helmet law

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Recommended: The helmet law debate

Who are Relmets Really Protecting?
The debate over whether or not to wear a helmet while riding a motorcycle has been hot topic since the helmet law went into effect in California in 1992. It seems obvious that wearing a helmet would help protect you in a motorcycle accident. Many legislatures agree. In fact, nineteen states have a mandatory helmet law for all motorcycle riders. Twenty-seven states have a law for those under a set age, three of which require additional insurance for those of age who choose not to wear a helmet. That leaves only four states with absolutely no helmet laws. Despite these facts, helmets are a superficial means of safety at realistic speeds. Yet because this is a public policy issue that is not just about health but also about freedom of behavior, the process of law making is complicated.
Who supports the helmet law? If you were to guess a motorcycle rider, you would probably be wrong. The majority of the helmet law supporters consist of manufacturers, government agencies, and insurance companies. Many states passed mandatory helmet laws in order to receive federal funds for highway repair and improvements. Most important, is the fact that helmet manufacturing is a large and profitable industry. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, in 1999, there were four million motorcycles registered in the United States (DOT, 1999). States gain to profit from the tax revenue generated by the sale of h...

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    In 1989, plaintiff Joseph Benning was cited for a violation of § 1256 for operating a motorcycle without wearing approved headgear in Caledonia County, Vermont. The statue states that “No person may operate or ride upon a motorcycle upon a highway unless he wears upon his head protective headgear reflectorized in part and of a type approved by the commissioner.1 The headgear shall be equipped with either a neck or chin strap.1” The County State’s Attorney dismissed the citation because he deemed the statue vague and unable to establish the elements necessary to prosecute the crime.1 However, the plaintiffs filed suit against the state, seeking to have § 1256 declared unconstitutional.

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  • Helmet For My Pillow Summary

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    First published in 1957, Helmet for My Pillow is the World War Two memoir of Robert Leckie, United States Marine Corps veteran and military historian. Born in 1920, Philadelphia Pennsylvania native Leckie served in the Pacific Theatre with the First Marine Division as a machine gunner and intelligence scout during the Battle of Guadalcanal and later campaigns. One of eight children born into an Irish Catholic family began his writing career, at age 16 as a sports writer for The Bergen Evening Record in New Jersey.

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  • Its Time To Think About Visors Summary

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    Stereotypes are dangerous in today’s society as they force individuals to compromise safety in order to meet society’s want for entertainment. In “It’s Time to Think About Visors,” Ken Dryden explores the idea that society has pressured athletes to sacrifice safety for performance. Furthermore, he uses first hand experience to warn the public of the consequences that can occur when safety is neglected. Dryden’s experiences show a stunning fact that is people will focus on pleasing others stereotypes of risk in entertainment and inevitably reduce the barriers that separate the individual from danger. Ultimately, resulting in an increased rate of preventable injuries due to the influence of the world around them. In the essay

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  • REI Case Study

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    By having these requirements REI would have an increase demand created by the state regulatory, as they will be able to sell quality helmets at higher

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  • Sport Safety: Should headgear be made mandatory for all contact sports?

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    2014 Issues Analysis By Dino Nuker Sport Safety: Should headgear be made mandatory for all contact sports? Injuries are common in most sports that have a contact component attached. Whether it’s at a professional level, or a school level, injuries are always bound to occur in contact sport. This analysis will look into the role headgear could, should and would play, and debates whether it should be made mandatory. Olympic sports such as Ice Hockey, Bicycle Riding and Baseball are just some examples that currently require athletes to wear a form of headgear.

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  • American Football: Technology and Regulation of Helmet Safety

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    American football is full of exciting competition, but do we realize the danger! Helmet safety in football remains an immense problem as the sport accounts for the highest incidence of concussions. Since leather football helmets, the technology for safer helmets has improved drastically and continue to improve. The development of newly designed helmets and technology has lowered the risk of head injuries for players. Furthermore, improvements in helmet testing methods have led to better understanding head injuries and the protectiveness of the helmet. In respect, football helmet safety still remains a challenge, such as a necessity of a proper categorization system to rank helmets and regulations to improve helmet safety. Regardless, standards and regulations attempt to address helmet safety through government intervention and a proper measuring system for football helmets. Despite the cultural perception of football, measures are taken to ensure safety, such as the reforms and education with regards to playing safer football. I intend to address the technological advances and regulation of football towards the discussion of helmet safety. Therefore the aggresivity in football’s culture should embrace stronger helmet standards and regulation that are promoted through improved testing methods and innovations because of the need to prevent further dangerous head injuries, especially concussions.

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  • Technology and Regulation of Sports Helmet Safety

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    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).

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  • America Needs a Motorcycle Helmet Law

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    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.

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  • America Needs Better Drunk Driving Laws

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    “Drink the first. Sip the second slowly. Skip the third. The speedway ends at the cemetery” (Rockne). Every day, almost 30 people in the United States die in motor vehicle crashes that involve an alcohol-impaired driver. This amounts to one death every 48 minutes. The annual cost of alcohol related crashes totals more than 51 billion. In Recent discussions of drunk driving, a controversial issue has been whether the driving while intoxicated laws should be increased due to the amount tax payers are paying for drunk driving crashes. On the one hand. Some argue that the driving laws for driving drunk should remain the same and not change. From this perspective the laws about driving under the influence should greatly increase to be stricter, this will help decrease the death rate per year in the United States. On the other hand, however others argue that the laws about driving while drunk are already too strict and should remain unchanged. In sum, then, the issue is whether the laws about driving drunk should be greatly increased to be more effective, or remain unchanged. Because drunk driving can result in unnecessary and premature deaths, unsafe roadways, billions of dollars spent on taxpayers due to DUI’S, and losing a loved one. Drunk driving laws should be altered to be more efficient.

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    Is there in the world anything more essential than having a new opportunity of life? Although several individuals may possibly think an obligatory use of seat belt is a technique for causing people to feel a prisoner in their own car, putting on a seat belt would make the difference in a car accident. The use of seat belts provides security while driving; shows self-consciousness and has a role in government. That is why, the use of seat belts should be mandatory for drivers.

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  • Bicycle Helmets Mandatory?

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  • Bike Helmets

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    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.

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  • The Importance of Wearing a Seatbelt

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    Car accidents are the leading cause of death for people under the age of 35. Wearing a seat belt can prevent death in about half of these accidents. Did you know that every 15 seconds someone is injured in an automobile accident if they are not buckled up, or that every 13 minutes someone is killed in a crash. Failure to wear a seat belt contributes to more fatalities than any other single traffic safety related behavior. According to the National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration seatbelts saved nearly 12,000 lives in the United States in the year 2000. The NHTSA estimates that more than 9,000 U.S. car accident fatalities in 2000 would have been avoided if the victims had been wearing seatbelts. Sixty three percent of the people killed in accidents were not wearing seat belts. The NHTSA a...

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  • Outline for Bicycle Safety

    667 Words  | 2 Pages

    1.     Studies have shown that wearing a helmet can reduce your chances of head injury by 85%

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