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A Resolution of the County of Allegheny requesting that the Governor and General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania re-enact a mandatory helmet law which would require motorcyclists to wear helmets in Pennsylvania.
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Whereas, in 2003, Pennsylvania's 1968 mandatory helmet law was repealed for motorcyclists 21 years of age or older who have either been licensed to operate a motorcycle for not less than two full calendar years or have completed an approved motorcycle rider safety course; and
Whereas, in June 2008, researchers from several of the University of Pittsburgh's Schools of Health Sciences, released findings regarding helmetless motorcycle accident results in a report entitled Changes in Motorcycle-Related Head Injury Deaths, Hospitalizations, and Hospital Charges Following Repeal of Pennsylvania's Mandatory Motorcycle Helmet Law; and
Whereas, by looking at discharge data from all acute-care hospitals for the two years preceding the helmet law repeal and the two years following, the researchers found a 32 percent increase in head injury deaths and a 42 percent increase in head injury hospitalizations among motorcycle users; and
Whereas, the study also found that the number of motorcyclists with head injuries requiring further care at facilities for rehabilitation and long-term care jumped 87 percent after the repeal and acute-care hospital charges for motorcycle-related head injuries rose 132 percent, reaching $124.2 million in the years 2004 and 2005, compared to $53.5 million for 2001 and 2002; and
Whereas, the study concludes that data analyzed strongly suggest that Pennsylvania's mandatory helmet law was effective in preventing traumatic brain injury, given that its repeal led to disproportionate increases in head injuries; and
Whereas, it appears that helmet use sharply reduces the number of severe, serious, and critical head injuries; and
Whereas, a Pennsylvania helmet law would reduce the financial burden ...
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