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Motion of the Council of Allegheny County requesting that the Governor and General Assembly revisit the appropriate provisions of state law and recreate the requirement that all motorcycle riders wear helmets in Pennsylvania.
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WHEREAS, unlike victims of motor vehicle accidents, motorcyclists have no seat belts or outside protection, factors that make them particularly vulnerable to injuries during a crash; and
WHEREAS, it has been found, that motorcyclists who wear helmets have a higher rate of survival following motorcycle accidents than those who choose not to wear a helmet; and
WHEREAS, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Association estimates that in 2004 alone, 1316 lives nationwide and 46 in Pennsylvania were saved by the use of a helmet; and
WHEREAS, in September 2003, Pennsylvania repealed the mandatory helmet law; and
WHEREAS, although no data is available as of yet for Pennsylvania, in the three years following the repeal of Florida's mandatory helmet law, 61% of 933 fatally injured motorcycle riders were not wearing helmets, and the Brain Injury Association of Pennsylvania estimates that, in that same three year period, taxpayers in Florida and across the country paid roughly $10 billion in governmental subsidized medical and other costs solely as a result of the helmet repeal in Florida;
NOW THEREFORE, IT IS MOVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF ALLEGHENY COUNTY,
That it is the sense of the Council of Allegheny County that the repeal of the mandatory helmet law in Pennsylvania should be reinstated with all deliberate speed.