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The helmet law debate
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Arizona needs a law requiring adult bicycle riders to wear a helmet!
Have you ever known somebody who was injured in a car accident? What do you think his attitude about seat belts was after they saved his life? If you knew that a seat belt would save your life, you would buckle up! It took years of legislation and public awareness campaigns to make seat belt use mandatory. Now a new topic regarding public safety is coming to light: people are dying or becoming seriously injured in seemingly minor accidents on bicycles when the rider's head strikes the concrete. When the head is unprotected "the brain continues to move in a forward motion while the skull stops moving" (Macyko1), causing trauma. What is needed is a way to protect the brain "by absorbing the energy from the impact, buying extra time for the brain to slow down" (Macyko1). Bicycle riders need to wear helmets to protect their brains from injury, yet unfortunately the public is simply not aware of this need and many people will continue to die or be seriously injured unless something is done. Bicycle helmets save lives and should be required by Arizona State law for riders of all ages.
Opponents feel that bicycle helmet laws are too strict and are misdirected. Principally, they feel that helmet laws do not prevent accidents and point out the fact that "motor vehicles are involved in 90-92% of bicyclist deaths" (BHSI/Compendium 4). Creating awareness among drivers by lowering their speeds would create a safer cycling environment. Furthermore, opponents of helmet laws believe that "requiring motorists to wear helmets will save more lives" (Convissor 1) since statistics show the likelihood of fatality while riding in passenger cars is nearly double that of bicycling (Bicycle 15). They are also concerned for the overall popularity of their sport when helmet laws go into effect. After helmet laws went into effect in Australia, "surveys in Sydney found the helmet law reduced cycling by 38%" (Convissor, 1). Another issue is the argument that helmets are inconvenient and uncomfortable.
The opponents of helmet laws seem to have a good argument. Helmet use cannot prevent an accident and Department of Transportation statistics indicate seventy five percent of bicycle related deaths are in collisions with motor vehicles (American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons 2), which implies the real problem is with automobile drivers causing accidents with bikes.
In Title 23, Chapter 316.211 of Florida’s constitution, the law states that “A person may not operate or ride upon a motorcycle unless the person is properly wearing protective headgear securely fastened upon his or her head which complies with Federal Motorcycle Vehicle Safety Standard 218 promulgated by the United States Department of Transportation.2” The Florida statue is actually more stringent on helmet laws than Vermont’s statue. In Florida, a person cannot operate/ride a motorcycle without helmet, while in Vermont it’s only regulated while riding a motorcycle on
Wearing headgear has many positives, reducing injuries is the most obvious one and it could be argued that its help reduces the chance of injuries and even death. At an elite level, Chelsea goalkeeper, Petr Cech is convinced that wearing headgear saved him from suffering extended injuries after colliding with Fulham striker Orlando Sa back in September 2011. Headgear offers a form of padding when worn. It allows juniors and elite athlete’s the reduced chance of head wounds. By this it means it allows for less “cracked skulls”, scars, wounds and so on. It gives a stronger protection on the softer part of the skull which is more prone to damage...
How well do helmets prevent concussions from occurring and prevent the development of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE)?
2. Motorcycle fatality rates due to riding without a helmet are quickly rising. Nationally, motorcycle fatalities have increased 59 percent since 1997 (Motorcycle 1). Between September and December of 2003 in Pennsylvania, helmetless rider fatalities more than doubled, but fatalities decreased in riders wearing helmets (Wlazelek 1). Similarly, research done by the American Journal of Public Health found that motorcycle helmets severely reduce the presence and severity of head injuries resulting from motorcycle accidents (Rowland 4). Obviously, there is strong correlation between helmet use and the number of fatal crashes. The research done across Pennsylvania in the years following the repeal of the all-rider helmet law suggests that helmets do in fact decrease the risk of serious head injuries and death among motorcyclists. According to Judith Stone, increased deaths were enough for Louisiana to reject helmetless riding and revert back to an all-rider helmet law. Louisiana saw a 100 per...
In American football, helmets are required to decrease traumatic brain injuries and have been successful in doing so. A large part in the success of helmet design is improvements in technology. The sizes of athletes have gone up to make football more dangerous. To protect against brain injury, helmets designs have changed to become heavier and wider, filled within the space are energy absorbing materials, air space and padding to protect the skull upon impact. Originally, helmets were designed to prevent only traumatic brain injuries, but technology is advancing to fill the gap of concussions. Until recently, the seriousness of concussions were not considered part of the equation that needed to be addressed, so manufactures did not utilized in constructing helmets to address this issue (Post et al. 653). Upon predicting risk of concussions in tests, by themselves linear and rotational acceleration are not suitable measurements for modern helmets. These testing measurements do not address the rotational forces and minor hits to the brain which are associated with concussions (Post et al. 654). Given the seriousness of concussions in contact sports, more attention is given to prevent and reduce concussions through testing methods and advancing technology, stronger regulation and changes to the sport. As stated in the article involving the National Football League (NFL), “The risk involved in playing sports are also very real. The NFL is struggling with serious mental and physical health problems because they sustained repeated mild traumatic brain injuries, is what concussions are called. (“Concussions and Marketing of Sports Equipment” 6).
Millions of people all over the United States choose motorcycles over automobiles for the thrill, speed, and high performance capabilities. On the other hand, motorcycles are not at all the safest way of transportation. Motorcycles do not provide the passenger with the outer protection that cars provide, therefore, when one crashes, the results are usually much more serious. Injuries to the head are responsible for 76% of fatalities when dealing with motorcycle crashes many of which could have been prevented had the rider been wearing a helmet. For this reason, many states have adopted the motorcycle helmet law. The law states that every passengers must wear a helmet at all times when riding on a motorcycle. This law has created a great deal of controversy. One side supports the law, believing that it protects motorcyclists from danger and saves the economy a great deal of money. The other side argues that the law is unconstitutional and it violates our right to freedom. However, statistics show overwhelming support in favor of the motorcycle helmet law. Although wearing helmets cannot prevent motorcycle crashes, they can greatly reduce the number of deaths caused by head injury as well as lowering taxes, insurance rates, and health care costs. Therefore, the helmet law should be put into effect in every state across the United States.
Each year numerous lives are lost due to careless and irrational driving. The disregard for safe driving has been a predicament to Queensland for years. For many years? police have relied heavily on speed cameras, breathe testing and heavy fines as a deterrent against unlawful drivers. Over the years fatality rates have increased, so Queensland Transport has composed a series of safe driving campaigns. On many occasions the transport department informs and advises the public about the importance of responsible driving. They propagate safe driving through the various channels of the media. Their safe driving campaign is now using effective propaganda aimed directly at speeding; drink driving and tired and reckless driving
While the use of helmets does aid in protecting players from brain trauma, they also increase the risky behavior of players; this is called risk compensation. Risk compensation is the adjustment of individual behavior, responding to the perceived changes in risk (TheFreeDictionary.com). Most people that wear helmets have a pre-conceived idea that, because they have a helmet on, they can possess more daring behaviors and be fine. The helmet is basically thought of as a tool to hit harder, or improve performance in today’s culture. Adventure writer and pilot, Lane Wallace (2011) accurately understands the dangers of helmets being used incorrectly, and how they are used as weapons instead of safety. Wallace also theorizes like the NFL, a change in football culture and of viewpoints towards helmets would vastly reduce trauma to the
People argue that protective gear is enough to prevent most injuries. I disagree because many children get injured while wearing protective gear properly. Many injuries are caused by being overworked, and protective gear can’t prevent that.
Assistant City Manager Mike Wanchick said, "A helmet seems to give a false sense of security to the cyclist, who feel less vulnerable and may ride less cautiously," He then went on to add. "As a result, riders wearing a helmet are more likely to have an accident." (Post) Now, the Bicycle Helmet Safety Institute (BHSI) statistics show four states accounted for 40 percent of bicycle deaths in 2000, With Texas as one of them. Yet, Wanchick says that "our basic position is that bicycle safety is a parents' primary obligation," adding " What hurts kids are cars and we need to be working the traffic citations out there* people who are licensed to drive cars, not kids learning to ride bicycles." (Post) Even though 10 of the largest cities in Texas have bicycle-helmet ordinances including Dallas and Fort Worth. But, Richardson Texas choose to not act on this issue, but turn a blind eye to one of the silent injuries and the prevention of it by wearing a simple helmet. The BHSI says the statistics show about 800 bicyclists die in the US every year. Plus another one in eight of the cyclists injured has a brain injury.
II. According to the Bicycle Helmet Safety Institute, bicycle related crashes kill about 900 people a year and injure over half a million. Most bicycle deaths or accidents occur between 3-9 pm, and most often occur during the summer months. We can prevent these numbers by: wearing protective equipment, obeying the rules of the road, and being aware of your surroundings.
Riding a motorcycle can be a fun and exciting hobby. With gas prices at near all-time highs, it can also be a very economical way of getting around. Unfortunately, it can also be dangerous. In the spring of 2006, my brother received third-degree burns on both legs when the motorcycle he was riding was hit from behind by a straight truck. He was not wearing a helmet at the time of the crash and to this day I have no idea how he lived. He was lucky to have survived, but many others are not. To protect motorcyclists, laws should mandate all riders wear a helmet because statistics indicate that they prevent serious injury which, in turn, causes economic strain to society.
Bicycles, the one way we got to move around as kids, and as adults it is the one way we get around too, because cars are mainstream. Safety is an issue when it comes to bicycling and that why the helmet is an important factor when it comes to safety for bikes. Every year, in the U.S, nearly 900 persons die from injuries due to bicycle crashes and over 500,000 persons are being treated in emergency departments. Head injuries are by far the greatest concern for bicyclists, causing one third of emergency department visits, two thirds of hospital admissions, and three fourths of deaths. There are other injuries such as facial injuries, which occur at a rate nearly the same to head injuries. It is hard to trust that helmets would be protective against head injury, but establishing the real effectiveness of helmets is important.
“The one thing that unites all human beings, regardless of age, gender, religion, economic status, or ethnic background, is that, deep down inside, we all believe that we are above-average drivers” -Dave Barry, comedian. The number of accidents over the last ten years have drastically increased, drivers are paying less attention to the road itself. Many individuals behind the wheel of a car believe that their driving does not affect the road conditions, however it always will. The driving habits of today are catastrophic due to the reasoning that the driving will affect other lives through reckless or distracted driving, and disobeying traffic laws.
People ride bicycles for various reasons. Some people ride bicycles for sport, fitness purposes, as a mode of transportation, fun activity, and some people ride bikes to simply relax and clear their mind after a long day. Regardless of the reason you ride, it is important to know the factors that contribute to bicycle and helmet safety. A study in 2014 shows that 103.7 million people rode a bike that year and 34 percent of Americans age three or older rode a bike at least once in that year (“Study: 103.7 Million Americans Ride Bikes”). The importance of bicycle safety cannot be underestimated. According to the 2008 Alabama Traffic Crash Facts, there were 182 bicycle crash injuries and four fatalities. In 2008, children 14 years old and under