Helmet Law Repeal Takes a Spill : Sacramento vote serves both the motorcyclist and the taxpayer

A vocal minority of California motorcyclists, revved up to overturn the state’s mandatory helmet law, took a spill Tuesday when a state Senate committee voted down the Republican-backed repeal measure. The 6-2 rejection of the legislation serves the wider public, both in terms of safety and of money. If those cyclists who insist on the freedom to ride unprotected--and by implication to die--ever succeed in winning repeal of the helmet law, a great price will be extracted in injuries to riders and to the pocketbooks of taxpayers.

The helmet requirement, which went into effect in 1992, was intended to reduce deaths and injuries in motorcycle accidents and save millions of public dollars in hospitalization, rehabilitation, unemployment insurance and long-term disability costs.

UCLA researchers found recently that the helmet law has been successful. Fatalities due to motorcycle accidents have dropped by 37.5% since the law went into force. The average hospital stay of the injured decreased by more than a day, and the average time in intensive care wards fell by 21.4%. In all, surgical procedures dipped 13%.

Statistics, of course, can be interpreted in various ways. Some attribute the changes to reasons other than the law; they list reduced motorcycle use, a state education program for cyclists and the weather (the rains were heavier and accidents were more likely a few years back, some say). Maybe so. But the fact remains that taxpayers have saved $10 million in Medi-Cal costs alone in the last four years and fewer cyclists have been fatally injured on the roads.

It’s worth remembering that in the movie “Easy Rider,” a paean to the motorcycle and the open road, the hero often wore a helmet.