Family & Consumer Sciences

HOME

Kentucky High School Financial Planning Home Page

Back to E-Mail Updates page

HSFPP Weekly Update # 157—Do Legislators and Consumers Really Make Rational Decisions?

Message from Bob: Do legislators and consumers really make rational decisions? It’s often hard to tell. In the1998 Kentucky legislative session, the motorcycle helmet law was repealed, even though such laws save lives. Early in the current legislative session, however, they passed stricter laws on teenagers’ driving (see Update # 149); and they just passed a law requiring children under age 16 to wear a helmet while riding ATVs, even on private property. The new seatbelt law, which will allow police officers to stop drivers for not wearing their seatbelt, passed the legislature partly because it will bring Kentucky $11 million in federal funds as the state comes into compliance with federal law. It appears that the majority of legislators were not wildly enthusiastic about this bill, which could save approximately 60 lives a year, but saw how foolish it would be to turn down federal money. Lawmakers are elected by the people, and, in the face of contrary decisions, it is difficult to see a real mandate that isn’t subject to change.

Message from Chris: Legislators in Frankfort are inconsistent about the amount of personal freedom drivers should have. They require you to wear a seatbelt when you drive a car, but they allow you to choose whether to wear a helmet when riding a motorcycle. Votes on these and similar issues have been remarkably inconsistent. The old law did not allow police to ticket a driver for not wearing a seatbelt unless they violated some other law. Now that this law has changed, should the helmet law also be reinstated? Evidence shows that stricter laws on seatbelt and helmet use save lives, so it would seem to be worth it. See this week’s article In the New$... for more information.

 

Related Updates:

Update # 149 - Graduated Licensing Saves Lives - 13 February 2006
Update #139 - Do You Believe That Bad Things Only Happen to Other People? - 31 October 2005
Update #138 - Drinking and Driving - 24 October 2005
Update #120 - Is Talking While Driving Dangerous - 7 March 2005
Update #105 - Need to Teach Risk Management - 8 November 2004

 

Web Site Pick of the Week:

http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/People/injury/pedbimot/motorcycle/kentuky-la03/TechSumm.html

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Web site includes statistics on fatal motorcycle crashes since helmet laws were repealed in Kentucky and Louisiana in 1998 and 1999 respectively. See for yourself how effective these laws can be in saving lives.

 

In the New$... Do Legislators and Consumers Really Make Rational Decisions?

By Chris Hart, Senior in Telecommunications, University of Kentucky

Check this out. The Kentucky law that required motorcyclists to wear helmets was repealed in 1998. However, legislators in Frankfort have just changed the seatbelt law so that police can stop you if they notice you are not wearing a seatbelt. Apparently, to use the Legislature’s logic, if you are driving a two-wheeled vehicle that is completely open and is much more dangerous than a car or truck, you don’t need to use the standard safety device; but, if you are in a four-wheeled vehicle that is much more stable and is surrounded by 1 ½ to 2 tons of metal, you do need to use the standard safety device, in this case, the seatbelt. Does this make any sense at all? Does not requiring helmets for motorcyclists sound like a recipe for disaster to you?

I’m not much past my teenage years and, as I recall, we were much more concerned with looking cool than we were with our personal safety. College students aren’t much different, and bad decisions made early in life can, unfortunately, be hazardous to our health.

According to the National Transportation Safety Board, the number of motorcycle deaths in Kentucky increased by more than 50 percent in the two years after 1998, when the law was repealed. The number of injured also increased by 34 percent. Do lawmakers pay attention to statistics such as these? It seems logical to me that, if you require seatbelts in cars and allow police to pull people over for not wearing seatbelts, you should also require helmets for motorcyclists. Those who disagree with a helmet law say personal freedom is paramount. But how important is the freedom not to wear a helmet or a seatbelt compared with our other freedoms?

What happens when someone is injured so severely in a motorcycle accident that they can no longer work? Who pays for their disability compensation and their medical care if they don’t have insurance? Taxpayers do. Chapter 6 of the Student Guide deals with insurance and risk. Not wearing a helmet while riding a motorcycle is a risk no one should take. This risk for motorcyclists and the people of Kentucky can be remedied by requiring motorcyclists to wear helmets, just as passengers in a car must wear seatbelts.

Sources: Lexington Herald-Leader, 4/12/06, p. 1; and National Transportation Safety Board: http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/people/injury/pedbimot/motorcycle/kentuky-la03/LawChgKy.html

 

Discussion Questions:

1.) Should motorcyclists be required to wear a helmet? Why or why not?

 

2.) Do you agree or disagree with the logic that it is ludicrous to require drivers to wear seatbelts in cars, but not to require helmets when riding a motorcycle? Why or why not?

 

3.) Do you always wear a seatbelt in a car? Yes ____  No ____

 

4.) If you ride a motorcycle, do you wear a helmet? Yes ____  No ____

 

5.) Someone must pay the medical and insurance costs for auto and motorcycle crashes. But who should pay if seatbelts or motorcycle helmets were not worn? Do we, as a society, have any financial interest in reducing injuries and fatalities? Give reasons.

 

6.) Most of us would agree that the government must be able to protect people from each other. But should it be the business of the government to protect us from ourselves, as when an individual decides not to wear a seatbelt or motorcycle helmet? Explain.

 

7.) If someone is injured in a vehicle accident and was not wearing a seatbelt:

a.) should insurance companies be required to pay medical expenses for the person injured? Yes ____ (Go to Question 8);  No ____ (Answer 7b)

b.) should hospitals be responsible for medical bills if the person ends up in hospital and the insurance company is not required to pay their bills?
Yes ____ (Go to Question 8);  No ____ (Answer 7c)

c.) should taxpayers be responsible for medical bills if the insurance company and hospitals are not? Yes ____  No ____

 

8.) If this individual will never be able to work again because they did not wear a seatbelt, should he or she receive government support for the rest of his or her life?

Yes ____  No ____

Explain your answers; also, what is the implication of your answer on taxpayers or the family of the injured person? Do we, as individuals and as a society, seem to be passing the buck, always looking for someone else to pay?

 

 

Follow-up Activity:

Math/English/Social Studies Class/ 4-H Club: Research motorcycle helmet laws in all 50 states. Create a graph showing the different types of helmet laws by state. Look at the Web site, http://usff.com/hldl/frames/50state.html, for help. Also research statistics on motorcycle accident deaths before and after motorcycle helmet laws were enacted. Include states like Kentucky where the law was repealed. Answer the questions of whether or not helmet laws have a significant impact on the number of fatal accidents. 

 

Kentucky High School Financial Planning Program
http://www.ca.uky.edu/fcs/hsfp
The purpose of the HSFPP weekly financial updates and Web site is to assist county Extension agents, credit union educators, high school teachers, and parents who home school their teenagers so that they may improve the economic well-being of our teenagers; and also to show educators how the HSFPP and the weekly updates meet Kentucky core concepts. The Web site and weekly updates are provided by the University of Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service, and are free to all educators. The list of core concepts and order form for free program materials including the student guide and instructors manual can be found on the Kentucky HSFPP home page.