Pennsylvania Medical Society Urges Reinstatement of Helmet Law
| Date: June 15, 2006 |
Media Contact: |
Chuck Moran |
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Pennsylvania Medical Society |
| For Immediate Release |
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(717) 558-7820 |
(Harrisburg, PA) The unfortunate serious motorcycle accident by Pittsburgh Steelers’ star quarterback Ben Roethlisberger has brought to the forefront the decision by Pennsylvania’s legislators to repeal our helmet law. Yesterday, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported that Roethlisberger has suffered fractures of upper and lower jaws; broken facial bones and nose; multiple lacerations, abrasions, and contusions; lost and broken teeth; and a mild concussion. The good news is that Roethlisberger will live. The bad news is that other Pennsylvanians may suffer the same fate by legally riding without a helmet.
The Pennsylvania Medical Society has long advocated for the requirement to wear a helmet while motorcycling. After all, it makes sense. Head injury is a leading cause of death in motorcycle crashes. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, when involved in a crash, an unhelmeted motorcyclist is 40 percent more likely to incur a fatal head injury and 15 percent more likely to incur a non-fatal head injury than a helmeted motorcyclist. Additionally, helmets are estimated to be 29 percent effective in preventing fatal injuries to motorcyclists and 67 percent effective in preventing brain injuries.
The cost of a helmet is about the cost of a tank of high-test gasoline, and pales in comparison to the average cost of hospitalization of a motorcyclist with a traumatic brain injury—$95,000 in 2004, the year after repeal of Pennsylvania’s helmet law, up from $64,000 in 2002, according to the Center for Injury Research and Control at the University of Pittsburgh, using preliminary 2004 data reported by the Pennsylvania Health Care Cost Containment Council to the Pennsylvania Department of Health. What a huge expenditure of health care dollars on a preventable injury. . . .
I personally ride a motorcycle, but I wouldn’t think of riding without my helmet. I can’t say I’ve ever seen an NFL quarterback take the field without his helmet. Neither should he, I, or any other Pennsylvanian ride a motorcycle without one.
Louisiana legislators repealed their motorcycle law in 1999 but then reenacted it in 2004. For the good of our patients and our health system, Pennsylvania legislators should wake up and do the same
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Last Updated: 10/3/2007