on your head it saves you money but more importantly it saves your life. More the twenty different associations support the universal motorcycle helmet laws. Some of the more commonly known companies are AAA, American Insurance Association, State Farm Insurance, and GEICO. All of these companies are fully behind having all states have full helmet laws. By passing this law in all states instead of paying thousands of dollars for medical bills, you could pay anywhere from $300 to $800 for a helmet. Which would you prefer to pay?
Works Cited
"Traafic Safety Facts." Motoercyl Helmet Laws. Apr. 2004. NHTSA. .
their bikers. With the partial laws each state decides an age in which they think the driver is responsible enough no longer need to wear a helmet. It ranges from the youngest in Main at age 14 to age 20. Some states have tried changing some of these laws and letting them have more leeway, but in the end it has only shown that the injury rate has increased. The states with strict helmet laws have fewer fatalities for motorcycle drover. It takes ten seconds to put on a helmet that in the end can save your life or prevent you from worse injury. In an eighteen year period, 13,774 lives have been saved form placing a helmet on the drivers and passengers head. 9,508 more lives could have been saved if a helmet had been worn. 85% of injury that occurs in an accident is reduced by wearing a helmet. Many drivers believe that wearing a helmet obstructs your view of the cars coming around you or that your hearing is impaired. In 1994 the National Public Services Research Institute conducted a study proving that wearing a helmet doesn’t restrict the rider’s ability to perform any task or block hearing. By wearing a helmet while riding the riders risk of fatality in an accident is reduced by 37%. A helmet is also 67% effective in preventing brain damage/ injury. An example of this is when Oregon put it’s helmet law in effect; the percentage of fatalities went down by 33%. Wearing a helmet has proven over and over again to save lives and reduce the extent of an injury if involved in wreck.
Yet drivers and states refuse to see this and don’t enforce the laws needed to be in place. Drivers without a helmet are 40% more likely to have a fatal head injury and 15% more likely to have a no-fatal injury leading to hospitalizing. They are also three times more likely to suffer from brain injury either right away or later on down the road. Not only does your health pay for this but so does your wallet. Studies have shown that inpatient charges double form $2,325,000 to $4,095,000 for those who ride with out a helmet. Cost for non-helmet riders is also increased because they are the riders who tend to have little to no insurance. If they are in a wreck they are also the ones who suffer from a worse injury, which not only increases their medical bills but then raises the economical cost. From 1984 to 2002, if all riders wore a helmet they could have saved over $19 billion dollars in economical
cost. From fall 2000 to summer 2002 helmet use in the United States dropped from 71% to 58%. In that time period the death rate in motorcycle related accidents went by 43%. The use of helmets on a motorcyclist should be a law in all 50 states because studies show that by taking ten seconds to place a helmet on your head it saves you money but more importantly it saves your life. More the twenty different associations support the universal motorcycle helmet laws. Some of the more commonly known companies are AAA, American Insurance Association, State Farm Insurance, and GEICO. All of these companies are fully behind having all states have full helmet laws. By passing this law in all states instead of paying thousands of dollars for medical bills, you could pay anywhere from $300 to $800 for a helmet. Which would you prefer to pay?
Works Cited
"Traafic Safety Facts." Motoercyl Helmet Laws. Apr. 2004. NHTSA. .