Helmet

Eight-year-old Julie Kurtzman had all the necessary equipment when she pedaled her bicycle up Carrillon Drive in Ellicott City to sell Girl Scout cookies. Her Brownie uniform and cap were neat and her order form was in hand.Come Monday, however, she'll have to add another piece of equipment to her outfit, as a Howard County law takes effect that requires children under age 16 to wear protective headgear while riding bikes on county-maintained roads.Nancy Kurtzman, who rode a bicycle next to her daughter, realized she was near the deadline for buying a helmet for Julie and her 6-year-old son."

A bicyclist and her 4-year-old daughter, who were struck by a suspected drunken driver Monday, are recuperating from injuries that police say could have been life-threatening had they not been wearing safety helmets.Linda Holt, 34, of the 12200 block of Green Meadow Drive in Columbia, and her daughter, Gina Holt, of the same address, suffered internal injuries and only slight head injuries in the 9:20 a.m. accident on Little Patuxent Parkway near Harpers Farm Road, police said.Linda Holt remains in serious but stable condition at the Maryland Shock Trauma Center at University Hospital in Baltimore, while her daughter was released the same day, according to a hospital spokesman.

THE FIRST SHOTS in the perennial battle over motorcycle helmet laws have already been fired in Annapolis. This year, the assortment of paramedics, emergency care physicians and politicians arguing for mandatory helmets will be joined by a new ally: the Maryland Head Injury Foundation.And again this year, they face the opposition of the usual crowd of bikers claiming to represent "the" motorcyclist viewpoint. While arguments pro and con have merit, both sides are so caught up in the heat of the debate that one wonders if either recalls what the original disagreement was about.

It's hardly news that motorcyclists have a somewhat scruffy image. It's unfair to most of them. But all it takes are a few. My last two columns have dealt with the motorcyclists-rights group ABATE - a proponent of "freedom of choice" in the use of motorcycle helmets. They're nice, law-abiding people and they're not a motorcycle gang - even though some members like to dress the part. But ABATE doesn't speak for all motorcyclists. Quite a few bikers believe ABATE - with its opposition to mandatory helmet laws and penchant for meeting in taverns - projects a poor image of motorcycling.

ANNAPOLIS -- A bill requiring motorcyclists to wear helmets is expected to save lives, but the reason it survived its first General Assembly test yesterday was money.For the first time in a half-dozen years, the House Judiciary Committee gave the bill a thumbs-up -- and by a respectable 14-8 margin.For years proponents have argued that helmets save lives, but this year they had a new weapon. The federal government is waving financial incentives at states that have mandatory helmet and seat belt laws.

ANNAPOLIS -- Despite grumbling from bikers who had staved off a helmet law for 12 years, the Senate yesterday enacted a bill requiring Maryland motorcyclists to wear protective headgear.The 31-15 vote sent the measure to Gov. William Donald Schaefer, who had made the helmet law part of his legislative package. Maryland is the 25th state to require motorcycle helmets."I just commend all those who stood up under pressure with all these guys riding around," Mr. Schaefer said, referring to this week's frequent motorcycle motorcades in Annapolis.

MINNEAPOLIS -- First Thurman Thomas lost his helmet, which provided the Buffalo Bills the cue to go out and lose their pride, along with a considerable part of their anatomy, in a Super Bowl pratfall that created enormous professional embarrassment.So inept were the Bills that it detracted from a Washington Redskins team that was a dominant factor in every aspect and merely toyed with its woeful adversary. Imagine the Bills' best runner, Thomas, "losing" his helmet for the first two plays.

Charles Mann pulled his helmet out of his locker at Redskins Park last week to point out the difference between the front and the crown of the helmet."

ANNAPOLIS -- Last April, Baltimore City firefighter Ronald Biddinger went for a ride on a motorcycle. For the first time ever, his wife said, he didn't wear a helmet.He had an accident and received severe head injuries. Now he can't walk or fight fires. He's in a hospital rehabilitation ward."He says he loves me, but his life's a burden and he wants to die," Linda Biddinger told the House Judiciary Committee last night as she urged the General Assembly to pass a law requiring motorcyclists to wear helmets.

Arizona wide receiver Anquan Boldin (pictured) was carted off the field after a helmet-to-helmet collision in the end zone with 27 seconds remaining in the Cardinals' 56-35 loss to the host New York Jets yesterday. Boldin tried to catch a pass from Kurt Warner, but was hit in the back and then took a shot to his helmet from safety Eric Smith. Boldin and Smith fell to the turf, and Cardinals receiver Larry Fitzgerald immediately waved to the sideline for help. Trainers ran out to check on Boldin, and soon the entire Cardinals team surrounded their teammate as the Giants Stadium crowd fell silent.