Health Care Advocates Want Helmetless Riders To Carry More Insurance

Motorcycle riders who don’t wear helmets are running up big bills in Central Florida hospitals. The cost to treat riders jumped from $20-million in 2005 to $40-million in 2007.

Health care advocates want to force those riders who don’t protect themselves to carry more insurance. Supporters say it makes sense and would save taxpayers millions. But the idea isn’t getting support from Governor Crist.

Denybeth Carrillo almost lost her life in a motorcycle accident.

“They thought I was dead. I wasn’t breathing and I didn’t have a pulse," said Carrillo.

She was thrown from the back her boyfriend's motorcycle on I-4 in January. Neither of them was wearing a helmet. Hector Sierra died instantly. Carrillo's neck was injured in three places. Her treatment and rehab to learn to walk again were expensive.

“Close to a million dollars. It’s really high, especially because I didn't have any type of insurance,” said Carrillo.

She isn’t alone. One-third of Florida riders don’t have insurance. Many others only have the state minimum of $10,000, even though the average hospital cost for a motorcycle injury is $43,000.

That’s why some state lawmakers want to require helmetless riders to buy more insurance.

Governor Crist doesn't like the idea.

“I believe in freedom," he said. "I think individuals should make that choice. People can buy more insurance if they want to, and it’s a free market."

If riders don’t have enough insurance taxpayers pick up the bill for their medical care after an accident, Dr. Rodney Durham works in the emergency room at Orlando Regional Medical Center. He’s been researching motorcycle accidents for the last five years and says the number of riders coming into the trauma center has doubled

“We see at least one a day. Sometimes we will see more than that,” said Dr. Durham.

Still, many riders are reluctant to wear helmets. Many say they're too hot. Some say the helmet impairs their eyesight and hearing.

Carrillo says riders would change their minds if they walked in her shoes for just one day.

“Every day I thank God for being alive and having another chance,” said Carrillo.

Carrillo supports a change in the law that would require non-helmeted riders to carry more insurance. A government study showed the odds of surviving a crash are 37 percent better if you are wearing a helmet.