Legislation would repeal helmet law in Pennsylvania

OFF THE WIRE
A state lawmaker has reintroduced legislation restoring Pennsylvania's motorcycle helmet law.

State Rep. Dan Frankel, D-Allegheny, introduced legislation on May 23 that would reverse a law that went into effect in 2003. That law allows motorcycle riders 21 or older to ride without helmets if they have completed a motorcycle safety course approved by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation or Motorcycle Safety Foundation.

"The increase in deaths and injuries on our roads and the shattered lives of victims and their families out to be enough to admit the 2003 repeal was a mistake and we should fix it," Frankel said in a prepared statement.

Frankel cited a 2008 study by two University of Pittsburgh professors who analyzed state statistics for helmet use, head injuries and motorcycle deaths. The professors reportedly found that under the 2003 law, head injury deaths increased by 66 percent and head injury hospitalization increased 78 percent.

"Many studies have shown that motorcycle helmets save lives, helmet laws save lives and helmet law repeals lead to increased head injury and deaths. What we found in Pennsylvania was no exception," said Kristen Mertz, University of Pittsburgh professor and co-author of the 2008 study.

Alliance of Bikers Aimed Toward Education of Pennsylvania (ABATE) spoke out against Frankel's proposal. In a statement on its website, the organization challenged Frankel and the University of Pittsburgh's assessment.

The organization notes that the state Legislature researched the matter before the helmet mandate was lifted in 2003.

"Two reports were issued, and the findings showed in both cases that the fatality rate remained the same at 5.9 per 10,000 registrations," ABATE says in its online statement. "Rep. Frankel did not like the findings of our own state's reports, so he prefers to hang his helmet on a Pitt study of Pa. motorcycle deaths which contradicts the PennDOT statistics and state analysis."