federal helmet law

AMA Launches Call to Prevent a Federal Helmet Law
Written by: American Motorcyclist Association
Pickerington, OH – 5/9/2005
The AMA has learned that as soon as today (May 9, 2005) Senator Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) will offer an amendment to the transportation reauthorization bill (SAFE-TEA) that will re-institute a federal helmet mandate. The amendment would penalize any state without a mandatory motorcycle helmet law for all riders by denying federal transportation and safety dollars to that state. Please write or call your Senator's office and tell them to vote "NO" on the Lautenberg helmet amendment!

States should be able to determine their respective helmet policy free from the threat of federal sanctions. Congress affirmed this as recently as 1995 in the National Highway System Act when they removed federal penalties placed on states without mandatory helmet laws. Now, Senator Lautenberg is attempting to reinstate this form of federal coercion upon the states. That is why the AMA is encouraging you to contact your Senator and urge them to prevent a federal helmet mandate on motorcyclists by voting "NO" to the Lautenberg amendment within the SAFE-TEA bill.

Make your call now...use the numbers provided below, or TAKE ACTION NOW to write your Member of Congress.

ALABAMA
Richard Shelby (R) 202-224-5744
Jeff Sessions (R) 202-224-4124
ALASKA
Lisa Murkowski (R) 202-224-6665
Ted Stevens (R) 202-224-3004
ARIZONA
John McCain (R) 202-224-2235
John Kyl (R) 202-224-4521
ARKANSAS
Blanche Lincoln (D) 202-224-4843
Mark Pryor (D) 202-224-2353
CALIFORNIA
Diane Feinstein (D) 202-224-3841
Barbara Boxer (D) 202-224-3553
COLORADO
Wayne Allard (R) 202-224-5941
Ken Salazar (D) 202-224-5852
CONNECTICUT
Chris Dodd (D) 202-224-2823
Joseph Lieberman (D) 202-224-4041
DELAWARE
Joe Biden (D) 202-224-5042
Thomas Carper (D) 202-224-2441
FLORIDA
Bill Nelson (D) 202-224-5274
Mel Martinez (R) 202-224-3041
GEORGIA
Saxby Chablis (R) 202-224-3521
Johnny Isakson (R) 202-224-3642
HAWAII
Daniel Inouye (D) 202-224-3934
Daniel Akaka (D) 202-224-6361
IDAHO
Larry Craig (R) 202-224-2752
Mike Crappo (R) 202-224-6142
ILLINOIS
Richard Durbin (D) 202-224-2152
Barack Obama (D) 202-224-2854
INDIANA
Richard Lugar (R) 202-224-4814
Evan Bayh (D) 202-224-5623
IOWA
Charles Grassley (R) 202-224-3744
Tom Harkin (D) 202-224-3254
KANSAS
Sam Brownback (R) 202-224-6521
Pat Roberts (R) 202-224-4774
KENTUCKY
Mitch McConnell (R) 202-224-2541
Jim Bunning (R) 202-224-4343
LOUISIANA
Mary Landrieu (D) 202-224-5824
David Vitter (R) 202-224-4623
MAINE
Olympia Snowe (R) 202-224-5344
Susan Collins (R) 202-224-2523
MARYLAND
Paul Sarbanes (D) 202-224-4524
Barbara Mikulski (D) 202-224-4654
MASSACHUSETTS
Ed Kennedy (D) 202-224-4543
John Kerry (D) 202-224-2742
MICHIGAN
Carl Levin (D) 202-224-6221
Debbie Stabenow (D) 202-224-4822
MINNESOTA
Mark Dayton (D) 202-224-3244
Norm Coleman (R) 202-224-5641
MISSISSIPPI
Thad Cochran (R) 202-224-5054
Trent Lott (R) 202-224-6253
MISSOURI
Christopher Bond (R) 202-224-5721
Jim Talent (R) 202-224-6154
MONTANA
Max Baucus (D) 202-224-2651
Conrad Burns (R) 202-224-2644
NEBRASKA
Chuck Hagel (R) 202-224-4224
Ben Nelson (D) 202-224-6551
NEVADA
Harry Reid (D) 202-224-3542
John Ensign (R) 202-224-6244
NEW HAMPSHIRE
Judd Gregg (R) 202-224-3324
John Sununu (R) 202-224-2841
NEW JERSEY
Jon Corzine (D) 202-224-4744
Frank Lautenberg (D) 202-224-3224
NEW MEXICO
Peter Domenici (R) 202-224-6621
Jeff Bingaman (D) 202-224-5521
NEW YORK
Charles Schumer (D) 202-224-6542
Hillary Clinton (D) 202-224-4451
NORTH CAROLINA
Elizabeth Dole (R) 202-224-6342
Richard Burr (R) 202-224-3154
NORTH DAKOTA
Kent Conrad (D) 202-224-2043
Byron Dorgan (D) 202-224-2551
OHIO
Mike DeWine (R) 202-224-2315
George Voinovich (R) 202-224-3353
OKLAHOMA
James Inhofe (R) 202-224-4721
Tom Coburn (R) 202-224-5754
OREGON
Ron Wyden (D) 202-224-5244
Gordon Smith (R) 202-224-3753
PENNSYLVANIA
Arlen Specter (R) 202-224-4254
Rick Santorum (R) 202-224-6324
RHODE ISLAND
Jack Reed (D) 202-224-4642
Lincoln Chafee (R) 202-224-2921
SOUTH CAROLINA
Lindsey Graham (R) 202-224-5972
Jim Demint (R) 202-2246121
SOUTH DAKOTA
Tim Johnson (D) 202-224-5842
John Thune (R) 202-224-2321
TENNESSEE
Bill Frist (R) 202-224-3344
Lamar Alexander (R) 202-224-4944
TEXAS
Kay Bailey Hutchison (R) 202-224-5922
John Cornyn (R) 202-224-2934
UTAH
Orrin Hatch (R) 202-224-5251
Robert Bennett (R) 202-224-5444
VERMONT
Patrick Leahy (D) 202-224-4242
James Jeffords (I) 202-224-5141
VIRGINIA
John Warner (R) 202-224-2023
George Allen (R) 202-224-4024
WASHINGTON
Patty Murray (D) 202-224-2621
Maria Cantwell (D) 202-224-3441
WEST VIRGINIA
Robert Byrd (D) 202-224-3954
John Rockefeller (D) 202-224-6472
WISCONSIN
Herbert Kohl (D) 202-224-5653
Russ Feingold (D) 202-224-5323
WYOMING
Craig Thomas (R) 202-224-6441
Michael Enzi (R) 202-224-3424  

Actually, I don't think a national helmet law is such a bad thing.  I mean c'mon, a helmet is such a small sacrifice to make, but can make a huge difference between life and death.

I used to be against helmet laws, but now I've seen the light.  

FYI:

The Lautenberg Amendment was defeated 69 Nay to 28 Yea a couple days ago.  

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FYI:

The Lautenberg Amendment was defeated 69 Nay to 28 Yea a couple days ago.

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It's about the freedom to choose. No one can argue against the benefits of wearing a helmet, like wearing a seatbelt in your car, it is the smart thing to do. But you can't force people to do something against their will. Personaly I never ride without a helmet or drive without wearing my seatbelt because I value my life and do everything possible to protect it. But you can't make people be safe. You can show them how, but more than that is an intrusion of personal freedom of choice.  

I was riding today and a HUGE bumble bee flew right into my face shield at 80mph.  BONG!!!  I said to myself boy I am smart to wear a full face helmet or that thing would have put out my eye.  I wonder how many cruiser guys have crashed their "hogs" because they get a bee in the face?

I used to think that it's a "personal freedom" as well, but now I realize it's just stupid pride, and when they wind up in a ditch with a cracked skull and brain material oozing out, they will lose their pride real quick.  It's such a small sacrifice to make--they should make it and stop whining!  

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FYI:

The Lautenberg Amendment was defeated 69 Nay to 28 Yea a couple days ago.

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That sucks, I did a story on Helmet Laws for my COmputer Assisted Reporting class last semester.

Louisiana and Colorado both saw motorcycle fatalities, increase by 100% after revoking their mandatory helmet laws.

That the AMA would encourage people to be against a mandatory helmet law is a perfect example of why I will never be a member.

If you have to wear a seatbelt you should have to wear a helmet, end of story period, no excuses for not wearing one.

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FYI:

The Lautenberg Amendment was defeated 69 Nay to 28 Yea a couple days ago.

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That sucks, I did a story on Helmet Laws for my COmputer Assisted Reporting class last semester.

Louisiana and Colorado both saw motorcycle fatalities, increase by 100% after revoking their mandatory helmet laws.

That the AMA would encourage people to be against a mandatory helmet law is a perfect example of why I will never be a member.

If you have to wear a seatbelt you should have to wear a helmet, end of story period, no excuses for not wearing one.

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When people start to tell others how and what they have to do, there is no longer a "democratic" system.  Yes helmets are good (I always wear one) but who are you to tell someone else that they have to wear a helmet?  You wouldn't like it if you were told to eat oatmeal every morning (by law) because it will lower you chance of a heart attack by 100%.  I agree that helmets save lives, but let someone make their own choice.  As far as the statistics go, the ratio of motorcycle deaths compared to car deaths is almost identical.  People just get all upset because a motorcycleist is out in the elements, car drivers are self contained.  Don't be so quick to make people do what you think is right in your eyes, that's not what the first amendment is all about.  Freedom of choice is a powerful thing, and look at all the politicians who want to take it away from us.

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I do feel as though it is your right to choose to wear a helmet or not.  Just like it's a woman's choice to have a child or have an abortion.  But what I would like to see happen is for those of us who do ride with our helmets to get some kind of incentive, like lower insurance rates.  But because of guys that don't and do get killed like someone I no who was doing 20mph and fell over and busted his head open on a curve, we have to pay for that.  

I hate to say it but thats a good point. a woman has the right to choose what she does to "her" body. People are allowed to smoke tobacco dispite the facts that it causes death and along with that extremely high medical costs that get passed along. not to mention the fact that they haven't outlawed all fast food even though many people have serious health conditions and some fat people die. the world is full of idiots going around and doing things that seem reckless or harmfull to themselves. Any adult in free society should be able to make choices as long as they don't directly infringe on someone elses freedom. Then again theres a lot of things that i would like to prevent stupid people from doing but if i had my way i guess we'd have to call that a dictatorship. i won't complain about a helmet law but there are those rare occasions were i like to cruise around the neighborhood and feel the wind blowing through my hair. here in kansas i have the right to make that decision but if i drive 15 min north or east i don't (Missouri has a helmet law). I've even ridden a bicycle without a helmet and lived to tell about it. I think darwin had it right.  

This is a tough dilemma.  Some people would even say that riding a motorcycle in itself is too dangerous and seek to ban them.  I think what we can all agree on is:

A) Insurance companies are ripping us off
B) Hospitals are ripping us off
C) Cops suck--they're never there when you REALLY need them like when someone swerves at you for being on a motorcycle. (I just had to throw that one in )

The fact that we have this weird insurance system where other people have to pay for other people's mistakes is uniquely American.

BTW, I recently saw a news magazine show about insurance companies taking premiums and investing them into the stock market--and if they lose they simply raise everyone's rates to make up for it!  Talk about CORRUPT!!!  

i have to ask. What did you think they did with your premiums. Just stick them in a mattress and pay out claims whenever nessisary. of course insurance companies invest money in the market. insurance compainies and other institutional investors make up a significan % of all assests in the market. And sure some times the market goes down but more often then not the market goes up and they make money off of it. Insurance compaies are all about gauging risk. Risk of their customers makeing claims and the risk of their investments. I think your rant (at least with regards to ins. *** is highly unnessisary. I should know I do accounting for two smallish mutual funds who's exclusive subscribers are insurance compaines. total assets of  about $340,000,000. its nothing unusual.  

Good point S6X.  People should have the right to choose whether to wear a helmet or not, but give the riders who do wear a helmet some incentive.  Lower insurance rates would be great but people would abuse it, unfortunately, to get the lower rate.  American's, aren't we great!  

First I always wear my helmet, and think anyone who doesn't is stupid.  However it is their choice.  I think that if the state is going to make a law that says you need to wear a helmet to protect you, then what about the laws that protect the rest of you?  What good is a helmet going to do if someone is out riding around in sandals, shorts and shirtless?  Ok, so their brain is intact, but the rest of their body isn't.  It is a lame half @$$ attempt at keeping people protected, and if they are going to do it, they need to do it right, and better.  Which then infringes upon our rights, and tells us that we have a lack of better judgement.  I always wear my full face helmet, and with all the bugs and rocks that hit it, couldn't see not wearing it.  I do think that not wearing a helmet, or the little tiny brain buckets, are just a way that someone is trying to act cool, and be macho.  

Agreed.