helmet laws
Road Captain
Joined: Jul 2009
Posts: 586
Likes: 1
From: Falcon, CO
I wear a helmet all the time but I think it should be the riders choice no question about it.
Last edited by cotnballs; Apr 6, 2011 at 02:09 PM.
Club Member
Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 11,483
Likes: 39
From: Passaic County, NJ
One person makes a sarcastic remark and it all snowballs from there.
I mean...if smoking tobacco is so bad why isn't there a law against it? Why isn't tobacco illegal? It's killed more people than could ever have been killed solely based on not wearing a helmet.
We're allowed to choose to smoke or not.
So, we're freely allowed to kill ourselves by smoking but the concensus here is that our government should force everyone to wear a helmet when operating a motorcycle.
Sure, makes sense to me. (not)
Road Master
Joined: Sep 2008
Posts: 933
Likes: 4
I live in New Hampshire, there is no helmet law. I started wearing one about 4 years ago. I believe in freedom of choice, but you are being intellectually dishonest if you claim that a helmet does not make any difference in an accident. It is protection, just like leather to a bike rider. One of the things that made me change my mind was working on the Fire Dept/ rescue. If you saw some of these accidents, you might change your mind, but again, I believe you should have the freedom to make that choice (as an adult) yourself.
Here is a simple experiment, Put on a helmet and run into a brick wall head first, now try it without a helmet. As I get older, the more sense this makes to me.
Here is a simple experiment, Put on a helmet and run into a brick wall head first, now try it without a helmet. As I get older, the more sense this makes to me.
Ultimate HDF Member
Joined: Jul 2010
Posts: 6,373
Likes: 5
From: Central Texas
Like my brother tells me, the only difference in having a helmet or not at 70 MPH and hitting the pavement is an open or closed casket. I've seen no less 12 people killed on motorcycles in my life time. And of the 12, every one of them were wearing a helmet except two. A helmet doesn't do you any good when your body is in 3 different pieces from wrecking at 120 MPH. Its that simple.
And even if it were to save your life, the damage to your brain from slamming against your skull could turn you into a vegetable. Spinal injuries could leave you completely paralyzed. If I am going to hit the ground hard enough for either of these things to happen, I would prefer it kill me. What is the point of staying alive if you have zero quality of life?? I would like my family to go ahead and pull the plug on me in this situation. And anybody that wants to say that is selfish - it is pretty damn selfish of you to want somebody to live on in unbearable suffering just because you aren't willing to let go. I can understand not wanting to lose a loved one, believe me, but it is a pretty shitty thing to make them suffer immense amounts of pain so that you don't have to deal with the pain of their death.
I still believe helmets should be a choice. But do get tired of hearing the same lame old excuses. I put these types of excuses right up there with the crowd that says that seat belts are dangerous cause they might get jammmed in an accident. So yes, lets fight to keep the right of choice, but if we're going to argue about it, lets use a little logic and common sense.
Advanced
Joined: Jul 2007
Posts: 76
Likes: 1
From: Mason, MI
The Michigan no helmet advocates think that this may be the year that the helmet law will be recinded. The bills made it through the Senate and the House in 2006 and 2009 but were vetoed by Grandholm both times. There are already 2 bills making it's way through the process and are likely to pass. The feeling is that Snyder will sign the bill this time. As a rider that was "saved" by wearing a helmet I'll continue to wear one but I feel that it's up to each rider to decide if they want to take that chance.
Road Warrior
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 1,396
Likes: 146
From:
Helmet laws are BAD! Helmet laws are not, and never have been about safety. They are a marketing ploy. Special interests get a law passed so your are required to buy their product. Why are they BAD? Wearing a helmet is a comprimise. You lose a little defensive riding capabllity for more protection for your head. Sometimes thats a good comprimise, sometimes not. I want the right to choose when it's appropriate to wear one. Always wearing a helmet is as bad as never wearing one. There is a reason that a lot of states saw fewer fatalities after repealing their helmet laws. There is no doubt that people were killed because they were wearing helmets that interfered with their vision and hearing. If you make a bad choice and are killed the fault is yours alone. if the government makes a bad choice for you, they kill you. That's why the government should stay out of it.
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Road Captain
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 684
Likes: 1
From: Colorado
I believe this should be a matter of "informed consent". Perhaps mandatory for those below the age of consent.. but for those whom are older, if you are informed as to the ramifications and arguments from both points of view, then you should be allowed to make your own choice. Then, if things turn out badly, no one is to blame but you.
Road Captain
Joined: Mar 2011
Posts: 627
Likes: 1
From: Oklahoma
I wear a helmet when I skydive, when I ski and when I ride my bike, I do so not to protect myself in a major accident, but rather the little incidents that end can end up being major due to not wearing a helmet.
As an example, had a buddy slip on a patch of ice going back to the chair lift, it was a beginner run, hit his head and was in a coma for a week. Any helmet and he probrably walks away laughing at himself falling on that terrain.
Another buddy takes a knee in the head during a skydive and is knock unconcience automatic activation device releases his reserve and he comes to under canopy and lands without incidence, but a helmet would have prevented the scare everyone had in the sky as he tumbled away lifeless.
As an example, had a buddy slip on a patch of ice going back to the chair lift, it was a beginner run, hit his head and was in a coma for a week. Any helmet and he probrably walks away laughing at himself falling on that terrain.
Another buddy takes a knee in the head during a skydive and is knock unconcience automatic activation device releases his reserve and he comes to under canopy and lands without incidence, but a helmet would have prevented the scare everyone had in the sky as he tumbled away lifeless.
Michael