The headline “Bikers pan helmets” in the Feb. 9 Sun Journal brings to mind those advertisements about brains and drugs, where eggs represent brains and the frying pan becomes the repository of the eggs on drugs. It is no stretch of the imagination to see the contents of unhelmeted motorcyclists’ skulls on skillets.

If helmets limit vision and hearing, why do motorcycle racers and motocross contestants wear them? Helmets do not prevent the rider from looking side to side or from looking in the rearview mirror. They do give the rider a better chance of surviving any sort of accident, whether it is a skid on sand, hitting a guardrail or being struck by an inattentive driver. Broken legs can heal, but an addled brain, if it survives, means lengthy rehab at best or permanent damage at worst.

The same issue of the newspaper contains articles about cuts in federal spending that will hurt Maine, including cuts in Medicaid. The governor’s own budget tightens purse strings as well. The cost of medical insurance and Medicare co-payments increase every year. This is where the “freedom” to spurn helmets, and seat belts for that matter, costs all of us who pay taxes and insurance premiums.

It is time for all motorcyclists to share the responsibility. Maine should join the many other states that require the use of motorcycle helmets. Education and training are fine, but have never proven to be sufficient.

The free ride is over.

Dr. Edward Walworth, Lewiston

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