Doesn the general public pay for injured motorcyclists if we repeal the helmet law?
A.) Motorcyclists are just as likely to be privately insured as any other road user. As a matter of fact, motorcyclists are slightly LESS dependent upon public funds to pay their hospital bills than the general public. A Harborview Medical Center study reported that 63.4% of the injured motorcyclists in the trauma center relied on public funds while 67% of the general patient population relied on public dollars during the same time period. The 63.4% figure is selectively used by pro helmet law advocates to prove the effectiveness of helmet laws while ignoring the 67% figure. A study by the University of North Carolina’s Highway Safety Research Center reported that 49.5% of injured motorcyclists had their medical costs covered by insurance, while 50.4% of the other road trauma victims were similarly insured. This analysis refutes any suggestions that motorcyclists disproportionately rely on public health-care funds to pay for their hospitalization. Take into account that less than 6/10t
