Helmet Laws

Paper Summary:

The paper relates how the motorcycle helmet laws have raised different ideas regarding how governments should police individual behavior. On one hand, government advocates argue that the enforcement of helmet laws is a public safety issue. Many motorists, however, believe that helmet laws interfere with personal decisions and should be seen as unconstitutional. The paper discusses these arguments and reveals that it is in society's greater financial interest to prevent as many motorcycle injuries and fatalities as possible. The paper concludes that the government should re-institute and enforce mandatory helmet laws throughout the United States.

From the Paper:

"Motorcyclists who challenge the state mandatory helmet laws have often been portrayed as reckless thrill-seekers. They are seen as irresponsible rebels who relish danger. However, this stereotype downplays many helmet law opponents' valid concerns.
"Sonny Pinard, a biker based in Port Charlotte, Florida, believes that "people are grown adults, and they're old enough to make their own decisions" (qtd in O'Donnell). For riders like Pinard, the motorbike is the ultimate representation of freedom. A helmet is therefore a negation of the bike, a symbol of constraint."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Bledsoe, Gregory and Li, Guohua. "Trends in Arkansas motorcycle trauma after helmet law repeal." Southern Medical Journal. 98(4): 436-441. ProQuest Database.
• "Injury and Injury Control." Bioethics for Students: Issues in Medicine, Animal Rights, and the Environment. 4 vols. Macmillan Reference USA, 1999.Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center. Thomson Gale. 17 April 2006http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/OVRC
• NHTSA. "Fact Sheet: Motorcycle Helmets." National Highway Traffic Safety Authority. http://www.saferoads.org/issues/fs-helmets.htm. September 2005.
• O'Donnell, Christopher. "Debate over helmet law rolls on; Despite rise in deaths, riders support choice." Sarasota Herald Tribune, August 16, 2005. ProQuest Database.
• "Helmet Issues." Biker Rights. http://www.bikersrights.com/helmets.html

More papers on Helmet Laws:

• Essay # 70090 : "Mandatory Motorcycle Helmet Laws "
• Research Paper # 75175 : "Motorcycle Helmet Law in Kentucky"
• Essay # 21000 : "CA Motorcycle Helmet Law of 1992"

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