Before the Joint Committee on
Transportation
The Massachusetts Medical Society wishes to be recorded in
strong opposition to legislation that would weaken the
Massachusetts "Motorcycle Helmet Law" (M.G.L. Chapter 90, Section
7), including House Bill 2642, Senate Bill 1726 and Senate
Bill 1749, all pending before the Committee today. Most of
these bills would repeal the statutory requirement that all
motorcycle operators and passengers wear protective headgear and
replace it with a requirement that only applies to those under the
age of 21. The exemptions, including training, experience and
the ownership medical insurance, are no substitute for wearing a
helmet.
Physicians see the damage done to non-helmeted motorcycle
accident victims every day. The evidence that motorcycle
helmets save lives and reduce health care costs is
indisputable! "The National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration [NHTSA] encourages each state to have and enforce a
law requiring all motorcycle operators to wear a helmet
[emphasis added] . . . ." ("Motorcycle Helmet Use Laws,"
NHTSA Traffic Safety Facts, DOT HS 810 726W, February 2007)
NHTSA reports that head injury is the leading cause of death in
motorcycle crashes and that helmets have proven to be the best
protection from head injury for motorcyclists. The
Administration further reports that a non-helmeted motorcyclist is
40 percent more likely to suffer a fatal injury (and 15 percent
more likely to suffer a non-fatal injury) than a helmeted operator,
and, that helmets are 67 percent effective in preventing brain
injuries, one of the costliest of all disabilities.
Recent studies document the need to maintain the helmet
law. A NHTSA-funded study showed that in the three years
following the repeal of Florida's helmet law in 2000, 933
motorcyclists were killed - an 81 percent increase over the
previous three-year period. The Florida law requires helmets
for riders under the age of 21, but fatalities nearly tripled in
that category (and 45 percent were not wearing helmets). In
addition the costs of hospital care for those injured rose from $21
million to $ 44 million in the 30 months after the new law took
effect. This mirrored findings from Kentucky and Louisiana
that showing fatalities rising by more than 50 Percent and 100
percent respectively. Indeed, Louisiana has now gone back to
requiring universal helmet use.
Therefore, we urge the Committee to report out all bills seeking
to weaken the "Motorcycle Hemet Law" as "ought not to pass."
