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Nevada Assembly Debating Bill to Repeal Helmet Law
The Nevada Assembly considers a bill (AB 300) to repeal the state's motorycle helmet law requirement. Nevada Assemblyman Don Gustavson (R-Reno) has introduced a bi-partisan bill allowing motorcycle riders with at least one year experience, or who have completed an approved rider safety course, to chose whether to wear a helmet. This article offers strong statistics and proof that injuries resulting from accidents, whether riding with or without a helmet, offset each other.
March 19, 2009
Let
Those Who Ride Decide
By Chuck Muth
“I disagree completely when government says that because of the number of head injuries from accidents with motorcycles that (a person) should be forced to wear a helmet,” declarethed Ronaldo Maximus many years ago. “I happen to think he’s stupid if he rides a motorcycle without a helmet, but that’s one of our sacred rights - to be stupid.”
There’s only one flaw I can find in Reagan’s logic: It might not be so stupid to ride a motorcycle without a helmet after all.
The best argument against mandatory helmet laws is individual choice and freedom. Let those who ride decide. After all, this is the United States of America; supposedly the freest nation on the planet. But the personal liberty argument falls on deaf ears when it comes to mommy-knows-best nanny-staters. They’re gonna protect us from ourselves whether we like it not.
Here’s the problem: While helmets often can prevent having your skull cracked open, resulting in a major grey-matter spill on the sidewalk, the added weight of a government-mandated motorcycle helmet makes it more likely that you’ll break your neck. Some choice.
The fact is motorcycle fatalities average 12% in all states whether helmets are mandated or not. Nevertheless, the mommy-knows-best crowd continues to advance the fallacious argument that folks injured in motorcycle accidents become a “public burden” for taxpayers. You know, like illegal aliens.
Sorry. Cheap shot.
Nevertheless, Helmet Law Facts by Warren Woodward completely blows this argument away:
“According to the National Center for Health Statistics,” writes Woodward, “approximately 1.16% of total U.S. Health costs are attributable to motor vehicle accidents, and the costs associated with the treatment of motorcyclist injuries account for less that 0.001% of total U.S. health care costs. Only a portion of that less-than-0.001% cost is attributable to un-helmeted motorcyclists, and the majority of that cost is paid by privately purchased health insurance. What remains, spread across the taxpayer base - which includes millions of taxpaying motorcyclists - is insignificant.”
In addition, some 80 percent of all highway head fatalities occur in automobile accidents, despite the use of seat belts, which helps explain why most brain trauma deaths are in cars. So if safety and minimizing taxpayer exposure are the objectives, why aren’t we mandating helmet use in passenger cars, hmmm?
Here’s why: Because wearing a helmet restricts vision and impairs hearing, making it more difficult to hear a police siren or screeching brakes or a mother-in-law in the back yelling at you to slow down.
Would somebody please square this circle for me? If helmets make it more likely for an automobile driver to be in an accident, how does forcing a motorcyclist to wear one help prevent him or her from being in an accident?
Nevada Assemblyman Don Gustavson (R-Reno) has introduced a bi-partisan bill (AB 300) to repeal the state’s mommy-knows-best helmet law. Gustavson’s bill would allow helmet choice for motorcyclists 21 years or older who have completed an approved motorcycle safety course and have at least one year of motorcycle driving experience under their belt.
Standing in the bill’s way will be Nevada State Sen. Dennis Nolan (RINO-Las Vegas). Not only does Nolan oppose repeal of the helmet law, he’s the prime mover-and-shaker behind the use of revenue-producing red-light cameras, making failure to wear a seat belt a primary offense, a national ID card, tax hikes up the wazoo, and requiring children to use booster seats until they go to college or get married, whichever comes first.
There is no reason for any self-respecting, freedom-loving American to support these mandatory helmet laws. If the objective, as the nanny-staters would have us believe, is to make everyone safer rather than control our lives, why not just ban motorcycles (and bicycles and skateboards) altogether and lower the highway speed limit for automobiles to 25 mph?
Yikes! Better not give them any ideas.
March 19, 2009, Posted with author's permission.
Biker's Choice of Motorcycle Reveals Taste in Body Art, Food and Employment Habits, Insurer Finds
What can one tell about a person by the kind of motorcycle they ride? Plenty, according to a recent countrywide online survey conducted by The Progressive Group of Insurance Companies, the number one seller of motorcycle insurance in the U.S. The survey finds interesting differences - and ... Read article
Louisiana Motorcycle Helmet Requirement is Back
Governor Kathleen Blanco signed House Bill 109, which now requires anyone riding a motorcycle to wear an approved helmet. In 1999, a similar law had been repealed, but now Louisiana has reinstated the requirement that all riders wear a helmet. -7/28/2004 www.legis.state.la.us
ATV Recalls
Has there been a recall on your ATV? To find out, go to www.cpsc.gov and click on "Recalls and Product Safety." Then select "Product Type" and select "All Terrain Vehicles (ATV's)." The latest ATV recall was issued November 2003.
High Crash Rates
Houston, Texas far exceeds the national average in the number of serious traffic collisions, according to the Associated Press. Officials said the area is growing faster than roads can be improved or patrolled. The eight county Houston Metro area recorded an average of 242 serious crashes every day….and that was data from 2000. For every crash involving death, injury or property damage of $1000 or more, there are two to three times as many minor ones. Almost 600 people die a year and about 90,000 injured. Is this a War Zone?
Good Advice
If your vehicle must be towed from an accident scene, know the difference between a nonconsent tow that a police officer initiates and a tow that you select and authorize. A nonconsent tow is often subject to regulated fees, which may be much lower. Make it clear to the officer that you are aware of the difference between a consent and a nonconsent tow and that you choose to have a nonconsent tow to protect you from potentially high tow and storage fees. Do not sign a blank or incomplete tow form!
A word about Roadside Assistance
You may or may not know it you have Roadside Assistance. Many insurance companies offer or include Roadside Assistance in the event you breakdown or become stranded, if you purchase collision and comprehensive coverage. Check through your "insurance papers" and look to see if you have it. If in doubt, call your Agent (we hope that's us) and ask. Don't forget, some manufacturers include this with a new vehicle purchase, or your dealer may have "included" it in your purchase. You may be required to call an 800 number to obtain this covered service, or you may be able to get reimbursed.
How old is a Classic Car?
We get asked this question, as well as "What makes a car a classic?" Well, a general rule of thumb is when the car becomes 20 to 25 years old, depending on who is deciding. There are other considerations which insurance companies use, like how many miles a year is the car driven and does the owner have a "daily driver" for everyday use. Also, how unique or desirable is the car, it's condition and value, and it's purpose for the owner. Many states have special registration (lower fees and special plates) for classics and antiques. Does your car qualify? We insure classic and antique cars, motorcycles and boats. Call us with your questions and get a free quote. There are many differences between companies - their coverages, restrictions and rates, so let us help you compare.
