ANALYSIS OF A HEALTH POLICY ISSUE: MANDATORY HELMET LAWS

The wearing of helmets to prevent or moderate the effects of head injuries is recommended by health for a variety of activities, including motorcycle riding, bicycle riding, snowmobile riding, and other activities. While most people, whether health professionals or not, recognize that wearing helmets (a) reduces the frequency of head injuries among people participating in such activities and (b) moderates the effects of such injuries when they do occur, disputes surround the issue arise in relation to efforts to mandate the wearing of helmets by all persons participating in such activities. The essential argument among opponents to mandatory helmet laws is that adults should have the right to (a) assess the risks associated with their activities and (b) make their own decisions concerning how to behave in the face of those risks. The essential argument among proponents of mandatory helmet laws is that the costs to individuals, families, and society of the injuries suffered by un-helmeted participants in such activities outweigh the benefits associated with an individual's right to determine her or his personal behavior (Bonnie & Guyer, 2002).

This analysis of the issue of mandatory helmet laws focuses on the mandating of the wearing of helmets by motorcycle riders and their passengers. The following section analyzes the issue within scientific, social, political, economic, ethical, an

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ause people to wear helmets when riding motorcycles. The agency found that almost 100 percent of motorcycle riders and their passengers wore helmets when riding in those states with mandatory helmet laws. The use of helmets dropped to 50 percent, however, in states without mandatory helmet laws. While health professionals universally recognize the safety value of wearing helmets when riding motorcycles, not all health professionals or their professional associations support mandatory helmet laws. In the United Kingdom, as an example, the British Medical Association urges riders to wear helmets but does not support mandatory helmet laws. The logic of the British Medical Association in taking this position is that mandatory helmet laws would deter people from exercise and that the increase in sedentary behavior would increase risks in disease classes that pose a greater public health risk than that associated with head injuries by riders (Mullins, 2000). Research studies investigating motorcycle safety has shown that mandatory helmet laws can reduce the severity of head injuries when crashes occur (Wagle, Perkins, & Vallera, 1993; Muelleman, Mlinek, & Collicott, 1992). The Council on Scientific Affairs of the American Medical

Category: Government - A