Statistics good only if all factors considered.

• Author: Ongstad, Thomas
• Position: Letter to the Editor

Editor:

In regards to your Oct/Nov 2005 issue Stateline section, "Hard Heads or Helmets" article, it is noted that motorcycle deaths increased 81 percent since the helmet law was repealed in Florida. What you don't include in your article is that new motorcycle registrations in Florida spiked from 219,000 in 2000 to 417,000 last year--a 91 percent jump, according to the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles.

Using the simplified logic that the repeal of helmet laws lead to an increase in deaths, it appears that the repeal of the helmet law actually...