1. Fact or Fiction *Analyzing The Myth That Freedom Of Choice Comes At A
Heavy Price For All*
(THE PUBLIC BURDEN ARGUMENT)

2. CONTACT ME MATT DANIELSON MCGRATH, DANIELSON, SORRELL & FULLER
TOM MCGRATH’S MOTORCYCLE LAW GROUP

3. PowerPoint Made and Produced by: Lydia Danielson
Matt Danielson’s daughter

4. *LETS BEGIN*

5.   According to the United States Government, and the safety organizations that work with them, giving motorcyclists the right to choose whether to wear a helmet is costing us billions of dollars per year.

6. They have the facts and figures to prove it
JUST ASK THEM

7. --Lives and Costs Saved by Motorcycle Helmets, 2016
Nearly $3.4 billion in economic costs and $21 billion in comprehensive costs were saved in 2016 by the use of motorcycle helmets. If all motorcyclists had worn helmets in 2016, an additional $1.5 billion in economic costs and $9.2 billion in comprehensive costs could have been saved.
--Lives and Costs Saved by Motorcycle Helmets, 2016
National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) (May 2018)

8. [The] Institution of a mandatory helmet law could lead to an annual cost savings of almost $2.2 billion.
--National Mandatory Motorcycle Helmet Laws May Save $2.2 Billion Annually: An Inpatient and Value of Statistical Life Analysis (June 2015)

9.     Each year, the United States could save more than $1 billion in economic costs if all motorcyclists wore helmets.
--Taken from the current website for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

10. Advocates for Highway & Auto Safety (2017)
  Motorcycle helmets are currently preventing $17 billion in societal harm annually, but another $8 billion in harm could be prevented if all motorcyclists wore helmets.
--Motorcycle Helmets
Advocates for Highway & Auto Safety (2017)

11. So do many of our state and federal lawmakers.
The public accepts assertions such as these as statements of fact. MORE IMPORTANTLY…
So do many of our state and federal lawmakers.

12. Prejudice is a great time saver
Prejudice is a great time saver. You can form opinions without having to get the facts.
E.B. White

13. Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored.
Aldous Huxley

14. All political thinking for years past has been vitiated in the same way. People can foresee the future only when it coincides with their own wishes, and the most grossly obvious facts can be ignored when they are unwelcome.
George Orwell

15. We are only as blind as we want to be.
Maya Angelou

16. LETS LOOK AT SOME FACTS

17. When discussing the public burden argument, it is often helpful to first address the myth that mandatory helmet laws have a significant impact on motorcycle fatalities.

18. Lets Look at NHTSA’s Latest Motorcycle Fatality Statistics for the Year 2016
*According to NHTSA, there were 5,286 motorcycle related fatalities in 2016
*2,102 of those fatalities occurred in the 20 jurisdictions that have mandatory helmet laws
*The remaining 3,184 occurred in states which allow adults to choose whether or not to wear a motorcycle helmet

19. To Give Those Numbers Context Let’s Look at Motorcycle Registrations for 2016
* Of the 8,679,380 motorcycles registered in the United States in 2016, 5,239,928 were registered in states which allow adult choice when it comes to motorcycle helmets
* The remaining 3,439,452 were registered in jurisdictions with mandatory motorcycle helmet laws.

20. That means that in 2016, the fatality rate per 100,000 registered motorcycles in jurisdictions that had mandatory motorcycle helmet laws was      
The fatality rate per 100,000 registered motorcycles in the states that allow adults to choose whether or not to wear a helmet was  

21.   Public Burden Argument     When safety groups claim that helmets save billions of dollars what do they mean?     Where are these dollars saved?
Let’s go back to the 2016 NHTSA report - - Lives and Costs Saved by Motorcycle Helmets

22. *Nearly $3.4 billion in economic costs and
$21 billion in comprehensive costs
were saved in 2016 by the use of
motorcycle helmets.
*If all motorcyclists had worn helmets in
2016, an additional $1.5 billion in economic
costs and $9.2 billion in comprehensive costs
could have been saved.

23. Economic Costs Include
Lost Productivity
Medical Costs
Legal and Court Costs
Emergency Medical Service Costs
Insurance Administration Costs
Congestion Costs
Property Damage
Workplace Losses

24. Comprehensive Costs Include The Economic Costs Plus the Valuation for Lost Quality of Life

25. Let’s Look at Costs that are Relevant and Can be Objectively Quantified
Medical Costs
&
Insurance Costs

26. Medical Costs

27. Health Expenditures Per Capita Per State     The Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) releases periodic reports on health care and health care costs per state.   One of those reports broke down total health care expenditures per capita for each state and the District of Columbia.

28. The average amount paid in healthcare costs per capita for residents of the states that have mandatory motorcycle helmet laws was $8,765
The average amount paid per capita for the residents of states that allow riders to make their own choice was $8,300
States that allow helmet choice on average saw $465 less per capita for healthcare costs than their neighbors who have mandatory motorcycle helmet laws

29. Inpatient Hospital Expenses Per Day
  Inpatient Hospital Expenses Per Day     *KFF also broke down inpatient hospital expenses per day for the year   They did this for each state and the District of Columbia.    
*The average daily inpatient hospital cost for states that have mandatory motorcycle helmet laws was $2,219.
Make seperate
*The average daily inpatient hospital cost for states that allow riders to choose whether or not to wear a motorcycle helmet was $2,147.

30.   Average inpatient hospital expenses per day were $72 less in states that allow helmet choice than in states that have mandatory motorcycle helmet laws.

31. Total Health Care Expenditures By State     KFF lists the total amount spent on health care in each state for the year   They did this for each state and the District of Columbia.   In 2014, the average total amount spent on health care in states with mandatory helmet laws was $62,172,000,000  

32. During that same year the average total amount spent on health care in states that give riders choice was $42,560,000,000.      
That is almost TWENTY BILLION LESS than the states with mandatory motorcycle helmet laws.

34. Let’s Look at Health Insurance Premiums & Costs
KFF Also Looked at Health Insurance Costs in Each State
This is Where Many Feel the Pain of Increased Costs

35. Employer Based Health Insurance Premiums     KFF Looked at the average annual premiums for individual employer based plans for each state and the District of Columbia for the year     In the states that have mandatory motorcycle helmet laws, the average annual premium for an individual employer based plan was $6,508 per year.  

36. In states that allow riders choice the average annual premium for the same type plan was $6,171.    
People in states that allow helmet choice on average paid $337 less per year for an individual employer based health plan than did people in states with mandatory motorcycle helmet laws.

37. Private Health Insurance Spending Per Capita by State     KFF Looked at what private health insurance companies spent per capita in the year     They did this for every state and the District of Columbia.    
In the states that have mandatory motorcycle helmet laws, the average amount spent per capita by private health insurance companies was $4,666 per year.

38. In states that allow riders choice the amount spent was $4,466 per year.  
  That is on average $200 less than states with mandatory motorcycle helmet laws.

39. Medicare Spending Per Enrollee by State
In 2014 Medicare on average spent $10,750 per enrollee in states that have mandatory motorcycle helmet laws.
  During that same year Medicare on average spent $10,057 per enrollee in the states that allow helmet choice.

40. $693 LESS PER EACH ENROLLEE
That means that Medicare spent on average $693 less per enrollee in states that allow helmet choice than they did per enrollee in states that have mandatory motorcycle helmet laws.  
$693 LESS PER EACH ENROLLEE

41. Let’s Look at Motor Vehicle Insurance

42. Insure.com releases a yearly report on motor vehicle insurance rates for each state.     For the last five years in a row states that allow adults to make their own choice with regard to wearing a motorcycle helmet paid less on average for motor vehicle insurance than did those who lived in states with mandatory helmet laws.     This past year that changed for the first time in five years, but only slightly.      

43. In 2017, people in states with universal helmet laws paid on average $11.49 less per year for motor vehicle insurance then people in states where rider can choose for themselves.     This is not to suggest that the presence or absence of a motorcycle helmet law is responsible for those numbers; just the opposite.    

44. Evidence suggests that the presence or absence of a motorcycle helmet law has nothing to do with motor vehicle insurance rates.     Executives from two motor vehicle insurance companies admitted that they do not factor in the presence or absence of a universal helmet laws when calculating premiums.  

45. Despite this the insurance industry continues to perpetuate the myth that injuries due to riding without a helmet cause everyone’s rates to rise.     After Michigan modified their law in 2012 to allow adults to choose for themselves, the Highway Loss Data Institute (HLDI) released a study claiming that there had been a significant increase in the payment of medical insurance claims since the modification.    
They were 100% Correct

46. But that is not because people were riding without helmets
  After Michigan modified its helmet law, medical payments claims from motor vehicle policies did rise significantly.        
But that is not because people were riding without helmets

47. It is important to know how medical payment claims work.
If I have $3,000 of medical payment benefits on my bike policy and I get injured, I can claim up to $3,000 from my insurance company to reimburse me for my medical bills.
If I have $2,000 worth of bills I can claim $2,000.
Fix order
If I have $3,000 worth of bills I can claim $3,000
If I have $500,000 worth of bills I can only claim $3,000

48. It is further important to note that under Michigan’s modified helmet law, riders who choose to ride without a helmet must carry at least $20,000 in medical payments coverage.    

49. So what do you think many riders in Michigan did?
Either bought Medical Payment Policies or increased their existing policies.

51. The data used to show that medical payment claims have risen do not necessarily show that.     Insurance companies are going to have more exposure when people are forced to buy policies with higher limits.     The increase in medical payments claims in Michigan is not due to riders choosing to ride without a helmet.  
It is due to riders being forced to buy policies with higher limits in order to ride without a helmet.

52. Let’s Forget Statistics

53. Let’s Use Logic

54. All states currently struggle to find money to fund:
Health Care
State Pensions
Transportation/Infrastructure
Public Education

55. Every state is looking for ways to save money / increase revenue
  Every state is looking for ways to save money / increase revenue.       If helmetless motorcycle riders are actually costing states over a billion dollars or more per year –       Why do thirty-one states not have a universal helmet law?

56. Let’s Assume the CDC is Correct
Each year, the United States could save
more than $1billion in economic costs
if all motorcyclists wore helmets.

57. In 2017 health costs related to obesity totaled over $117 billion dollars.
Alcohol related health issues totaled over $249 billion dollars.
Smoking related health issues totaled over $300 billion dollars.

58. Despite a potential savings of over $600 billion dollars no one is seriously suggesting laws to regulate what you…
Eat
Drink
Smoke
TOBACCO FOLKS

59. Yet to save one billion, these organizations want to take away your choice of what to wear when you ride a motorcycle.

60. So…What Have We Learned?
The next time someone argues that the public pays for your right to choose, ask them how.

61. Through higher health care costs?NO
They are actually less in states that allow choice.

62. Through higher health insurance premiums?NO
They are actually less in states that allow choice.

63. Through higher motor vehicle insurance premiums?NO
Car insurance rates are pretty much the same in states that allow choice as they are in states that don’t.

64. THE PUBLIC BURDEN ARGUMENT IS A MYTH

65. Questions?

66. Thank You