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Breaking Motorcycle News on Clutch and Chrome!
Georgia legislation would amend motorcycle helmet law
By the Staff of Clutch and
Chrome
February 18th, 2008
Another state is following
Missouri's efforts to change it's motorcycle helmet laws.
A State bill introduced
this month in would change its law to mirror Florida's,
allowing bikers over the age of 21 to ride without a DOT
approved motorcycle helmet if they carry sufficient medical
insurance.
Medical professionals, politicians and motorcycle
enthusiasts are weighing in on the different sides of the
issue
"This legislation would reverse 40 years of progress in head
injury prevention in our country," said Dr. Michael W. Gorum
a neurosurgeon form Columbus Georgia, calling the
legislation the "antithesis of common sense."
The bill was introduced by four senators, Regina Thomas,
D-Savannah; Jeff Mullis, R-Chickamauga; J. B. Powell,
D-Blythe; and Ed Tarver, D-Augusta. It will likely spark
strong support from riders who want the right to ride state
roads without a helmet. It also will draw strong opposition
from those who believe it's a bad idea.
Those who oppose a no-helmet law in Georgia point to
statistics in California and Florida to make their case.
In California, which established a helmet law in 1992, the
death rate decreased by 38 percent from one year to the
next.
In Florida, the numbers went the other way in 2000 when
helmets were made optional.
When the Florida law was weakened, the motorcyclist death
rate increased by about 25 percent. The death rate rose from
31 fatalities per 1,000 crash involvements in the two years
before the law change, to 39 fatalities per 1,000 crash
involvements in the two years after the law was enacted. |
