Helmet bill draws hundreds to hearing

"More than 250 people took seats in Representatives Hall, almost all of them in protest of the bill. Helmet bills are filed nearly every year and have been regularly defeated.

'I don't believe it is your job to take care of me, to protect me from myself,' said John Wilkins of Gilmanton. 'A stupid driver or rider is just as stupid with a helmet on as with a helmet off.' Katherine Dawson, chairman of the Tilton Board of Selectmen, was one of few members of the public to testify in favor of the bill. She and her husband were in a motorcycle accident several years ago, she said. She wore a helmet, her husband did not, and he ran up a $500,000 hospital bill after being airlifted, she said."

-Union Leader