Not Hard Headed Enough: Why the United States Should Have Universal Helmet Laws

What happens if Ben Roethlisberger can not play football? The youngest quarterback that led his team to the Super Bowl champions is almost destiny. Roethlisberger was nicknamed "Big Ben", and he was lucky when he caused his motorcycle to crash the car. In 2006, the ESPN news announced that Roethlisberger had some facial fractures and lacerations in his head, but fortunately neither brain damage nor even death occurred. Roethlisberger was not wearing a helmet; he rode in Pennsylvania: only one of the 27 states demanded some riders to wear a helmet (Pasquarelli).

The entire helmet law of the United States has always caused a lot of controversy. There are currently two helmet ways in the United States; a universal helmet method requires to wear a helmet to all motorcycle riders and a partial helmet way with age requirements. Helmet's debate was a long struggle between freedom organization and senior government officials. In 1967, the Traffic Safety Act established the Federal Highway Safety Assistance Program. Prior to this, there were no plastics developing countries in America to further improve safety. In the National Football League, we still use a leather helmet, a metallic helmet on a metal or concrete wall of NASCAR, a baseball ball without a helmet. As a viewer, we are not aware that all players in the game will see the results.

Who supports the helmet method? If you guess a bike rider, you may be wrong. Most helmet supporters include manufacturers, government agencies, and insurance companies. Many states have adopted a mandatory helmet law to obtain federal funds for repair and improvement of roads. Most importantly, the helmet manufacturing industry is a big and profitable industry. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, there were 4 million motorcycles in the United States in 1999 (DOT, 1999). The country benefits from the tax generated by the sale of the helmet. In fact, the country has economic interest in selling helmets for motorcycles and is enough to support the law. Insurance companies are working on earning money. In the opinion of the insurance company, if the rider wears a helmet, it is safe and the possibility of serious injury in the accident is low.