Auto Safety

Abstract

Bruce Patton thought the government had no right to force him to wear a helmet when he rode his motorcycle.

Perhaps he believed that a helmet-use law was an infringement on his freedom. Perhaps he thought the government's Big Brother attitude had gone too far. Maybe he simply felt he could see better riding without a helmet.

A lot of people agreed with Bruce. A couple of years ago, groups opposing helmet laws were so vocal that the federal government decided it would no longer penalize states that didn't pass such laws. Soon one state after another repealed their helmet-use laws.

But Bruce lived in Albuquerque, and New Mexico still required helmets. The New Mexico legislature knew that almost three thousand Americans died on motorcycles each year. Helmet laws were one of the few steps it could take to prevent some of these deaths, short of banning cycles completely. The legislature felt it had a right to restrict the cyclists by requiring helmets; after all, if a cyclist was injured, it was the government that paid for his medical care and unemployment compensation.

Bruce decided to protest New Mexico's law by riding without a helmet to the State Capitol. Coming home, he had an accident with a van and died of head injuries. Bruce was 23 years old. ¹