A friend of mine was recently involved in a car accident with a girl riding a scooter. The accident was minor, and not newsworthy. However the scooter rider did suffer a head injury that resulted in a concussion. This got me thinking, why doesn’t the city of Gainesville require scooter riders to wear helmets?
I know that insurance companies have been pushing for stricter helmet laws to reduce medical costs that auto-insurance companies would have to cover in the event of an accident. I also know that there are two sides to the helmet law debate. For instance, while a helmet may reduce the risk of injury in the event of an accident, reduced visibility as a result of wearing the helmet may actually cause an accident. I’d like to explore this.
Considering the prevalence of scooters among college students in Gainesville, this story would be relevant to many people, including car and truck drivers. State helmet laws regarding scooters and moped riders under the age of 21 have changed quite a bit over the past couple of years, with individual city ordinances often overriding them. As a result, I have a feeling that police within the city haven’t been very uniform in their enforcement. For instance, the legal definition of a scooter is vague but requires a top speed of 30 mph. Several scooters can reach 40 mph, and thus would no longer fall under any exemption to a motorcycle helmet law.
I’d like to talk to Allstate Insurance Co. agent John Morrison to hear what he has to say about the confusion. I would also like to hear from the University Police Department as well as the Gainesville Police Department to get an idea of how many scooter accidents result in head injury and whether law enforcement views this as a growing problem. I’d also like to talk to code enforcement for the city.
I would also like to hear from students who choose to wear helmets because they want to, as well as those who do not. I’d also like to talk to car and truck drivers, both concerned and unconcerned.
I see this story being approximately 20 inches. Online, a timeline of scooter, moped and motorcycle helmet laws would be helpful. Links to relevant statutes and Gainesville ordinances would be located on this timeline. It would also be nice to have a chart showing the differences between scooters, mopeds, motorized bicycles and motorcycles complete with pictures.
