Motorcycle riders need helmets

Shame on the Missouri Senate for its approval, as part of another bill, a repeal of the requirement that motorcycle riders wear a helmet for safety. I know senators continue to expect riders to wear helmets on the highway, but an unprotected accident on a country road is just a devastating as it would be on a highway.

The nonsense about the helmet being an infringement on civil rights is just that. Riding a motorcycle is not a right. It is a privilege, and it is well-established that the state has the right to enact laws for the safety of the people. If you follow the logic of the Senate's action, the next bill the senators pass should be one to permit people to not wear seat belts. We don't do that because the cost is prohibitive both in terms of lives and the injuries that are caused as a result.

By passing this law, the Senate, if the law is enacted, is ensuring that the people of Missouri will end up having to pay the cost in one form or another for the failure to require that people protect themselves when they ride their motorcycles.

MICHAEL H. MAGUIRE, Cape Girardeau