A little excerpt from the NSTB regarding helmet use.

I was just on Guam where they have only a mandatory helmetrequirement for minors, and passengers.

Island EMT's say they wish they could post a few pictures of peoples heads who were not wearing a helmet. They have several deaths a year, and plenty of folks permanently injured.

Probably get some flames on this, but love yourself and wear a helmet.

NTSB Excerpt:

The argument regarding helmet laws is often framed in terms of personal choice (for example, “it’s my head”). Such an argument typically invokes the idea that motorcyclists are only hurting themselves by deciding to ride unprotected. For over 10 years, the Safety Board has been responsible for assisting families of those killed and injured in accidents. We do not accept the notion that surviving friends and family are not affected when riders decide not to wear a helmet and are killed or injured.
In addition to family and friends, society as a whole pays the well-documented excess costs35 for unhelmeted riders:36 medical care costs; the potentially even greater costs from productivity losses of individuals injured, disabled, or killed; and the costs incurred for first responders. Especially tragic are the fatalities and injuries involving unhelmeted riders in accidents that would have required only a new helmet and cosmetic repairs to the motorcycle, had the rider been wearing a protective helmet.
It is because of the costs to society and survivors that personal freedoms must be balanced with the need to protect individuals from preventable illness, injuries, and fatalities. Passionate arguments regarding motorcycle helmets, seat belts, and many other issues revolve around questions of personal choice versus societal responsibility. The Safety Board has a record of support in the transportation arena for those measures that have proven effective in the mitigation of injuries and prevention of fatalities, such as mandatory seat belt use in cars. Similarly, the remarkable effectiveness of universal helmet laws in the prevention of death and disability among motorcyclists operating on public roads, particularly in light of rising rates and total numbers of individuals killed and injured in motorcycle crashes in this country, is a powerful argument for the adoption of such laws in all states.
Therefore, the Safety Board makes the following recommendation to the three states with no motorcycle helmet laws:
Require that all persons shall wear a Department of Transportation Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 218-compliant motorcycle helmet while riding (operating), or as a passenger on any motorcycle. (H-07-38)
The Safety Board also issued safety recommendations to the FHWA and NHTSA, and the following recommendation to the states:
Provide information to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) on the effectiveness of your motorcycle safety efforts to assist NHTSA

 

Thanks for the tip, Dad.

 

My mother worked in the medical field for over 30 years. She always said a helmet is good for one thing.. an open casket....

You can always cite something or another that talks about safety vs freedom. The only problem I have is where will it stop? Will they begin to monitor an obese person's food intact? This is a health safety matter that if it gets too bad we, the rest of the public, will have to pay for their medical bills.

So where does the monitoring of our lives end? There was a great show on the Discover channel that showed what could happen. The insurance was monitoring the guys urine at his house.He was diluting it but then when he had an accident the test did not match what wasfromhis previous tests so theydenied his insurance.

 

A. Lincoln said:
Those that would sacrifice a little freedom for security deserve neither

As a former EMT on an ALS Ambulance I get very tired of the argument you use about showing people pictures. For every picture you could show I can show you one of someone who died that was wearing a helmet. Same can be said about seat belts.

This was once the country of freedom, let me live my life and make my own choices. To steal a phrase from another topic in today’s culture....
My body my choice... The same justification should be used here, be consistent.

If you wish to wear a helmet, by all means please do, I will not pass judgment on you for doing so, afford me the same respect for my choice to not wear one.

If politicians are so worried about society having to pay for others mistakes, why in the hell are they spending billions every year to support some in our society that may not have earned it themselves?

 

Here we go again...

I hate helmets; especially in the summer. In the winter, they're added warmth. Regardless, I wear one year round. There simply is no rational argument against them. There are passionate arguments; but they're devoid of rational thought when it comes to survivability and risk.

I'm not slamming those who choose to ride sans lid. I used to myself. It was and still is MY choice; It shouldn't be the states', nor the federal government's.

 

I think it all relates, God forbid, to thetype of accident.
My brother was involved in an accident about 15 years ago where a pick up truck ran a stop sign, hit my brother on his bike the rear tires of the truck rolled over his stomach which in turn made him sit up & then the rear bumper slammed him in face. After removing his spleen & total face reconstruction & other surgeries he did survive.
The doctors informed him that if he had been wearing a helmet that the extra weight from it at the impact of the bumper would have broken his neck & most likely killed him.
I consider wearing a helmet constantly, own 2 of them, but after what he went thru & what the dr's told him 99% of the time i go without unless i leave the state & am forced to wear one.

 

First off, this topic has been beaten to death in every forum on this site. Post all you want, there's no winning this argument from either side, IMO. Call it lame if you want, but it is really about choice. There are plenty of people that don't want helmet laws but CHOOSE to wear a helmet when they ride. If you CHOOSE not to and get your head bashed in, it's on you. I don't need someone trying to scare me by saying I'll leave my wife a widow and my children fatherless, that could happen by many means for which there are no mandatory safety requirementson any given day. I've had friends die in car accidents while wearing their seatbelts and I've had people I know my age or younger that have died from cancer or dropped dead from heart attacks. It's a risk to get out of the bed in the morning but you must go out and live your life because you never know which day is your last. Make your own choices and live with the consequences.

And secondly - this is the dyna forum and this thread is [sm=offtopic.gif]

 

I thought I had accidentally surfed to a preacher site!

Posts like these belong at the very least in the off-topic thread section; at the very most in the sh*tcan.

 

I'm going with a helmet after riding all of the time without. After the performance upgrades and starting more technical riding I just started figuring that if I were on a sport bike, on the drag strip, or on the race track, I'd have a hlemet... and that is essentially where I'm at with riding that the wife and I are doing. It's just starting to make more sense than not.

With that said, I _do not_ agree with any type of regulations in this matter. Make the choice based on your riding style, etc.

 

I cannot believe some people still try and argue that wearing a helmet is more dangerous than not. It is shocking to me, but I guess it should not be. In my time as an EMT/Firefighter and in my time working accidents on the interstate I do not recall every seeing a motorcycle accident in which I thought "boy, if only that guy had not been wearing a helmet he would be just fine".

Anyway, on to the topic raise. This is to the original poster, do you support government outlawing all activities which may result in injury or illness? That is almost as silly as those that claim helmets kill people.

My personal position is that I will always wear a helmet, it saved my *** once on the road and more than a couple of times off road. I also do not think the government should be in the business of telling adult they must protect their skull and brains. If adults wish to run the risk I do not see why anyone has a problem with it.