As the temperatures rise with the approach of summer, so do the number of motorcycles on the road. And this year, expensive gasoline might also motivate more people to travel on two wheels instead of four.

The appearance of motorcyclists this year is accompanied by the appearance of legislation in Harrisburg that proposes returning to a requirement that people on motorcycles wear helmets.

Accident statistics justify a rethinking of the 2003 action by the state Legislature to repeal the helmet law.

In Pennsylvania, there were 4,016 crashes involving motorcycles in 2010. That's up from the 2,973 crashes recorded in 2001. There were 223 fatalities involving motorcycles last year, compared to 127 in 2001.

Some of those fatalities are likely due to the fact that helmets are no longer required, although a significant number of motorcyclists still wear them. Some of the increase in accidents and fatalities might also be related to the dramatic rise in ridership — licensed motorcyclists have increased by 100,000 here since 2001, hitting 838,000 last year.

The increase in accidents and fatalities as well as the costs to taxpayers of motorcycle riders killed or seriously injured prompted state Rep. Dan Frankel, D-Allegheny County, to propose mandating helmets again. Expecting that that proposal might fail, Frankel's backup legislation would require motorcycle riders who choose not to wear helmets to purchase more health insurance.

Both measures make sense and would be an improvement over the current law.

Though some motorcycle riders love the feeling of riding without a helmet, there is little doubt that helmets can save lives or reduce the severity of injuries. Motorcycle accidents are often serious, even with riders wearing helmets, because the riders are so unprotected compared to people in cars.

A recent event in Pittsburgh promoting motorcycle safety brought out two notable supporters of a return to mandatory helmet law. Well-known Pittsburgh attorney Edgar Snyder, who has worked with injured motorcyclists for 40 years, has seen the damage caused by the accidents, and the inevitability of motorcyclists having an accident.

Also attending the safety event — and supporting helmet use — was an Allegheny County police officer with 18 years experience as a motorcycle patrol officer. Like Snyder, the officer supports the idea of a mandatory helmet law.

Going back 40 years, nearly all states required helmets for motorcyclists. The federal government used leverage with highway funding, much like it did to impose the national 55 mph speed limit, to push states to adopt helmet laws. In 1976, states convinced Congress to end the federal pressure to maintain universal helmet laws.

Since then, successful repeal efforts have left only 20 states with universal helmet laws still in place. But in states that have repealed helmet laws it makes sense to look at what's happened since repeal in terms of accident statistics and costs associated with serious motorcycle accidents.

Quoting the National Conference of State Legislatures, Frankel said states with mandatory helmet laws saved $1.8 billion for hospital care and treatment related to serious motorcycle accidents.

Some motorcycle riders will never want to wear a helmet. But the statistical data of the past eight years, since the helmet law was repealed, should provide the basis for discussion — and a possible return to a mandatory helmet law.

Accident data and hospital and insurance company information should dominate the discussion, not the emotions of those passionate about riding with the wind in their hair.

Frankel's proposal, if supported by evidence, should lead to a return to a universal helmet law in Pennsylvania. Failing that, the Legislature should reduce the financial burden of motorcycle accidents on society by requiring those choosing to not wear a helmet to purchase more insurance coverage.