Prevention Library
Guest Opinion: Motorcycle helmet debate truly is a no-brainer
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The debate rages on in Arizona and elsewhere: Should motorcycle riders be required to wear helmets? Or is it the individual's right to decide?
Do helmets save lives or cause injuries? Are helmetless motorcyclists more likely to incur higher medical bills in the event of an accident, thus creating a larger financial burden for society? Or is there no difference in medical costs incurred by riders with helmets or without? Proponents on both sides make compelling arguments. But for me, seeing is believing.
When I began riding a motorcycle 2 1/2 years ago, I decided to always wear a helmet, no exceptions. Working at the Brain Injury Association of Arizona has reinforced the wisdom of that decision. I have observed firsthand the hundreds of Arizonans who seek our help every month. A significant percentage has been involved in the leading cause of brain injuries in the state: vehicular crashes. And a number of these crash victims were riding a motorcycle - without a helmet.
There were more than 2,400 motorcycle crashes in Arizona in 2003, with 111 fatalities, an increase of 16 percent since 2002. The incidence of motorcycle crashes in the U.S. has been increasing in recent years, as the percentage of riders wearing helmets has fallen from 71 percent to 58 percent nationally. Arizona is one of the states without a mandatory helmet law. But statistics fail to convey the pain, devastation, financial hardships and long rehabilitation associated with a traumatic brain injury.
For those who survive, brain injury is life-altering. Serious physical impairments are frequently a result, as well as a variety of cognitive, behavioral and emotional complications. Health care costs are extensive. An individual with severe brain injury typically faces five to 10 years of intensive rehabilitation, with medical costs often approaching $2 million. The family, as well as the injured person, often is traumatized as changes in the patient's physical functioning and personality place an unusual burden of stress on family members. In other types of traumatic injury, the pathway is clear: Repair, rehab and return to life as usual. With brain injury, however, the route is not so clearly marked, and the conflict is intensified.
The ability of medical science to "fix" the brain is so limited that the chances of recovery often are slim, and the possibility of returning to one's previous life even slimmer. After a brain injury, many people start using alcohol or drink more. People with traumatic brain injury are at increased risk for addictive behaviors if they rely more heavily on substances for coping, arousal, regulation or socialization. revious tendencies toward violence may be greater after a brain injury. Even a previously nonviolent individual may have difficulty with anger and violence, if areas of the brain that affect behavior are altered.
At our association, we see and hear from people who have suffered traumatic brain injuries from a number of causes besides vehicular crashes: gunshot wounds, falls, sports and recreation activities. In Arizona, an average of 14 such injuries are serious enough to result in death or hospitalization every day. Since 1983, we have been providing these people and their families with information and referrals, education, advocacy and support. We also stress prevention - the only known cure for a brain injury. Perhaps helmetless motorcyclists ought to spend a week or two in our offices, listening to some of the heartbreaking stories we hear every day. It might persuade them that wearing a helmet isn't such a bad idea.
Dawn Turnage is data manager at the Brain Injury Association of Arizona (602-508-8024).
Copyright © 2005 Tucson Citizen. Reprinted with permission.