Each summer in Maine, thousands of motorcyclists take to the roads. While most of those rides are uneventful, there are some that end in tragedy.
This week, in a story on page one, there is the story of not one, but two riders who had their lives cut short in motorcycle accidents.
Dale Carver, 50, of South Portland, died on Friday as the result of injuries he received in an accident on Austin Street in Westbrook. On Sunday, Soren Granholm, 19, of Brunswick, was killed in a crash at the intersection of Parker Farm and Old Standish roads in Buxton.
While the circumstances of both accidents were different, there is one common thread. Both men were not wearing helmets.
Carver and Granholm were the 11th and 12th people to die in motorcycle accidents in Maine this year, a high number considering the year is just slightly more than half over.
It’s not a requirement for most riders in Maine to wear helmets. The law requires helmets for riders under 15 years old and riders who have their learner’s permit or have had their motorcycle license for less than a year. Passengers of motorcycle operators who are required to wear helmets also have to wear helmets.
While it’s unclear whether a helmet would have saved either Carver or Granholm’s life, statistics show they would have had a better chance of surviving if they were wearing helmets.
According to statistics from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, a motorcyclist who is not wearing a helmet is 40 percent more likely to suffer a fatal head injury and 15 percent more likely to suffer a nonfatal head injury in a crash than a rider wearing a helmet.
Helmets don’t protect riders 100 percent of the time, but there is nothing that can. Seat belts don’t save the lives of everyone involved in car crashes.
Does the fact that seat belts don’t protect everybody mean they’re worthless? No, and the same goes for motorcycle helmets. Just because they aren’t effective every single time doesn’t change the fact that riders are safer with helmets than without them.
Looking at the statistics, it’s plain the state should pass a mandatory motorcycle helmet law for all riders. The state has a law mandating the use of seat belts in automobiles, and it should have one mandating helmet use for all motorcyclists as well.
Certainly, any effort to pass a mandatory helmet law would be met with vigorous opposition by many bikers, many of whom would ignore the new law if it were to be passed and continue to ride as they always have. But just because a law is unpopular doesn’t mean it’s wrong.
While some riders won’t wear a helmet no matter what the state says, there will be a large segment of the motorcycle riding population that will comply with the law, even if they don’t like it.
And while some riders will complain about being forced to wear a helmet, they would probably change their mind when one saves their life.
Taking out the trash
On July 24, the Westbrook City Council will be holding a workshop to discuss a controversial proposal to eliminate trash pickup at larger apartment buildings in the city.
At a July 3 meeting, the council delayed a vote to eliminate trash pickup at apartment buildings with four to nine units after landlords spoke out against the change and asked for more time to discuss the matter.
This proposal could save the city more than $30,000. But there is a flip side. Landlords who are now forced to pay for trash pickup are going to have to pass the costs onto their tenants, some of who are already struggling to make ends meet.
But, this proposal would have been unnecessary if the council had passed the pay-per-bag and curbside-recycling programs it has been discussing for several years.
It seems councilors have simply been unwilling to pass a program that would pass the cost of trash disposal on to residents. But that’s exactly what this current proposal does.
The building owners who stand to lose their trash pickup are taxpayers here too, paying the same amount of taxes as most homeowners, and in some cases, significantly more.
It’s not fair to force some taxpayers to pay for trash disposal while still providing it to others. The council should pass the long-overdue pay-per-bag proposal, or do nothing at all.
We urge all landlords and tenants, some of who may have to face higher rents because of this change, to go to the meeting on July 24 at 7 p.m. in room 114 of Westbrook High School and let the council and the administration know how they feel about the changes.
Changes coming to the American Journal
Starting next week, the American Journal will be arriving in homes and stores one day later than usual.
Due to changes in printing requirements, the American Journal will now be published on Thursdays. Nothing else is changing; the paper will still be providing the same high-quality hometown news coverage it always has, both in the newspaper and on the Web at www.keepmecurrent.com. Any comments on the change can be e-mailed to ajournal@maine.rr.com. Thanks for reading.
Mike Higgins, assistant editor
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