Helmets should be the law for all motorcycle riders

Thursday, January 27, 2005

For many motorcyclists in Maine, one of the joys of riding comes with the wind whipping through their hair.

Riding without a helmet has been legal here for most riders since 1977, when lawmakers repealed the state law making helmets mandatory for all bikers and passengers.

The change was part of a dimwitted national trend in the 1970s that saw states foolishly ignore proven risks by allowing motorcycle riders to shed their protective headgear.

In a return of a long-missing prudence, a state lawmaker is looking to restore the helmet law for anyone who rides or is a passenger in Maine.

It is an idea that lawmakers should support for safety and economic reasons -- and to prove that common sense is alive and well at the Statehouse.

To help make that happen, it would be good to see Gov. John Baldacci and maybe even former Gov. Angus King, each a Harley-Davidson rider, advocate hard for the law's passage.

Rep. Walter A. Wheeler Sr., D-Kittery, is sponsoring the bill, which is likely to draw objections from many motorcyclists and, therefore, from lawmakers who want to please those constituents.

Wheeler said he introduced the bill at the behest of an 86-year-old resident whose young relative was injured critically in a motorcycle crash.

That accident was part of a trend that has seen the number of motorcycle accidents -- and crash-related fatalities -- increase in Maine, throughout New England and across the nation.

The number of motorcycle-related deaths here nearly doubled over the past few years, to 22 in 2004. Meanwhile, the number of motorcycle registrations in the state has leaped more than 31 percent, to 36,349 in 2003 from 27,650 in 1999.

And given the state's appeal to tourists, including those on motorcycles, the number of bikes on Maine's roads skyrockets in the warmer months.

That all means there are a lot of people who, with the state's approval, can ride helmet-free.

It's time for that to stop.

As we noted in a recent editorial, the concern with motorcycle safety is not limited to younger riders who might tend to ride more aggressively. Fourteen of the deaths in Maine last year involved riders who were at least 35 years old. Overall, the 35-44 and 45-54 age groups here have each accounted for more deaths than young riders over the past five years.

Wheeler's bill marks the first time since 1989 that a lawmaker has put a helmet law before the Legislature. State law now requires helmets for motorcyclists who have had their motorcycle license for less than a year or who have only a learner's permit. The law also requires that passengers younger than 15 wear helmets.

The proposed law is certain to be challenged by motorcyclists who believe they should not be forced to wear helmets. To them, we offer the same answer that we have given to people who say they should not be required to wear seat belts in automobiles:

Wearing a helmet, first and foremost a safety issue, is an economic issue, too. Helmets can help prevent deaths and serious head and neck injuries. Meanwhile, most of the costs to treat riders who are in crashes are paid by employers, insurers and taxpayer-funded programs, such as Medicaid and Medicare.

Along with the freedom to ride a motorcycle comes the responsibility of doing it as safely as possible.

Lawmakers should make Maine the 21st state, along with Washington, D.C., to require that all motorcycle riders and passengers wear helmets.