Personal Safety Pros and Cons

¶ … personal safety [...] pros and cons of why bicyclists and motorcyclists should be required by law to wear helmets. Helmet laws are extremely controversial for a number of reasons. While most states require that all riders under the age of 18 wear helmets on bicycles and motorcycles, some do not. Why? There are a number of compelling reasons on both sides of this contentious argument.

Pros of Wearing Helmets

Cons of Wearing Helmets

Help prevent head injuries.

Loss of vision because of helmet restrictions.

Significantly reduces death from injuries sustained when riding a bike or motorcycle.

Cannot hear other vehicles or emergency vehicles.

Head injuries are expensive and difficult to treat.

Lack of personal liberty and choice.

Helmets reduce insurance costs by minimizing injuries.

Too much government intervention in personal lives.

Most health and law enforcement professions strongly believe in helmet laws. That is because they routinely see the traumatic and life-threatening injuries that result from accidents where riders were not wearing helmets. Studies indicate that injuries are less severe when a rider is wearing a helmet, especially head injuries. Unfortunately, head injuries are some of the most common injuries that occur to bike and motorcycle riders, so wearing helmets can be strong preventative measure. No one plans to have an accident, but they can happen in a fraction of a second and can have lifelong consequences.

In addition, head injuries are expensive and difficult to treat, and this places the burden of rising insurance costs on all Americans. Head injuries can result in loss of motor skills, and many other serious repercussions that take time and money to treat. Insurance premiums rise across the board as a result, affecting all Americans, whether they ride bikes and motorcycles or not, and whether they choose to wear a helmet or not.

There are several compelling arguments against helmet use, as well. One of the strongest is that mandatory helmet laws stifle personal freedom and choice. Motorcycle riders believe they should be responsible for their own safety and well-being, and should not be forced to wear a helmet if they do not want to. This argument seems self-centered and unrealistic. Helmets save lives, it is proven, and anyone who does not want to save their own life seems to be living in a dream world where accidents do not occur. However, they do, and people die as a result of making poor choices. On bicycles, children have even more chances of injury, because children tend to take more chances, not understanding the risks, and they are still growing, so they can be even more severely injured in accidents, especially with head injuries. Helmets should be required for all children riding bicycles, because children have not developed the facilities to understand all the dangers that face them.