Big Ben=Big Bang

[The Leaper]

The facts are pretty clear that seat belts save lives. I see no problem with the government mandating that we should wear seat belts. I also see no problem with the government mandating the use of helmets for motorcycle riders. You can still choose to not wear the seat belt or helmet...you just will be paying fines for it. How is that any different than taxing alcohol or cigarettes?

Any one who says "I demand to have a choice in wearing my seat belt" is a fool. Every year, thousands of individuals walk away from auto accidents because of seat belts. If you get into a car and don't put one on...you are a damn fool. If you want the choice to be an immature fool...fine. I have the choice to call you an idiot too.

At least Ben now can pick up a new sponsor...Polident.

[BigDmoney]

Your right leaper, anyone who doesn't put on a seatbealt is a fool and an idiot in my book. Everyone should buckle up because it's flat out moronic not too. But that has nothing to do with having the choice. I have no problem being forved to wear a seatbelt as long as it's equal across the board. You equate fines for not wearing a seatbelt with alcohol tax, well wear is the "tax' or fine for riding a morotcycle? It would save thousands of lives every year if motorcycles were outlawed. As long as I have to pay a fine for putting myself at risk, they should. Obviously i don't want to ban motorcycles, i'm just stating the blatent hypocrisy here.

[woodbuck27]

FACT SHEET

Motorcycle Helmets

** According to 2005 data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), 4,008 motorcycle occupants were killed on our nation's roads last year, an 8% increase from 2003. Motorcycle helmets have been shown to save the lives of motorcyclists and prevent serious brain injuries.

** Twenty states and the District of Columbia require helmet use by all motorcycle drivers and their passengers. Twenty-eight other states have laws only covering some riders, especially those younger than 18. Three states - Colorado, Illinois, and Iowa - have no helmet requirements at all.

** All-rider helmet laws are effective in increasing motorcycle helmet use, thereby saving lives and reducing serious injuries.

Note :

As states repeal helmet laws, fewer riders are wearing helmets. According to the National Occupant Protection Use Survey (NOPUS), conducted from the fall of 2000 to the summer of 2002, helmet use dropped from 71 percent to 58 percent nationally.

Below see the results:

MOTORCYCLIST FACTS

Motorcycles make up less than 2% of all registered vehicles and only 0.4% of all vehicle miles traveled, but motorcyclists account for over 9% of total traffic fatalities. (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, or NHTSA, 2005)

Fatalities among motorcycle riders have increased by more than 89% since 1997. (NHTSA, 2005)

In 2004, 66% of fatally injured motorcycle riders were not wearing a helmet in states without all-rider helmet laws, compared with only 15% in states with all-rider helmet laws. (NHTSA, 2005)

Per vehicle miles traveled, motorcyclists are about 21 times as likely as passenger car occupants to die in a traffic crash and four times as likely to be injured. (NHTSA, 2001)

In 2003, 36 percent of all motorcyclists involved in fatal crashes were speeding, approximately twice the rate for drivers of passenger cars or light trucks. The percentage of alcohol involvement was 40 percent higher for motorcyclists than for drivers of passenger vehicles. (NHTSA, 2003)

Motorcyclist fatalities are rising fastest among motorcycle riders over age 40. In 2003 alone, fatalities increased by 16%. (NHTSA, 2003)

Note :

Helmets reduce the risk of death by 29% and are 67% effective in preventing brain injuries to motorcycle riders. (NHTSA, 2001)

MOTORCYCLE HELMET LAW FACTS

Surveys have shown that helmet use is essentially 100% in places with all-rider motorcycle helmet laws compared to 34 to 54% at locations with no helmet laws or with age-specific helmet laws. All-rider laws significantly increase helmet use because they are easy to enforce due to the rider's high visibility. (NHTSA, 2000)

NHTSA estimates that helmets saved the lives of 1,158 motorcyclists in 2003. If all motorcyclists had worn helmets, an additional 640 lives could have been saved.

The average hospital charge for motorcyclists with serious head injuries was found to be almost three times that of motorcyclists with mild or no head injuries, $43,214 v. $15,528. (Orsay, et al., 1994)

In 1997, Arkansas and Texas repealed all-rider helmet laws. As of May 1998, helmet use fell from 97% in both states to 52% in Arkansas and 66% in Texas. Motorcycle operator fatalities increased by 21% in Arkansas and 31% in Texas. (NHTSA, 2000)

In 1992, the first year of California's all-rider motorcycle helmet law, 327 motorcyclists died in traffic crashes, compared to 512 in 1991 - a 36% reduction in fatalities in one year. Additionally, the number of hospitalized brain-injured motorcyclists fell by over 50%, from 1,258 in 1991 to 588 in 1992. (California Highway Patrol, 1999, Trauma Foundation, 2002)

After passage of Maryland's all-rider motorcycle helmet law in 1992, motorcyclist deaths dropped dramatically - 20% in 1993 and 30% from 1993-1994. (Maryland Department of Transportation)

In Oregon, there was a 33% reduction in motorcycle fatalities the year after the helmet law was re-enacted. Nebraska experienced a 32% reduction in fatalities the first year of its law. Texas experienced a 23% reduction in fatalities; Washington, a 15% reduction; California, a 37% reduction; and, Maryland, a 20% reduction. (NHTSA, 2001)

By an overwhelming majority (80%), Americans favor state laws requiring all motorcyclists to wear helmets. (Lou Harris, for Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, 2004)

An estimated $13.2 billion was saved from 1984 through 1999 because of motorcycle helmet use. An additional $11.1 billion could have been saved if all motorcyclists had worn helmets. (NHTSA, 2000)

Analysis of linked data from the Crash Outcome Data Evaluation System (CODES) in three states with all-rider helmet laws showed that without the law, the total extra patient charges due to brain injury would have been almost doubled from $2.3 million to $4 million.

September 2005

Personal comment:

Any person who would operate a motorcycle without a helmut is really careless with his/her life and acting irresposible towords those who care.

This might be the time to consider the Roethlisberger Law in Professional sports (you imagine the wording) as an entire franchise and it's fans can suffer the loss of smeone as valuable or highly touted as Big Ben not to disregard those who truly love him.

Today the first concern is of Ben and those who love and care for him, but to see a Pro athlete act so irresponsibly and selfishly is something that should be addressed now rather than to make someone the example before the LAW arrives.

[Scott Campbell]

Robin Yount used to ride dirt bikes - right? Didn't he have a clause in his contract regarding that risk?

[Fosco33]

Food for thought...

A Fatal Freedom: Deaths in motorcycle crashes on rise

By THOMAS HARGROVE
Scripps Howard News Service
25-MAY-06

Deaths in U.S. motorcycle crashes have nearly doubled in a decade, mounting to 4,000 annually, as more states have repealed mandatory helmet safety laws, according to a Scripps Howard News Service study.

One federal analysis concludes that nearly 700 lives could have been saved in one year alone if all motorcyclists had worn helmets.

Yet motorcyclists have become so passionately opposed to mandatory helmet laws that they've formed powerful state and national lobbies, persuaded Congress to muzzle federal highway safety experts and convinced lawmakers in 30 states to roll back their statutes.

Nine of the 10 states with the worst motorcycle death rates don't require adults to wear helmets, according to the Scripps Howard study of records provided by the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration.

Six states, including Florida and Texas, have relaxed their laws since 1997. Motorcycle fatalities quickly went up in all of them. Lawmakers in eight other states are considering rolling back their laws this year.

Helmets spoil the ride for many motorcycle enthusiasts. They say they love the feeling of freedom as the wind whips in their hair. Those killed in wrecks are overwhelmingly white and disproportionately middle-aged and divorced men, according to federal death records.

People on both sides of the issue say men trying to recapture the joys of their youth are spurring the anti-helmet movement.

"I ride without a helmet every chance I get. It's hard to explain the feeling," said Noel LaPorte, a full-time lobbyist in Lansing, Mich., who is in final negotiations with Gov. Jennifer Granholm over a bill making helmets optional for adults. "The feeling is so much freer and more enjoyable."

Helmet use is at an all-time low. Last year, only 48 percent of the nation's riders wore headgear that met U.S. Department of Transportation standards.

"If we really wanted to stop highway deaths, why not make the speed limit 20 mph and force everyone to drive Volvos?" asked Tim Burchett, a Republican state senator from Knoxville, Tenn., who for years has sponsored a helmet-rollback bill. "It's a freedom issue, man. This is still America!"

Nationwide, motorcycle deaths have risen from 2,116 in 1997 to 4,008 in 2004. That increase comes at a time when highway deaths generally are declining because of improved auto safety standards and wider use of seatbelts. There has been a 40 percent increase in the number of registered motorcycles during this period, although the total number of miles driven on motorcycles has declined slightly.

The federal government in 1967 began requiring states to enact mandatory helmet laws to qualify for highway construction funds, and 47 states and the District of Columbia passed such legislation by 1975. But Congress, responding to complaints when the Department of Transportation prepared to take action against non-complying states, revoked the authority to withhold federal funds in 1976.

Motorcycle enthusiasts then began lobbying state legislatures to roll back the helmet laws for adult riders, and 26 states have done that. Four other states don't require adults or children to wear helmets. Louisiana rolled back its law in 1999 but, concerned by the rising death rate, reversed itself and made helmets mandatory again in 2004.
Also helping the anti-helmet cause is the absence of a well-organized opposition. No major interest group has challenged the motorcyclists. A few public health organizations and emergency-room physicians have gone to the microphones during legislative committee hearings to complain of the medical expenses created by motorcycle accidents. But the political passion clearly rests with the anti-helmet forces.

The nation's largest cycling organization, the 278,000-member American Motorcyclist Association, also has been lobbying in favor of rolling back helmet laws for adult riders, even though it also encourages its members to wear helmets.

"Motorcycling fatalities are up nationwide. That's what concerns us," said American Motorcyclist Association spokesman Tom Lindsay. "We encourage helmet use, but neither helmets nor helmet laws can prevent crashes."
Advocates of a helmet rollback say Michigan is losing $1 billion a year because anti-helmet motorcyclists avoid the Wolverine State when touring around Lake Michigan. That position prompted the Michigan Licensed Beverage Association to support the bill on the grounds that motorcyclists were avoiding taverns along the state's borders.
.

[FavreChild]

There are so many things in life over which we have no control. The helmet issue is so frustrating because riders *do* have the power to minimize injury but choose not to exercise that power.

Millions of Steeler fans - young and old - have just realized that their hero is not quite so invincible after all. Maybe they will also realize the same truth about themselves.

Best wishes to Ben and all the Steeler fans of the world.

[Patler]

The facts are also pretty clear that low fat diets extend lives and that obesity shortens lives. Should the government be able to mandate what we eat or how much we weigh?

Should the government intrude on and regulate other dangerous pastimes like mountain climbing, rock climbing, etc. etc.?

I have ridden motorcycles for 40 years and would not now ride without a helmet, although I did when I was younger. I feel everyone SHOULD wear a helmet. However, I have never been comfortable with the government regulating to protect us from ourselves. Government should protect us from others, not from ourselves.

[AtlPackFan]

The facts are also pretty clear that low fat diets extend lives and that obesity shortens lives. Should the government be able to mandate what we eat or how much we weigh?

Should the government intrude on and regulate other dangerous pastimes like mountain climbing, rock climbing, etc. etc.?

I have ridden motorcycles for 40 years and would not now ride without a helmet, although I did when I was younger. I feel everyone SHOULD wear a helmet. However, I have never been comfortable with the government regulating to protect us from ourselves. Government should protect us from others, not from ourselves.

Shamrock Fan, I agree with you 100% but I think we are in the minority here.

[FavreChild]

I agree, also.

We can only give people the power to make informed decisions. The rest is up to them.

[retailguy]

Shamrock Fan, I agree with you 100% but I think we are in the minority here.

Not so sure you are in the minority.... I agree as well.

[MadtownPacker]

Regardless of laws Big Ben was a Big Pendejo for not wearing a helmet. With that much cash at risk I would be getting driven around wherever I go.

Maybe he was thinking about how much he sucked in the SB.

[Badgepack]

Big Ben was tonto loco.

How's that Madtown?

[red]

it now looks like the serious injuries to his knees might just be a serious case of road rash

[Tony Oday]

Im not saying that the government should make the players wear helmets but damn I am saying their employer should!

[MJZiggy]

it now looks like the serious injuries to his knees might just be a serious case of road rash

I fell on my blades once and got a tiny little bit of road rash. It burned like you wouldn't believe and that was just a tiny bit. He is going to suffer for this one. Also, I know someone who got into a bicycle accident and broke his jaw. He couldn't eat solid food for weeks and lost 20 lbs. Still it's better than another friend who got into a motorcycle accident and 10 years later still has a limp and nasty scarring or the wonderful man I know who was vaulted from his bike and went face-first into a traffic sign. He was a great guy. I hope Ben makes a full recovery.