Friday, April 27, 1984
Daily Nebraskan
Page 9
Ml
Ky t:i!;e7eibcl
Nine of 10 Ncbraskans involved in
fat nl motorcycle accidents do not wear
helmets, according to the Nebraska
Office of Highway Safety.
W e'd like to have every cyclist wear
ing helmets, said Fred Zwoncchek, the
office's administrator.
Ncbr-ka h cr.c cf seven states with
out helmet laws for motorcyclists. Wash
ington, Iowa, Illinois, Connecticut, Col
orado and California are the others.
In the last 10 years two helmet laws
passed in Nebraska, but were found to
be unconstitutional, Zwoncchek said.
In 1057, the first helmet law passed
in Nebraska, but it provided no penalty
if the law was broken. Then, in 1971
and 1975, LB1041 and LB323 respec
tively were passed. The bills added a
penalty to the helmet law, but btcr
were found to be unconstitutional be-
cause they took constitutional rights
away from people, Zwonechek said.
The last bill concerning motorcycle
helmets was LBC31, proposed in 1930.
The bill died in committee shortly
after its introduction by state Sen.
David Landis of Lincoln.
Landis said many motorcycle groups
oppose helmet laws.
"They believe that it should be an
individual riht he said.
Dan Cross of the Lincoln Tour Stars,
a new Lincoln motorcycle club, said
helmet laws are a touchy subject.
"Everybody in our group wears hel
mets at their own decision," Cross said.
This opposes another Lincoln club's
philosophy, he said. Members of A
Brotherhood Against Totalitarian
Enactments did not wear helmets in
their April 14 parade, Cross said.
John Bonebright of ABATE said the
group does not oppose helmets and
many ABATE members wear them. x
"We want people wearing helmets
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through education, not because of gov
ernmental regulations," Bonebright
said. "Compare the same reasoning to
a 17-year-old who can get a hunting
license if he takes a gun safety course.
If .they didn't have the course, every
one would be wearing bullet-proof
vests."
If a helmet law passed, Bonebright
said, people would be "riding around in
swimsuits and helmets, still making ...
the same dangerous mistakes in traffic
because of their lack of ed ucation."
People also would buy cheap helmets,
Bonebright said.
"WeVe got a saying, if you have a $10
head, wear a $10 helmet," he said.
Landis said it comes down to one
. question: "Is safety a personal choice?"
"I'd wear one only in a hailstorm,"
said Aldis Augstums, owner of Aug
stums Printing, 1621 S. 17th St.
- "I'm not opposed to wearing hel
mets," he said, "but I believe they give a
false sense of security."
With a helmet on, he said, "all you
hear is the click of your engine. I feel
safer without one."
State Sen. Shirley Marsh said she
also dislikes the hearing problems that
helmets cause.
"There should be a different kind of
design for helmets," she said.
As far as education is concerned,
Marsh said not everyone learns from
education.
Marsh introduced LB403 in the last
legislative session. The resolution calls
for a study of safety factors, including
the need for a mandatory motorcycle
helmet law. The resolution was re
ferred to the public works committee,
chaired by Sen. Loran Schmit of Bel
Iwood. Dave Fischer, Sen. Schmit's
legal counsel, said the committee
probably will discuss the issues in
August or September.
Starry night
at Behlen
Tonight will be public
night at Behlen Observa
tory, from 8 p.m to 1 1
p.m. This open house will
feature a quarter moon
sky. Weather permitting,
it Will be ideal for viewing
the globular clusters with
their .thousands of stars
and planets.
Behlen Observatory is
at the University of Neb
raska field laboratory on
Avenue C between Third
and Fourth streets. The
field lab is southeast of
Mead and can be reached
via Highways 77 and 63
from Lincoln. Contact the
department of physics
and astronomy at 472
2770 for more informat
ion' "
ess
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