Motorcycles and news

Senate to weigh bill making motorcycle helmets optional February 15, 2006

Motorcyclists who want the exhilaration of feeling the wind in their hair while riding on Massachusetts roads have their eyes on the state Senate, which is considering whether to allow adults to ride without a helmet.

Senators are slated to take up a bill today that would exempt people 21 and older from the state’s protective headgear law for motorcycle riders, which critics said could lead to higher insurance rates for other motorists.

Joseph “Sarge” Komola of Tewksbury, vice chairman of the Massachusetts Motorcycle Association, said motorcycle riders are only asking to be allowed to be responsible for their own safety.

Protect heads only up to 14 mph

“Why don’t they require helmets on people who drive convertibles, or top-heavy sport utility vehicles that are constantly tipping over?” Komola said.

He described as “a fallacy” the claim by supporters of the mandatory helmet law that it helps save health insurance costs, and noted that the helmets are only designed to protect the head from an impact of up to 14 mph.

Komola said he will usually wear his helmet when he rides his motorcycle in New Hampshire, even though the state only requires riders 18 and younger to wear one. “It all boils down to choice.”

But opponents argued that fewer motorcyclists wearing helmets would lead to more head injuries, and higher auto and health insurance costs for all motorists.

“You could argue that it’s a personal choice, but when it costs the rest of us more money out of our tax dollars to pay for brain injuries and long-term care, that’s something we should all be concerned about,” said state Sen. Marc Pacheco, D-Taunton.

Pacheco said he is concerned about a proposed amendment to the bill that would stiffen penalties against automobile drivers who cause motorcycle accidents without colliding with the motorcycle.

‘A perception of protection’

An automobile driver could face a minimum of 2 1/2 years in prison and a fine of up to $5,000 if they drive negligently causing a motorcycle rider to sustain “serious bodily injury.”

Paul W. Cote, director of government affairs for the state motorcycle association, said motorcycle injuries are only a “drop in the bucket” compared to automobile accidents in Massachusetts. There are some 160,000 people licensed to ride a motorcycle in Massachusetts, compared to more than 4 million auto insurance policies in total.

“Helmets are just a perception of protection. It’s like putting a bullet-proof vest on a law enforcement officer and asking him to go up against a bazooka,” Cote said.

If a motorcyclist loses control of his bike, Cote said, “it takes a little bit of skill and a lot of luck to save you. It has nothing to do with a helmet. Most motorcycle fatalities are the result of internal torso injuries.”

In order to be allowed to ride without a helmet, a motorcyclist would be required to be considered an “experienced rider” with at least six years of experience by the Division of Insurance, and have to complete a motorcycle training course. In addition, a rider would have to purchase a health insurance plan that provides at least $50,000 in coverage.

Cote added that many riders will ride into New Hampshire so that they can ride without a helmet, and their tourism dollars go with them.

State Sen. Susan C. Tucker, D-Andover, another opponent of the bill, said the legislation seemed to have “cross purposes” with the goal of reducing health care costs in Massachusetts.

“With all due respect, the $50,000 insurance requirement would pay for about three days of treatment in an intensive care unit. Our largest growth in Medicaid costs is in brain injuries and long-term care,” Tucker said.

Ed Hughes, president of the New Hampshire Motorcyclists’ Rights Association, said better than half of motorcyclists in New Hampshire wear helmets regularly, and most have insurance coverage on themselves.

He said more than half of motorcyclists who die in accidents are wearing helmets, and didn’t think New Hampshire’s motorcycle helmet laws affect auto insurance rates.

Insurance impact hard to predict

“As you become an adult, you take on certain responsibilities for yourself. When the government starts telling you how to protect yourself, then that’s out of the government’s realm. At the age of 18, you should have enough sense to protect yourself,” Hughes said.

Bill Scully, an actuary for the Massachusetts Automobile Insurers Bureau, said it’s difficult to predict what the impact on auto insurance would be of allowing adults to choose not to wear helmets.

While there might be people sustaining more severe head injuries from not wearing helmets, there could also be more fatalities, Scully said.

By Erik Arvidson, Transcript Statehouse Bureau