Illinois Senate Rejects Motorcycle Helmet Requirement
In a 14-42 vote, the Illinois Senate rejected a plan mandating all motorcyclists to use a helmet. Illinois, New Hampshire, and Iowa are the only three US states that don’t have a motorcycle helmet law.
This is not the first attempt to get a motorcycle helmet law passed in the state. One reason for this is that there have been motorcycle advocate groups who want helmet use to remain the rider’s decision, not a state government mandate.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the use of motorcycle helmets saved 1,784 lives in 2007, and 800 additional lives could have been saved if the motorcycle riders had been using helmets when they were involved in the deadly motorcycle accidents. 142 of the motorcyclists that died that year were in Illinois, and over 80% of these victims were not using helmets.
Some steps motorcycle riders can take to protect themselves when riding on Illinois roads:
• Wear the proper protective clothing.
• Use your headlight.
• Signal your intentions, whether you are turning or changing lanes.
• When necessary, use your horn.
• Get out of other vehicle’s blind spots.
• Pay attention to what other people are doing.
• Keep looking around.
• Don’t tailgate.
• Don’t speed.
• Pay attention to road conditions and adjust your speed accordingly.
Motorcyclists tend to be more vulnerable to serious injuries than people riding within the protection and safety of large trucks and passenger cars. While use of a helmet can decrease the impact on a motorcyclist’s head when colliding with a motor vehicle, the ground, a concrete barrier, or another nonmoving object, other serious injuries can occur, including broken bones, spinal cord injuries, burn injuries, and internal injuries, and, of course, death.
You may be entitled to lllinois personal injury recovery from a negligent motorist or another liable party for your Chicago motorcycle accident injuries. Unfortunately, It is not uncommon for people to think that the motorcyclist is to blame for the traffic crash.
Illinois Senate rejecting a mandatory motorcycle helmet law, STLToday, April 1, 2009
Illinois Senate rejecting a mandatory motorcycle helmet law, St Louis Post-Dispatch, April 1, 2009
Related Web Resources:
State of Illinois, Bikersrights.com
An experienced Chicago motorcycle crash attorney can fight for your right to financially recovery.
