Motorcycle Injuries and Maryland’s Helmet Law

Currently, Maryland is one of 20 U.S. states that require all motorcycle  riders to wear a helmet. A group of motorcyclists, however, are pushing to have  Maryland”s “Helmet Law” revised.

They want the Maryland General Assembly to let motorcycle riders over the age  of 21, who have at least two years motorcycle riding experience or finish an  authorized motorcycle safety course, to be given the option of choosing whether  to use a helmet.

Doctors at Maryland Shock Trauma Center, however, calls “motorcycles donor  cycles.”

Maryland’s “Helmet Law” was repealed in 1979 but reinstated in 1992. Brain  injuries have been known to occur 80% more frequently in states that have  repealed their Helmet Law.

A recent Maryland study shows that over 50 percent of Maryland motorcyclists  do not have health coverage. As the majority of people who sustain traumatic  brain injuries have to use Medicaid, every brain injury ends up costing  $120,000 annually of taxpayers’ dollars.

The Maryland State Police in Frederick say that they see approximately two to  three motorcycle  fatalities each week and that the accidents are usually nastier because the  victims have no protection.

Motorcycle helmets are considered the best protection from head injuries in  motorcycle collisions. Head injuries are a major cause of motorcycle  fatalities.

A person who is not wearing a motorcycle has a 40 percent greater chance of  sustaining a fatal traumatic brain injury (TBI). He or she also has a 15 percent  greater chance of sustaining a nonfatal injury than a motorcyclist wearing a  motorcycle.

States with a mandatory motorcycle helmet law:

Alabama, Washington D.C., Maryland, Louisiana, California, Georgia, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Michigan, Nebraska, Missouri, New Jersey, Nevada, New York, North  Carolina, Tennessee, Oregon, Vermont, Virginia, West  Virgina &  Washington.

Sound and fury - bikers' mufflers leave some irate

As noise booms from bikes, stereos, towns pass laws for peace and quiet

 Bikers prepare to take off from the Newark  Shopping Center on a ride that included a trip down Main Street in Newark during  the Downtown Newark Bike and Blues Festival on Aug. 18.

 Mario Rucci, of Mount Royal, N.J., leaves  Mike's Famous Harley-Davidson on U.S. 9 in New Castle. States and towns across  the United States are enacting noise ordinances that are pitting motorcyclists  against those who seek peace and quiet.

 Exhaust pipes such as these can easily be  switched after the purchase of a bike with others that can be made to look like  much louder open pipes, but still meet Delaware laws.

Laws that target loud motorcycles are racing across the country these days,  seeking some peace and quiet in cities from New York to Denver.

But as Delaware has found, noise laws don't always speak so forcefully. And  some bikers believe they may even put people at risk.

"Loud pipes save lives," said Graham Harrison, a Virginia rider who on Friday  was rumbling his way through Delaware on the way to Atlantic City. "That's the  truth."

While Delaware has laws at the state and municipal level that limit the  amount of noise a motorcycle can make -- and even what kinds of exhaust systems  are legal -- riders here routinely ignore them, outfitting their bikes with  high-volume pipes that aren't legal for street use. Many swap the pipes with a  muffled set when it's time for vehicle inspection, then simply put the loud  exhaust back on, riders said.

The resulting rumble is the stuff of mechanical machismo for a motorcycle  buff, but goes beyond petty annoyance for some people who must endure the racket  from inside their cars or homes. Similar annoyance over loud car stereos has  prompted Dover to crack down on noise, and an effort is under way in Wilmington  to make drivers think before they blast their tunes.

"Sounds at a certain level are intolerable," said Hanifa Shabazz, a  Wilmington councilwoman who successfully pushed to have signs placed through the  city warning drivers to be considerate or face fines. "We have sounds coming  from cars that are rattling people's windows."

For many motorcyclists, such volume is viewed as a potential savior. A quiet  motorcycle is less likely to be noticed by other drivers, and thus is more  likely to become a victim of carelessness, cyclists contend.

"I think loud motorcycles do save lives," said Carol "Hoop" Hooper of Newark,  a veteran rider and member of ABATE of Delaware, a motorcycle advocacy club.  "Why do you think motorcycles get loud pipes? Because they're afraid to get  hit."

"They hear the rumble, and they look for you. They do," said Jon Kane, who  was accompanying Harrison on their ride through Delaware.

"People can't see you, but they can hear you" with loud pipes, said Mario  Rucci of New Jersey. "I like it loud. But my pipes have baffles in them. It  makes them a little bit quieter."

Riders acknowledge that a few fellow motorcyclists abuse the power of their  pipes. Most say they are careful to keep the volume down through neighborhoods,  recognizing that it doesn't take many loud encounters to sway sentiment against  them.

Mike Schwartz, owner of the Mike's Famous Harley-Davidson dealerships and  entertainment complexes, said it would be unfair for the law to put too much  scrutiny on loud motorcycles when there are so many other pressing priorities.  "Do you single out motorcycles because of one or two riders who take it past the  limit?"

There's also no clear consensus among society as to what constitutes noise  pollution. "What's too loud to you may be just right for me," said Brad Hopkins,  general manager at Mike's Famous. "It's not a lack of laws, it's how they're  enforced."

A nation of noise laws

All motorcycles sold for road use in the U.S. are subject to federal noise  laws keeping them within a certain range of decibels, below 80 decibels from 50  feet away. In individual towns and states, ordinances against motorcycle noise  come in many forms. Some are against certain types of products -- like loud  exhausts -- while others are aimed more on the intent of the driver, who may  want to turn some heads or rile up the neighbors.

As of July 1, riders in New York City face a minimum $440 fine for having a  muffler or exhaust system that can be heard within 200 feet.

In Lancaster, Pa., starting this month, motorcycle riders and all motor  vehicle drivers could be ticketed for drawing attention to themselves, whether  by creating too much noise by revving their engines or doing hard accelerations.  Tickets start at $150.

As of July 1, motorcyclists in Denver could be ticketed $500 for putting  mufflers on their bikes made by someone other than the original manufacturer, if  the bike is 25 years old or less. These after-market products can be louder than  their manufacturer-made counterparts. Denver's plan is unique because it targets  the after-market equipment.

In Delaware, the existing laws against motorcycle noise mainly target the  equipment. Federal law requires all motorcycles to be sold with effective  mufflers, and the Delaware Code forbids modifying them in a way that would  produce "excessive or unusual noise" on streets. The sale of "straight exhaust"  systems or mufflers without interior baffle plates is forbidden for road use by  motorcycles.

The Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control is responsible  for enforcing the state's Noise Control Act, a duty it delegates to the Delaware  State Police and other local law agencies. The Department of Motor Vehicles is  charged with the task of inspecting muffler systems.

Troopers are not equipped with decibel-measuring equipment, said Cpl. Jeff  Whitmarsh, state police spokesman. "I think that the officer's judgment on noise  level has been a key factor in prosecuting that type of case," he said.  Violations don't always end in a citation; sometimes, officers issue a notice  requiring the exhaust system to be reinspected.

Seeking peace and quiet

Riders rights groups fear that the inconsistent ordinances across the country  will create a confusing patchwork of laws that motorcyclists won't be able to  navigate. The motorcycle industry is concerned it could turn these frustrated  riders away.

"From our perspective, this creates enormous problems for us because people  notice the one motorcycle that makes a lot of noise," said Bill Wood, spokesman  for the American Motorcyclist Association. "They don't notice the 50 that pass  that don't. So there's a perception that motorcycles are noisy."

Ordinances also face the challenge of enforcement. "The police officers are  focusing on so many other social ills," Shabazz said.

The American Motorcyclist Association would rather see an ordinance that  targets all vehicles or uses a decibel test to measure actual noise output.

The Motorcycle Industry Council, the industry's trade group, is working with  the American Society of Engineers to establish a sound test that would help  equalize enforcement. The group hopes to have the test ready next year.

Noise complaints of all types are on the rise, as more Americans feel they  are losing control of their neighborhoods, said Ted Rueter, who leads a national  anti-noise group. Denver's ordinance is music to his ears.

"I think more and more people are putting pressure on communities," said  Rueter, director of Noise Free America, based in Madison, Wis. "That fact that  Denver has done so is going to give a lot of encouragement to people who love  peace and quiet."