No Helmet Bill (Resonance)

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No Helmet Bill

The Tennessee legislature is at it again with its annual consideration of a bill removing the helmet requirement for motorcyclists.

Although I generally favor granting individuals as much personal freedom as possible, I think I lean the other way on this one. I balance the competing interests, and this seems to weigh in favor of safety: the public cost for this elective risk is significant, given what I consider to be the relatively minor nuisance of wearing a helmet.

As the article points out, the $10,000 insurance requirement is a joke; motorcycle crash victims with head injuries typically face hospitalization bills well above $10,000.

At any rate, there's a Darwinian element to this whole debate. For my part, I'd hate to risk bouncing my unprotected noggin on the road while chugging away on a bike going 18 mph, much less cruising around at 65+ mph.

Posted by Brian on May 2, 2005 6:06 PM | Permalink |

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Comments

Glen Dean
May 2, 2005 9:05 PM

38273

But the point is, why do you want to deny the right of somebody else to bounce there head off of the pavement. You know if we weren't a welfare state, the cost wouldn't matter would it.

Brian A
May 3, 2005 10:13 AM

38379

Glen,

Because unless we adopt a policy were we simply allow uninsured accident victims to bleed to death at the side of the road, we're always going to be a "welfare state."

Les Jones
May 3, 2005 3:42 PM

38393

"You know if we weren't a welfare state, the cost wouldn't matter would it."

And if the Earth didn't have gravity, the wrecks wouldn't hurt as much. Things are the way they are, unfortunately.

I used to be on the other side of the issue, but I moved to the same position as Brian for pretty much the same reasons: the inconvenience/loss of freedom of having to wear a helmet or put on a seat belt in a car are vastly outweighed by the societal costs of not doing those things.