Posted On: May 25, 2007, 12:18 pm CDT

Posted By: Outsider

Just a quick question: are there any real benefits of not wearing a helmet, other than personal comfort and choice? And if there shouldn't be a manditory helmet law, should there also not be a manditory seatbelt law? I personally can't get into a car without putting one on, it's like closing the door of the car when I get in: it's just automatic and wouldn't think of driving without one. Sometimes it's slightly uncomfortable, but I would never think of driving or riding in a car without one. I also completely understand why I should wear it: it saves lives. But, as of yet, I have yet to be in an instance where wearing a seatbelt would have benefitted me at all. This does not change that I will always wear one. Granted, a seatbelt in a car will help you a lot more than a helmet on a motorcycle if you were to run into the side of another car doing 60 mph, but wouldn't the potential benefits of wearing a helmet outweigh the potential benefits of not wearing one?

Yes, the better answer to safety for motorcycle riders would be better education AND better drivers overall. The only thing with more education and more training is that it costs money, and anybody that lives in Michigan knows just how our economy is here. Now, this is not the "right" answer for not doing these obviously benefitial things, but it is the reality. So, in the mean time, wouldn't it be better to have SOME additional requirements of motorcycle riders (helmet) as opposed to nothing? There are always going to be stupid drivers, because there will always be stupid people, sad to say. Even people with the highest amount of training in driving still have accidents/incidents, whether it be somebody else's fault or just a momentary lapse as humans occasionally have. No, a helmet isn't a 100% cure-all for motorcycle rider safety, maybe not even 20%. But if you take 100 motorcycle accidents and wearing a helmet saves 5 from death or permanent injury, seems like it would be benefitial.

I know this wasn't necessarily a question of if helmets help or not, more of an argument for a more comprehensive training program that would be more effective. I just think the reality of the situation here (and elsewhere probably) is the money isn't there. It shouldn't be the reason, but I fear that it is and will continue to be. In the mean time, making people wear helmets is probably the best bet we have going for now.