Repeal of No-Helmet Laws

Traumatic brain injury advocates, including many TBI lawyers, have renewed their call for a repeal of no-helmet laws for motorcycle riders. Currently, 20 states and the District of Columbia require helmet use by all motorcyclists and 28 states have laws only covering some riders, usually those younger than 18. Three states - Colorado, Illinois, and Iowa - have no laws requiring helmet use.

Stewart L. Cohen, president of the Brain Injury Association of Pennsylvania and a traumatic brain injury lawyer, said that state's no-helmet law is "a huge mistake" and called for its repeal citing Medicaid costs.

"We know that Medicaid is out of control in Pennsylvania -- the budget for 2006 is around $4.4 billion," he said. "Part of the reason Medicaid benefits are skyrocketing is that millions of state Medicaid dollars will be used to pay the medical costs of motorcyclists who have suffered catastrophic brain injury while riding without a helmet."

"The current helmet law is costing Pennsylvania plenty -- if helmet use were required by law and enforced, many lives and millions of Medicaid dollars could be saved," he added. "Pennsylvania Medicaid dollars should not be spent to subsidize reckless behavior."

According to a recent study by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 66 percent of fatally injured motorcycle riders in 2004 were not wearing a helmet in states without all-rider helmet laws, compared with only 15 percent in states with all-rider helmet laws. Many of those deaths were a result of a traumatic brain injury.

The NHTSA study also pointed out that helmets reduced the risk of death by 29 percent and are 67 percent effective in preventing traumatic brain injuries to motorcycle riders.

The average hospital charge for motorcyclists with serious head injuries ($43,214) is almost three times that of motorcyclists with mild or no head injuries ($15,528). A recent study at Shands Jacksonville (Florida) hospital shows unhelmeted accident victims required an average of 50 percent longer hospital stays which accounts for some of the higher costs as does the level of care.

See also:

National Institutes of Health