I'm including the most recent Letter to the
Editor of the Star-Bulletin, along with a copy of
the proposed law.

Personally, I always wear a helmet when I ride my
bike. I also wear clear lens glasses to protect
my eyes.

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Don't force young riders to wear helmets

I was the only person in the entire state to
testify against Senate Bill 48 when it came
before the Senate Transportation and Government
Operations committees recently. This bill would
make helmets mandatory for moped riders and
bicyclists under the age of 18. The bill is based
on misinformation and emotionalism. My testimony
debunked this bill line by line but unfortunately
mine was only one voice and the committee passed
the bill.
SB 48 will go through other committees before
coming before the full Legislature for a vote.
Unless there is a public outcry against this
blatant paternalism, all you "under 18s" better
get used to wearing helmets, and all you parents
better get used to the government parenting for
you.

Incidentally, those who think mandatory helmets
are a good idea can start wearing them now, and
all the time. The major causes of TBIs (traumatic
brain injuries) are car crashes, violence and
falls. Shouldn't everyone wear helmets, then? And
if just one life was saved wouldn't it be worth
it?


Warren Woodward
Kihei, Maui

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Report Title: Safety Helmets

Description: Mandates safety helmet use for moped
operators and bicycle riders under the age of 18
years.

THE SENATE S.B. NO. 48

TWENTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2005

STATE OF HAWAII

A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO the use of SAFETY
helmets BY MINORS.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF
HAWAII:

SECTION 1. The purpose of this Act is to mandate
the use of safety helmets for motorcycle, moped,
and motor scooter operators and bicyclists in the
State that are under the age of eighteen. The
legislature finds that:

(1) A department of transportation study
performed at one hundred twenty different sites
throughout the State found that moped helmet use
statewide is only 15.6 per cent and that
motorcycle helmet use is 26.4 per cent;

(2) Even though a motorcycle and a moped are
different in scale and power, nationwide
statistics showing that a motorcyclist is sixteen
times more likely to perish in an accident than
an automobile driver and that head injuries are
the leading cause of death in motorcycle
accidents with unhelmeted riders forty per cent
more likely to sustain a fatal head injury may be
indicative of the type of statistics one would
find if a similar study were conducted with
regard to mopeds;

(3) Unhelmeted motorcycle accident victims have
higher health care costs compared to helmeted
riders, and that if such statistics were kept, an
analogous showing of higher health care costs for
unhelmeted moped accident victims would likely be
evident;

(4) Nearly half of the severe injuries resulting
from bicycle crashes nationwide are diagnosed as
traumatic brain injury. For the year 2000, that
means more than four thousand two hundred fifty
of the estimated nine thousand children ages
fourteen and under that were hospitalized for
bike-related injuries suffered a traumatic brain
injury, possibly causing serious long term
degradation in quality of life. Sadly, those
statistics also show that older children are more
likely to suffer a traumatic brain injury, likely
from decreased helmet usage; and

(5) Bicycle safety helmets reduce the risk of
head injury by as much as eighty-five per cent
and the risk of brain injury by as much as
eighty-eight per cent and that seventy-five per
cent of the bicycle-related fatalities among
children could have been prevented by a bicycle
safety helmet.

The legislature is cognizant of the arguments
from many motorcycle, motor scooter, and moped
riders as to the "freedom of choice" that these
riders have in choosing whether or not to wear a
helmet when riding. The spirit and attraction of
the free spirited American motorcycle rider as
embodied in such films as "Easy Rider" or
countless other television shows over the years
is also recognized as part of the pleasure of
riding. Helmet-less riding, to some, is seen as
"cool". The legislature is also aware of similar
feelings from the bicycling community.

There are very real costs to society, however,
when this "freedom of choice" is exercised.
Taxpayers, including riders who choose to
exercise personal responsibility for the safety
of themselves to the greatest extent possible,
subsidize the health care costs of those
unhelmeted accident victims through taxpayer
dollars. Health care insurance for all is
increased because of the higher health care costs
that unhelmeted accident victims incur. Taxpayers
also have to bear additional costs of programs
intended to help unhelmeted accident survivors
such as the neurotrauma special fund and advisory
board established by Act 160, Session Laws of
Hawaii 2002. Businesses, taxpayers, and the State
as a whole, suffers when traffic is shut down due
to a traffic fatality, which is a statistically
higher probability when the accident involves an
unhelmeted rider. Last, and most important of
all, is the grief caused to the loved ones of an
unhelmeted accident victim when the inevitable
thought of whether a safety helmet would have
saved their loved one enters their minds. Use of
a safety helmet very well could have saved that
life, as statistics show that more likely than
not, safety helmets save lives. Mandating the
wearing of safety helmets when riding or
operating these vehicles is a relatively small
sacrifice of personal liberty to help prevent
tragedies to families and our community.
Mandating this for the youngest in our community
is a very small sacrifice when compared the
tragedy of surviving one's children.

SECTION 2. Section 286-81, Hawaii Revised
Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (b)
to read as follows:

"(b) No person less than eighteen years of age
shall operate or ride as a passenger on a
motorcycle, moped, or motor scooter on any
highway, street, or any other public property in
the State unless the person wears a safety helmet
securely fastened with a chin strap."

SECTION 3. Section 291C-150, Hawaii Revised
Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"(a) No person under [sixteen] eighteen years of
age shall operate a bicycle upon a street,
bikeway, highway, or any other public property
unless that person is wearing a properly fitted
and fastened bicycle helmet that has been tested
by a nationally recognized agency such as the
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration,
the National Safety Council, or the Children's
Safety Network, and is designed to fit the user
and protect against head trauma. This requirement
also applies to a person who rides upon a bicycle
while in a restraining seat that is attached to
the bicycle or who rides in a trailer towed by
the bicycle.

(b) A person who provides bicycles for hire shall
not rent a bicycle to any person unless every
person who is under age [sixteen] eighteen is
wearing a bicycle helmet, as required in
subsection (a), while operating the rented
bicycle, occupying a restraining seat that is
attached to the rented bicycle, or riding in a
trailer towed by the rented bicycle.

(c) A violation of this section is punishable by
a fine of not more than $25. The parent or legal
guardian having control or custody of an
unemancipated minor whose conduct violates this
section shall be liable for the amount of the
fine imposed pursuant to this section.

(d) Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, the
fines collected for a violation of this section
shall be paid into the state treasury to the
credit of the state general fund."

SECTION 4. Statutory material to be repealed is
bracketed and stricken. New statutory material is
underscored.

SECTION 5. This Act shall take effect upon its approval.