HeadSmartSafety.Org

Hi, my name is Kelly Dillard and I am a 15 year old sophomore, and the current Miss Ellis County's Outstanding Teen for 2007, vying for the title of Miss Texas' Outstanding Teen in July. In 2004, my brother was involved in a horrific motorcycle accident. All of the doctors that treated him said his helmet is the one thing that saved his life. We nearly lost him that day but, because he was wearing his helmet, he is healthy today and back to his normal self. His medical bills were close to $100,000.00.

In 2000, my cousin, who was in high school at the time, was involved in an ATV accident as a passenger and had to have his face totally rebuilt as a result of this accident. His medical bills were close to $400,000.00 and his family did not have insurance to cover those expenses. The accident also cost him a possible football career. If he had been wearing a helmet that day, there likely would not have been any injuries.        

I live in a rural Texas community where there is a lot of off road vehicle activity including motorcycles and ATVs. I am one of those active ATV riders, and I ALWAYS wear my helmet.  I will not let my family or friends drive or even ride on our ATVs without an approved helmet. Almost every family in the area has some type of ATV, and the lack of common sense about helmets that I see on a routine basis simply amazes me. This includes children as young as 2 and adults as old as 72 doing really foolish things on motorcycles and ATVs. I have also witnessed first hand what this lack of common sense and foolishness is doing to burden our taxpayers for those that are injured and do not have sufficient insurance to cover all of their medical expenses....Not to mention the  pain and sorrow that is created when someone loses their life from one of these accidents because they were not wearing an approved helmet. The curent laws in Texas only require you to take a motorcycle safety course and/or have a $10,000.00 medical waiver to NOT wear a helmet. Considering the medical expenses for my brother and my cousin, you can see that $10,000.00 is a fraction of what is needed. 

I go into the community, to schools , to businesses, or wherever I can to speak to children and adults alike about my issues of people not wearing a helmet when riding a motorcycle, AVT, bicycle, horse or doing ANY sport or activity where you could be severely injured or even lose your life if you are not wearing a helmet. It is time that helmet safety is brought up to the same standards as seatbelts and car seat laws in Texas and across the nation. Helmet safety is a VERY IMPORTANT issue, and everyone I speak to about this agrees that something needs to be done.  I have personally gone to Austin and presented a proposal to my State Representative and State Senator to have new helmet laws implemented and insurance requirements raised to an acceptable level to cover medical expenses for those that are involved in an accident.