Your Opinion: Rescind helmet requirement for motorcyclists

Dear Editor:

I rode motorcycles for many years. A lot of those years were in states that do not require riders to wear a helmet.

I always wore a helmet. I chose to increase my odds of surviving a crash; many others made the choice that the freedom of not wearing a helmet outweighed the risk.

I do not believe the government has the authority, it certainly shouldn't, to make personal decisions for individuals, unless such decisions negatively impact others.

No state should require adult motorcycle riders to wear helmets, however, I see nothing wrong with a law that requires those who ride without a helmet to have substantial medical and life insurance, to protect the public from paying for medical care and/or supporting the riders' dependents.

I wonder about the "fact" often noted about the cost of caring for head injuries.

I don't have specific data but based on research I did many years ago, it seems logical to me that those wearing helmets survive crashes more often, even if they have much more severe injuries than riders not wearing helmets who don't survive.

The cost of caring for, and rehabilitating, helmeted severely injured riders who survive may well outweigh the cost of caring for the few unhelmeted riders who survive with severe head injuries.

If the cost of care is the main reason for such a law then should we make the sex act illegal for people who are unable to support (emotionally or financially) the children they produce?

Society ends up footing the bill for rearing these children. I am certain the cost of caring for such children far exceeds the cost of caring for a few unhelmeted motorcycle riders who survived with head injuries.