Biker Helmet Controversy
Aug. 16 -- To some bikers, the freedom to ride without a helmet is the way motorcycles were meant to be.
"The wind in your hair, the freedom you feel," is how Florida biker Jim Vugrich described it to ABCNEWS correspondent Jeffrey Kofman.
Just three states allowed motorcycle riders to go without helmets 25 years ago. Today 30 states do, although almost all say drivers have to be over 18 before they can go helmet-free.
Some say it's not just about comfort, it's about the Constitution as well. "We all like our freedom, and we don't want to lose our freedom," says motorcycle enthusiast Ernie Russo of Florida.
Taxpayers Pay Price
Passions like this help explain why bikers have pushed so hard, and so successfully, to overturn helmet laws in most states.
But there's a big cost, and not just to bikers. After two years without mandatory helmet laws, trauma doctors at hospitals in Florida, for instance, say they are treating more and more patients who hit the road without a helmet.
"The law we have now in Florida requires unhelmeted motorcyclists to have a $10,000 personal injury protection insurance policy," says Dr. Lawrence Lottenberg, director of trauma and critical care at Memorial Regional Hospital in Hollywood, Fla. "We'll use $10,000 in the [trauma] room in 20 minutes."
A recent study in the Journal Trauma found that two-thirds of all bikers had no insurance, leaving the taxpayer to foot the bill. And for those riding without helmets, the average medical cost rises to $55,000.
All in all, the federal government estimates taxpayers and insurance companies would save $10 billion if all bikers wore helmets.
'Made An Example of Myself'
Eugene Williams was happy to ride without a helmet until the night a car pulled into his path.
"The momentum throws me, and I'm going over the car into a pole," he recalls. He spent two months in a coma, and almost two years recovering. "I really didn't understand the importance of your helmet until I actually made an example of myself," says Williams.
