100% All Rider Helmet Law for Illinois

by Steve Love

"Good weather, along with the higher cost of gas, will make the number of motorcycles on our state highways increase. The problem is Illinois does not have a mandatory motorcycle helmet law. Our state lawmakers, listening to the demands of some claiming that motorcycle helmet laws are a violation of the Constitution, have failed to act on this important issue.

The U.S. Supreme Court has upheld motorcycle helmet use laws under the U.S. Constitution since 1972: “The public has an interest in minimizing the resources directly involved. From the moment of injury, society picks the person up off the highway; delivers him to a municipal hospital and municipal doctors; provides him with unemployment compensation if, after recovery, he cannot replace his lost job; and, if the injury causes permanent disability, may assume responsibility for his and his family’s subsistence. We do not understand a state of mind that permits the plaintiff to think that only he himself is concerned.”

Still the Illinois General Assembly has not passed a motorcycle helmet law. In 1998 it was reported forty-nine thousand motorcyclists were injured and 2,284 were killed in traffic crashes in the U.S. The risk for motorcyclists is three times greater to be injured and fourteen times more likely to die then a car occupant. The unhelmeted riders in traffic crashes incur higher health care costs and many lack health insurance. The unhelmeted rider has 25% greater inpatient hospital charges then motorcyclists who wear a helmet. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports “Motorcycles make up less than two percent of all registered vehicles and only 0.4 percent of all vehicle miles traveled, but motorcyclists account for six percent of traffic deaths.” Helmets are approximately 29% effective in preventing fatal injuries. An unhelmeted rider is 40% more likely to suffer a fatal brain injury and 15% more likely to incur a nonfatal brain injury than a helmeted motorcyclist. NHTSA estimates helmets are 67% effective in preventing this injury type. Helmets save lives and prevent serious brain injuries.

Senator John J. Cullerton sponsored a bill in the Illinois Senate, “Requiring every operator and passenger on a motorcycle, motor driven vehicle, or motorized pedalcycle to wear a helmet.” When this bill was referred to the Rules Committee A.B.A.T.E. saw it as a victory. As long as our state lawmakers bend to the wishers of those who oppose a helmet law, they will fail to do the right thing and pass a helmet law for motorcyclists. This inaction on the part of our lawmakers is costing you money. The public must bear most of the costs from the deaths and disabilities of unhelmeted riders. The costs of emergency medical services, hospitalization, rehabilitation, welfare benefits, and lost productivity are some of the hidden costs the public has to pay. Only two states have a law requiring unhelmeted motorcyclists to carry at least $10,000 of hospitalization insurance. 50% of motorcycle crash victims do not have private health insurance. Medicaid and other public assisted health care funds help pay the bills.

The initial hospitalization for the injured motorcyclist averages more than $15,000. In a study by NHTSA, “the average cost for inpatient care for persons who sustained a brain injury was more than twice the average charge for persons receiving inpatient care for other injuries, and that does not include long term medical costs.” If the Illinois General Assembly will not pass a 100% Motorcycle Helmet Law, they should pass a law requiring that unhelmeted motorcyclists carry at least $10,000 of hospitalization insurance.