Why motorcycle helmets should be mandatory




















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. Better be safe than sorry The most contested issue of motorcycles safety is the helmet debate whether they should be required to wear helmets at all times riding or not to wear one. Helmets should be mandatory for motorcycle drivers to keep them out from less injury risk, protect their faces from the climate control or even from bugs, and could prevent death. When a motorcycle is a vehicle operated on a public roadway, its rider and passenger is subject to the same rights and obligations as other vehicle operators traveling on the same roads.

If it is reasonable to require car seats for children, airbags in vehicles and the use of car seatbelts, requiring motorcycle helmets is also reasonable. Motorcycle helmets became more. To some degree, we already engage in this type of behavior in health care.

Although the issue of helmet safety is philosophically challenging from an ethical perspective, law-based solutions appear to be less ambiguous. Despite the seemingly constant cycle of enactment and repeal in many states, universal motorcycle helmet laws can become as stable and well-accepted across the states as seat belt laws.

Hence, and given its overwhelming success with other regulations such as a national speed limit, mandatory vaccination requirements, and child safety seat laws, reestablishing federal funding contingencies for universal helmet laws would ensure much higher rates of enactment of comprehensive helmet laws, as witnessed with the passage of the Highway Safety Act funding of , and would also serve to support state legislators against powerful motorcycle rights lobbies. Although it is impossible to prevent every motorcycle crash, it is clear that universal helmet laws have a profound impact on individual safety as well as health care costs that are absorbed not only by the motorcyclist, but also the general public.

Like seat belt laws, motorcycle helmet laws aim to make the roads safer for both the motorcycle rider and automobile drivers and to lower health care costs and other economic burdens that may rest on the rider, his or her family, and the state.

A tort is a wrongful act committed by one person against another for which the victim may obtain money damages or other civil law remedies. Even in states without helmet laws for adults, motorcycle riders should be encouraged to take responsibility for their choice to ride without a helmet.

The helmet defense protects riders from being barred from the litigation, allowing a jury to find liability for the accident without considering whether the rider was wearing a helmet. However, in the determination of damages, the opposing party is protected from being required to pay increased damages to a helmetless rider whose injuries were more severe solely because he or she failed to wear a helmet. Motorcyclists should take reasonable steps to mitigate their injuries in the event of a crash.

Those who oppose helmet laws imply that only the individual is penalized for failing to wear a helmet. If this is the case, then these individuals should be ordered by the court not to expect others to pay the bill for the consequences of that choice, regardless of fault in the accident.

Despite statistics that have indicated that the majority of citizens 81 percent support universal helmet laws, legislatures still have caved under pressure from groups like ABATE. The authors of this article predict that with better federal and judicial support, motorcycle-rights lobbyists will no longer be as powerful as they have been since the s, and the helmet laws will not only be more common among the states, but will result in greater compliance by motorcyclists.

Tagged as: helmet laws , helmets , motorcycle injuries , motorcycle safety , safety laws , trauma. Bulletin of the American College of Surgeons N. Saint Clair St. Chicago, IL Effects of helmet laws In a meta-analysis of the evidence-based literature, MacLeod, DiGiacomo, and Tinkoff reviewed 45 articles and noted that from a public safety perspective, helmet use in motorcycle riders reduces overall death rates, the incidence of lethal head injury, and the number of non-lethal head injuries.

Autonomy Autonomy is generally understood to mean the freedom and ability to be self-governing or to make personal decisions without undue influence or interference from others. Paternalism Without a compelling justice claim, pro-helmet law arguments often strike a not-so-subtle paternalistic tone. Conclusion Although the issue of helmet safety is philosophically challenging from an ethical perspective, law-based solutions appear to be less ambiguous.

Ann Intern Med. Governors Highway Safety Association. Motorcycle helmets. In India two-tiered vehicle that is motorcycles, scooter, etc.

Two-tier vehicles are also considered convenient to travel locally from one place to another. Though when we use any motor vehicles for our convenience we sometimes take our safety for granted and out of rush you forget to wear headgears. This act of yours lands you to adverse irreversible situations. Under section of the Motor Vehicle Act, wearing headgears is compulsory for protecting head but this provision does not apply to Sikhs who are driving motorcycles in public areas if they are wearing a turban [ii].

Under section , every person who is above 4 years of age riding on motorcycles in public places should wear protective headgear [iii]. This provision provided protection for those who accompany the driver on the motorcycles. While riding motorcycles, it is the responsibility of every rider to check if their accomplice is wearing a helmet or not. The punishment for not wearing a helmet in contravention of section of the Motor Vehicle Amendment Act, has to pay fine of rupees and the driving license of such riders will be suspended for three months under section D of the Motor Vehicle Amendment Act, [iv].

This law is made more stringent and the State Government took an initiative by taking action those who violate it. In rural areas people not following rules for safety measures. Thanks for highlighting this information to save thousands of life.

Your email address will not be published. All fields are required. Recently, wearing a helmet while riding a two-wheeler, has been made mandatory in Pune, the second largest city in the state of Maharashtra in India.

The Traffic Police Department of Pune enforced this rule with an aim to lower the number of accidents and the casualties resulting due to the same. While this is very thoughtful of the police department, people are still reluctant about wearing helmets citing various mostly silly reasons like: Helmets cause discomfort It is difficult to carry the helmets when not riding the bikes Wearing a helmet messes the hair But these reasons are negligible compared to your precious life.

Helmets have been in existence since the middle ages. However, they were restricted to military use in the earlier times. With time the designs and the use of helmets evolved. Today, the significance of a helmet is all the more germane as the roads are heavily flooded with speeding vehicles and the chances of being in an accident are very high.

Also, the patch works and continuous development of the Indian roads increase the chances of accidents. The importance of wearing a helmet while riding your two-wheeler: Helmet is effective in reducing head injuries -- Wearing a helmet helps to reduce the impact of an accident on your head.

While riding your two-wheeler, it is very likely that if you are involved in an accident, then the resulting head injuries can be fatal, if you are not wearing a helmet.



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