Time and time again this governmental unit comes out with their imputed statistics and claims them to be god’s truth. This group continually lies in order to promote special interests by extorting federal dollars out of states hands in order to force compliance.. I’m getting my checkbook out and writing another check to ABATE in order to protect my personal freedoms against government nannying.
It’s always a lie when you don’t agree with the numbers presented. I don’t care about the numbers, just common sense. I will oppose legislation to do away with helmet laws whenever possible.
Baltimore City has a law that bans off road motorcycles from city streets, yet every day I see kids riding dirt bikes up and down the city streets. I live just a few blocks from a police station too. To make matter worse, these children never have a helmet on. Laws don’t work unless they are enforced. If people choose to kill themselves I say let them. Stupid is as stupid does.
How much more simple can it get. Plus what good is a helmet if you get hit by a truck like the article states. Oh you can be a limbless piece of meat that can still think. how pleasent.
It boggles the mind that there is a law requiring children under 16 to wear a helmet while bicycling but adults do not have to wear helmets when on a motorcycle.
If the impact of the decision not to wear a helmet impacted only the motorcycle driver I would not mind so much. However, it impacts the family, the health care system, the EMTs that have to respond as well as any other person who might be involved in the accident.
Florida repealed their helmet law a few years ago. The woman who spearheaded the charge was killed within a few weeks on the bike – no helmet. And Florida’s requirement for a $10,000 med coverage is worthless.
In wide open states with little traffic – it makes some sense. But, in Florida – with all the traffic and retirees – the repeal did not make sense.
First, riding with a helmet is a common sense issue. Common sense isn’t common. Sometimes I wear it, sometimes I don’t… I’ve been in 7 cycle accidents, which may make me dumber than the average guy — but I still enjoy the ride better, on some rides, without the helmet. Sometimes I like a lot of salt on my fries, even though my wife will lecture me then, too.
Next, any government mandate that citizens don’t want, are always dumb. If you want to wear a helmet, where one. If the guy riding next to you doesn’t, for goodness sakes, let him have that freedom, just as he allows you certain freedoms that are important to you.
Finally, control the things that need controlling, and leave the rest alone. Have a helmet law for riders under 18. Have your legislation not mandate a helmet, but mandate that a jury be reminded that the damage difference in an accident was 100% the assumed risk of the helmetless rider (AZ did this with their seat belt law years ago, which worked pretty well). Allow life insurance carriers to exclude “helmetless highway motorcylce riding” — and see if a parent will take that risk (or their spouse will let them). Let people be responsible both for their actions, AND their results… but otherwise, protect YOUR NEIGHBORS’ FREEDOMS, and by your example, lead them to do the same for you on the next issue.
I don’t have a problem with people who want to ride without a helmet and risk serious brain injury (might clean up the gene pool a bit).
What I have a proplem with is who ends up paying for the care of these injured people. Ultimatley it falls back on the tax payers.
With a closed head injury not even a $500k medical policy is enough.
Get past this problem and I will support no helmets for those 18 and over.
None of the anti-helmet brigade have come up with a real answer to this question. A law might for some reason get passed waiving liability for those not choosing to wear helmets in some state. The first time it would come before a court it would be thrown out. This topic always brings out a good discussion if no agreement. The I want total freedom people vs the people who want to protect others and our pocketbooks. You can go ahead and become a steaming pile of meat if you want as long as it doesn’t cost me anything.
This topic doesn’t deserve the blog time. We need “donorcycle” riders to provide a source of organs for transplants. Everyone is making a big issue out of this. It’s the rider’s right not to wear a helmet. If they aren’t concerned about their own safety….nobody else should be either. It’s not the federal or state government’s job to protect people against their own stupidity.
I’m in favor of helmet laws, but you make some sense. I’ve always said that a person can choose not to wear a helmet as long as we have the right to mandate that they will not receive one cent of public assistance (state or federal) if they end up getting maimed.
I also like the exclusion for life insurance policies. We already ask if the insured is planning on doing a lot of things such as rock climbing, so why not ask if they ride w/o a helmet? If so, either rate it higher or deny it if they kill themselves.
I think that all of those Washington bureaucrats should come to Arizona and try riding a motorcycle when it is 115 degrees with a helmet. It might shrink their brains even further!! One size DOES NOT fit all.
I’m for not requiring helmets. It is not a matter of stupidity. I think those who think that are stupid. For many, it is a calculated choice – I am willing to take this risk because it is fun and enjoyable. I rode for years with no helmet and I didn’t care if I died or ended up injured. People who never take risks and live in a protected bubble don’t know how to live, and that’s what freedom is all about. You have the right to take chances and live your own life. Sometimes facing death is one of the best things you can do to feel alive and appreciate life. But many who live in their bubbles with their protected lives and SUVs with side air bags don’t know how great life is when you live on the edge and take risks and don’t care if you die. That is a right and a basic freedom. What’s so bad about death anyway? Hello, guess what, we all are going to die…I just want you to know that. I’m looking forward to dying to get away from all of this BS. So do we pay the medical bills earlier or do we wait until you SUV driving people who live in a protected bubble eat so many McDonalds meals that you get fat and live old and incur medical bills that way. That makes me more mad than people without helmets. Let’s see the stats on that one. How much money is spent on overweight people in the medical system vs helmetless cycle riders? But you don’t see anyone passing a law against McDonald’s food. Yet it and many other foods have chemicals and fat producing ingredients that should be outlawed and are costing us billions and killing people. Stop focusing on the helmet thing. How many freedoms do we have left? Not many. Is this America? I don’t recognise it anymore.
Why not make helmets mandatory for riders/drivers of all motorized vehicles? How many times have we read in the newspapers or see on the news that a driver/passenger of an auto was killed in an auto accident despite the fact that they were wearing their seat belts? They die from head injuries just like riders of motorcycles.
Why not do a better job of training our young drivers understand that while cars/trucks/SOVs dominate the roadways, the roadways are also shared by motorcyclists, bicyclists, and pedestrians? I’ll bet that over 90% of all motorcyclists, bicyclists, and pedestrians that are killed by autos were the fault of the drivers of the autos.
I’m all for helmets but I don’t think that is going to fix the problem. We will continue to have more motorcycle deaths because we have more motorcycle drivers. But I don’t see that as a reason to make helmet laws mandetory.
Yeah, ok, but just sign a waiver before you ride stating that the State doesn’t need to bother attempting to heal you after an accident. You can wear it like a medic-alert bracelet. That way the taxpayers are releived of the cost.
I wish life were as simple as you FREEDOM ON EVERYTHING people made it sound. The system we have in this country means that everyone has some degree of financial responsiblity for the actions of others. Life and the legal system just aren’t that simple any more. Go ahead and dream of an OZ where you can do anything you want and it only affects you. But you still have to live in the real world. We all give up some freedom go have a workable system. We give up less of that freedom than many countries, more than others. Just a fact. I will continue to feel that helmets should be required based on my experience. I’m sorry we can’t all agree on that, but we all still have the freedom to disagree on these topics.
I’ve never worked in an ER, however, I have seen what it looks like to die in a motorcycle accident on the freeway; not being able to recognize if the person had a face – it was HORRIBLE. The most greusome vision imaginable. Why won’t people use helmets? No pun intended, its a “no brainer”. It still gives me chills to this day. Such a young adult – had his whole life ahead of him…his poor mother, father, sister, brother, wife, etc…so sad
I started riding in California in 1991. The year they re-instated the helmet law. Honestly at the time I was 18 and would have ridden without a helmet. However now at the ripe old age of 34, even though I have never been in an accident or even come close to one (I ride like a grandma), I feel there is wisdom in having a helmet law. I also wish there were better mandatory classes that riders take as well. Both of them combined would decrease the fatalities and accidents….slightly.
Whoever said that the helmet will not prevent accidents is absolutely correct. However, that is not the purpose of the helmet. The helmet is there to protect your head once you get into the accident. While I have seen many accidents caused by the “truck running a stoplight” type, it is far more common that it was the rider going too fast or making errors in judgement.
It boils down to this, the majority of the accidents that happen tend to be operator errror. Most of those riders are the type that would not wear helmets, and or take classes. The helmet laws do not benefit me directly as I am not that type of rider. However, if the government does not protect us from ourselves, who does? I know there are those who advocate the cleansing of the gene pool, but from what I’ve seen, that would mean the extinction of the human race as we are all prone to do something stupid. Therefore, laws are passed, because we are not perfect, and the current thinking is that it is better to impinge on someones freedom rather than let them die.
So I like the idea of helmet laws, although I don’t like helmets, and I would like to see better classes as mandatory. We are stupid and irrational when it comes to freedom and the decision process that freedom affords us because we are selfish and self absorbed. Perhaps a better solution, or technology will solve this debate in the future, but for now, it is the best solution possible. Why can’t we, or are not willing to live with this restriction for the sake of others? After all, after you are a “lump of limbless meat” it really doesn’t matter to you, but it does matter to everybody around you. It’s not just common sense, but also common courtesey to think of the feelings of others. If you are the type that will roar your engine with loud pipes at 6am in the morning and wake up all their neighbors and their babies and take great satisfaction at how loud you are then I don’t expect you to understand this. However if you are the type that lets a slow Hyundai merge onto the freeway instead of speeding up so that it doesn’t get in front of you because it is dangerous and inconsiderate, then you should understand everythng I just said.
The better question is why do people allow anyone under the age of 25 to own one? Or why do they allow anything but larger touring bikes on an interstate highway? Driving a sensible bike like a big Harley or Honda is quite different from the “crotch rockets” favored by the younger kids. Their judgment, skills, and reaction time sucks.
The argument about who pays the medical bill for an injured helmetless rider is an interesting one. Who pays the bills for medical care for illegal aliens? Ultimately all bills are paid by us, that is why we live in this great country and have all the freedoms we enjoy. I think this whole argument is really about losing another one of those freedoms. Personally, as a 30 year rider, I believe in riding with a full set of safety gear, not just a helmet. I don’t, however, wish to see a law mandating that I have to wear all of that gear as they require a rider to do in Europe. Is that where we are heading? Perhaps.
I could care less if someone wears a helmet or not. we live in a free society, you should be able to make your own decisions…but when my tax dollars are spent on your decisions, then i get upset.
When I wore a helmet I didn’t even know that it was required by law. It just seemed the only thing to do. The big chunk in the side of my helmet after my accident made me believe my thought was correct. The 18 year old boy in the next bed with the brain damage from not wearing his helmet because he was only riding around the yard made me sure of it. 18 years old with permanent and severe brain damage. His parents felt pretty guilty for not forcing him to wear one.
Haven’t read any of the posts but your N.I. and I knew there would be a ton of posts due to the topic. Although I am a big fan of helmuts for motorcyclists as I preach safety first to my clients on a daily basis but in this case let these fools ride without a helmut and let them die. Call it culling the herd or weeding the village of idiots, i just don’t care anymore about people who do not care about of for themself.
Mine wasn’t even close to operator error. All the training in the world won’t help the fact that people driving cars and trucks don’t see or don’t pay attention to motorcycles. Clear day, bright sky, no obstruction, light on and the moron still pulled right out in front of me taking up the entire country road, side to side, with deep ditches and poles on both sides. What training do you think is going to help?
I have ridden a crotch rocket all 16 years that I have been riding, and still ride one to this day. I have never had an accident, and have not even come close. It is a little unfair to outlaw my type of bike just because some teenage punks can’t control their hormones. Not that I disagree with you on bad judgement on their part, just that they are not the only types that ride those bikes. To me, it’s more comfortable than a cruiser doing the parachute thing, and a full on cruiser like a Goldwing is out of the question because it is too big.
In essence the crotch rockets fit me like a glove, and are cheap. I got my current bike brand new 2006 Kawi ZZR 600 for 7k including tax, license, set up, dealer fees, and additional warranty. Bang for the buck, you can’t beat it. Plus it is comfy.
Nothing in the world would have helped your situation. Which was I said “slightly”. However other situations can be avoided. For example my cousing (idiot) decided to ride like normal, which is fast, right after it drizzled a little moisture. Needless to say he lost control and crashed. Another “friend” I use that word loosely, was going 40mph splitting lanes between cars that were at a standstill. Guess what? He crashed.
However, that really was not my point. Other than informing them, the class will not stop them from making stupid choices, just make them aware of when those choices are stupid.
What I was trying to say was that the Helmet is not the answer in stopping accidents. Helmets can’t do that. However helmets can protect your brain, and add to it training classes, your brain can make better decisions. There will always be the accidents you can’t avoid. Part and parcel to the risk of riding a bike, or for that matter, any vehicle. By wearing a helmet and taking classes, you minimize on a grand scale the severity and frequency of those accidents you can avoid.
I certainly agree with you. I just don’t believe the way some do that if you take a class, helmets aren’t necessary. The thick skulls revealed by some on this site still aren’t thick enough to prevent metal or pavement from puting big holes in your head.
This topic always gets a lot of posts. I am a helmet fan. It would be tough not to be since I am alive due to wearing mine. I see people in states that don’t require them riding around without helmets and can’t imagine how anyone can be that stupid. Just my opinion. Now it’s time for all the anti-helmet law people to come out and tell us how this article is lying. As so many have said here in the past, let them go without helmets. We can weed out the dumb ones.
I have a friend whos husband died in a motorcycle accident. He was not wearing a helmet. He died of head injury. Very sad, leaving a young wife and two children.
If people want to ride without, then mandate that they carry at least $500,000 in insurance to pay for their medical care because $10,000 is not going to do squat.
Wild Hog: with all due respect, anyone who lacks concern for their personal safety and the future of their family isn’t going to buy first dollar medical coverage. My son is a trauma surgeon who sees a lot these cases. He pointee out that anyone who presents at an ER gets treated regardless of their ability to pay. Net result, the more responsible people’s taxes for the morons.
Claims guy…maybe if people pushed for legislation on this issue of having insurance so us taxpayers don’t have to foot the bill for the senseless idiots we could keep some of our money.
On a good note, today is the start of an annual poker run in my city. We expect over 10,000 bikers to come in this weekend. I have noticed that the majority of these bikers are wearing helmets. Stat safe bikers!
No helmet? It’s a free country you say?
Well if you don’t have insurance and you land up in the emergency room (smashed to smitherines), then off to surgery who pays for that? Does the hospital absorb those extra costs? Do those extra costs affect overall hospital services? Yes they do! So wear a helmet so your arrogance does not drive up the overall costs at our local hospitals for everyone else. How about extra cleanup time on the bloody roadway? who pays for that?
I know in one state, seat belts are required and helmets are not. Riddle me that one!
…Illinois?
Why one without the other?? Easy. The seat belt law was mandated by the Fed. Don’t comply and you lose your Fed’l highway funding.
No such Fed’l mandate has come down regarding seatbelts.
What IS strange is that Illinois did have a helmet law and it was repealed in the early 1970’s after bike riding activists raised a successful fuss.
Time and time again this governmental unit comes out with their imputed statistics and claims them to be god’s truth. This group continually lies in order to promote special interests by extorting federal dollars out of states hands in order to force compliance.. I’m getting my checkbook out and writing another check to ABATE in order to protect my personal freedoms against government nannying.
Re: my previous comment……..last word of 2nd paragraph should be HELMETS….not seatbelts.
It’s always a lie when you don’t agree with the numbers presented. I don’t care about the numbers, just common sense. I will oppose legislation to do away with helmet laws whenever possible.
Baltimore City has a law that bans off road motorcycles from city streets, yet every day I see kids riding dirt bikes up and down the city streets. I live just a few blocks from a police station too. To make matter worse, these children never have a helmet on. Laws don’t work unless they are enforced. If people choose to kill themselves I say let them. Stupid is as stupid does.
How much more simple can it get. Plus what good is a helmet if you get hit by a truck like the article states. Oh you can be a limbless piece of meat that can still think. how pleasent.
I actually work with Chris G and can state beyond a shadow of a doubt that he is not a limbless piece of meat. Now get back to work.
It boggles the mind that there is a law requiring children under 16 to wear a helmet while bicycling but adults do not have to wear helmets when on a motorcycle.
If the impact of the decision not to wear a helmet impacted only the motorcycle driver I would not mind so much. However, it impacts the family, the health care system, the EMTs that have to respond as well as any other person who might be involved in the accident.
Florida repealed their helmet law a few years ago. The woman who spearheaded the charge was killed within a few weeks on the bike – no helmet. And Florida’s requirement for a $10,000 med coverage is worthless.
In wide open states with little traffic – it makes some sense. But, in Florida – with all the traffic and retirees – the repeal did not make sense.
Actually, i didn’t know about Illinois, but I know Iowa is the same way…seatbelts are required but helmets are not.
First, riding with a helmet is a common sense issue. Common sense isn’t common. Sometimes I wear it, sometimes I don’t… I’ve been in 7 cycle accidents, which may make me dumber than the average guy — but I still enjoy the ride better, on some rides, without the helmet. Sometimes I like a lot of salt on my fries, even though my wife will lecture me then, too.
Next, any government mandate that citizens don’t want, are always dumb. If you want to wear a helmet, where one. If the guy riding next to you doesn’t, for goodness sakes, let him have that freedom, just as he allows you certain freedoms that are important to you.
Finally, control the things that need controlling, and leave the rest alone. Have a helmet law for riders under 18. Have your legislation not mandate a helmet, but mandate that a jury be reminded that the damage difference in an accident was 100% the assumed risk of the helmetless rider (AZ did this with their seat belt law years ago, which worked pretty well). Allow life insurance carriers to exclude “helmetless highway motorcylce riding” — and see if a parent will take that risk (or their spouse will let them). Let people be responsible both for their actions, AND their results… but otherwise, protect YOUR NEIGHBORS’ FREEDOMS, and by your example, lead them to do the same for you on the next issue.
I don’t have a problem with people who want to ride without a helmet and risk serious brain injury (might clean up the gene pool a bit).
What I have a proplem with is who ends up paying for the care of these injured people. Ultimatley it falls back on the tax payers.
With a closed head injury not even a $500k medical policy is enough.
Get past this problem and I will support no helmets for those 18 and over.
Oh Benevolent One, who is not working if you have time to read/reply to my posts.
Umpiire!! Perfect! you hit the nail on the head! When will you be running for office because you got my vote!
None of the anti-helmet brigade have come up with a real answer to this question. A law might for some reason get passed waiving liability for those not choosing to wear helmets in some state. The first time it would come before a court it would be thrown out. This topic always brings out a good discussion if no agreement. The I want total freedom people vs the people who want to protect others and our pocketbooks. You can go ahead and become a steaming pile of meat if you want as long as it doesn’t cost me anything.
This topic doesn’t deserve the blog time. We need “donorcycle” riders to provide a source of organs for transplants. Everyone is making a big issue out of this. It’s the rider’s right not to wear a helmet. If they aren’t concerned about their own safety….nobody else should be either. It’s not the federal or state government’s job to protect people against their own stupidity.
I’m in favor of helmet laws, but you make some sense. I’ve always said that a person can choose not to wear a helmet as long as we have the right to mandate that they will not receive one cent of public assistance (state or federal) if they end up getting maimed.
I also like the exclusion for life insurance policies. We already ask if the insured is planning on doing a lot of things such as rock climbing, so why not ask if they ride w/o a helmet? If so, either rate it higher or deny it if they kill themselves.
I think that all of those Washington bureaucrats should come to Arizona and try riding a motorcycle when it is 115 degrees with a helmet. It might shrink their brains even further!! One size DOES NOT fit all.
Just a thought from someone with a sweaty brow and shrunken brain.
I’m for not requiring helmets. It is not a matter of stupidity. I think those who think that are stupid. For many, it is a calculated choice – I am willing to take this risk because it is fun and enjoyable. I rode for years with no helmet and I didn’t care if I died or ended up injured. People who never take risks and live in a protected bubble don’t know how to live, and that’s what freedom is all about. You have the right to take chances and live your own life. Sometimes facing death is one of the best things you can do to feel alive and appreciate life. But many who live in their bubbles with their protected lives and SUVs with side air bags don’t know how great life is when you live on the edge and take risks and don’t care if you die. That is a right and a basic freedom. What’s so bad about death anyway? Hello, guess what, we all are going to die…I just want you to know that. I’m looking forward to dying to get away from all of this BS. So do we pay the medical bills earlier or do we wait until you SUV driving people who live in a protected bubble eat so many McDonalds meals that you get fat and live old and incur medical bills that way. That makes me more mad than people without helmets. Let’s see the stats on that one. How much money is spent on overweight people in the medical system vs helmetless cycle riders? But you don’t see anyone passing a law against McDonald’s food. Yet it and many other foods have chemicals and fat producing ingredients that should be outlawed and are costing us billions and killing people. Stop focusing on the helmet thing. How many freedoms do we have left? Not many. Is this America? I don’t recognise it anymore.
Why not make helmets mandatory for riders/drivers of all motorized vehicles? How many times have we read in the newspapers or see on the news that a driver/passenger of an auto was killed in an auto accident despite the fact that they were wearing their seat belts? They die from head injuries just like riders of motorcycles.
Why not do a better job of training our young drivers understand that while cars/trucks/SOVs dominate the roadways, the roadways are also shared by motorcyclists, bicyclists, and pedestrians? I’ll bet that over 90% of all motorcyclists, bicyclists, and pedestrians that are killed by autos were the fault of the drivers of the autos.
I’m all for helmets but I don’t think that is going to fix the problem. We will continue to have more motorcycle deaths because we have more motorcycle drivers. But I don’t see that as a reason to make helmet laws mandetory.
Yeah, ok, but just sign a waiver before you ride stating that the State doesn’t need to bother attempting to heal you after an accident. You can wear it like a medic-alert bracelet. That way the taxpayers are releived of the cost.
Can we put them out on an ice flow when they become quadraplegics and paraplegics so we do not have to pay for their life time of care?
http://www.zakkwylde.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=6835&sid=ec234d6091e0dca039ac01d82031b1b9
Usually it’s not the helmet. It’s the brain that is inside it!
Amen, umpire.
I wish life were as simple as you FREEDOM ON EVERYTHING people made it sound. The system we have in this country means that everyone has some degree of financial responsiblity for the actions of others. Life and the legal system just aren’t that simple any more. Go ahead and dream of an OZ where you can do anything you want and it only affects you. But you still have to live in the real world. We all give up some freedom go have a workable system. We give up less of that freedom than many countries, more than others. Just a fact. I will continue to feel that helmets should be required based on my experience. I’m sorry we can’t all agree on that, but we all still have the freedom to disagree on these topics.
Hey at least he had his helemt on. That is just 100% Gritty
Anyone out there ever work in an emergency room? I would be interested in their experiences. Might have some pertinence.
I’ve never worked in an ER, however, I have seen what it looks like to die in a motorcycle accident on the freeway; not being able to recognize if the person had a face – it was HORRIBLE. The most greusome vision imaginable. Why won’t people use helmets? No pun intended, its a “no brainer”. It still gives me chills to this day. Such a young adult – had his whole life ahead of him…his poor mother, father, sister, brother, wife, etc…so sad
To Nobody Important: why did you voluntarily wear a helmet?
I started riding in California in 1991. The year they re-instated the helmet law. Honestly at the time I was 18 and would have ridden without a helmet. However now at the ripe old age of 34, even though I have never been in an accident or even come close to one (I ride like a grandma), I feel there is wisdom in having a helmet law. I also wish there were better mandatory classes that riders take as well. Both of them combined would decrease the fatalities and accidents….slightly.
Whoever said that the helmet will not prevent accidents is absolutely correct. However, that is not the purpose of the helmet. The helmet is there to protect your head once you get into the accident. While I have seen many accidents caused by the “truck running a stoplight” type, it is far more common that it was the rider going too fast or making errors in judgement.
It boils down to this, the majority of the accidents that happen tend to be operator errror. Most of those riders are the type that would not wear helmets, and or take classes. The helmet laws do not benefit me directly as I am not that type of rider. However, if the government does not protect us from ourselves, who does? I know there are those who advocate the cleansing of the gene pool, but from what I’ve seen, that would mean the extinction of the human race as we are all prone to do something stupid. Therefore, laws are passed, because we are not perfect, and the current thinking is that it is better to impinge on someones freedom rather than let them die.
So I like the idea of helmet laws, although I don’t like helmets, and I would like to see better classes as mandatory. We are stupid and irrational when it comes to freedom and the decision process that freedom affords us because we are selfish and self absorbed. Perhaps a better solution, or technology will solve this debate in the future, but for now, it is the best solution possible. Why can’t we, or are not willing to live with this restriction for the sake of others? After all, after you are a “lump of limbless meat” it really doesn’t matter to you, but it does matter to everybody around you. It’s not just common sense, but also common courtesey to think of the feelings of others. If you are the type that will roar your engine with loud pipes at 6am in the morning and wake up all their neighbors and their babies and take great satisfaction at how loud you are then I don’t expect you to understand this. However if you are the type that lets a slow Hyundai merge onto the freeway instead of speeding up so that it doesn’t get in front of you because it is dangerous and inconsiderate, then you should understand everythng I just said.
The better question is why do people allow anyone under the age of 25 to own one? Or why do they allow anything but larger touring bikes on an interstate highway? Driving a sensible bike like a big Harley or Honda is quite different from the “crotch rockets” favored by the younger kids. Their judgment, skills, and reaction time sucks.
The argument about who pays the medical bill for an injured helmetless rider is an interesting one. Who pays the bills for medical care for illegal aliens? Ultimately all bills are paid by us, that is why we live in this great country and have all the freedoms we enjoy. I think this whole argument is really about losing another one of those freedoms. Personally, as a 30 year rider, I believe in riding with a full set of safety gear, not just a helmet. I don’t, however, wish to see a law mandating that I have to wear all of that gear as they require a rider to do in Europe. Is that where we are heading? Perhaps.
I could care less if someone wears a helmet or not. we live in a free society, you should be able to make your own decisions…but when my tax dollars are spent on your decisions, then i get upset.
When I wore a helmet I didn’t even know that it was required by law. It just seemed the only thing to do. The big chunk in the side of my helmet after my accident made me believe my thought was correct. The 18 year old boy in the next bed with the brain damage from not wearing his helmet because he was only riding around the yard made me sure of it. 18 years old with permanent and severe brain damage. His parents felt pretty guilty for not forcing him to wear one.
Haven’t read any of the posts but your N.I. and I knew there would be a ton of posts due to the topic. Although I am a big fan of helmuts for motorcyclists as I preach safety first to my clients on a daily basis but in this case let these fools ride without a helmut and let them die. Call it culling the herd or weeding the village of idiots, i just don’t care anymore about people who do not care about of for themself.
Come on haters and attack….
Amen 16 Year Rider!
Well said Mary.
Right On Mary!
Mine wasn’t even close to operator error. All the training in the world won’t help the fact that people driving cars and trucks don’t see or don’t pay attention to motorcycles. Clear day, bright sky, no obstruction, light on and the moron still pulled right out in front of me taking up the entire country road, side to side, with deep ditches and poles on both sides. What training do you think is going to help?
Hey Dread,
I have ridden a crotch rocket all 16 years that I have been riding, and still ride one to this day. I have never had an accident, and have not even come close. It is a little unfair to outlaw my type of bike just because some teenage punks can’t control their hormones. Not that I disagree with you on bad judgement on their part, just that they are not the only types that ride those bikes. To me, it’s more comfortable than a cruiser doing the parachute thing, and a full on cruiser like a Goldwing is out of the question because it is too big.
In essence the crotch rockets fit me like a glove, and are cheap. I got my current bike brand new 2006 Kawi ZZR 600 for 7k including tax, license, set up, dealer fees, and additional warranty. Bang for the buck, you can’t beat it. Plus it is comfy.
Hey Nobody,
Nothing in the world would have helped your situation. Which was I said “slightly”. However other situations can be avoided. For example my cousing (idiot) decided to ride like normal, which is fast, right after it drizzled a little moisture. Needless to say he lost control and crashed. Another “friend” I use that word loosely, was going 40mph splitting lanes between cars that were at a standstill. Guess what? He crashed.
However, that really was not my point. Other than informing them, the class will not stop them from making stupid choices, just make them aware of when those choices are stupid.
What I was trying to say was that the Helmet is not the answer in stopping accidents. Helmets can’t do that. However helmets can protect your brain, and add to it training classes, your brain can make better decisions. There will always be the accidents you can’t avoid. Part and parcel to the risk of riding a bike, or for that matter, any vehicle. By wearing a helmet and taking classes, you minimize on a grand scale the severity and frequency of those accidents you can avoid.
I hope that made sense.
I certainly agree with you. I just don’t believe the way some do that if you take a class, helmets aren’t necessary. The thick skulls revealed by some on this site still aren’t thick enough to prevent metal or pavement from puting big holes in your head.
This topic always gets a lot of posts. I am a helmet fan. It would be tough not to be since I am alive due to wearing mine. I see people in states that don’t require them riding around without helmets and can’t imagine how anyone can be that stupid. Just my opinion. Now it’s time for all the anti-helmet law people to come out and tell us how this article is lying. As so many have said here in the past, let them go without helmets. We can weed out the dumb ones.
I have a friend whos husband died in a motorcycle accident. He was not wearing a helmet. He died of head injury. Very sad, leaving a young wife and two children.
If people want to ride without, then mandate that they carry at least $500,000 in insurance to pay for their medical care because $10,000 is not going to do squat.
Nobody Important: you just proved a point. A little common sense and foresight, not legislation, is all that’s required.
Wild Hog: with all due respect, anyone who lacks concern for their personal safety and the future of their family isn’t going to buy first dollar medical coverage. My son is a trauma surgeon who sees a lot these cases. He pointee out that anyone who presents at an ER gets treated regardless of their ability to pay. Net result, the more responsible people’s taxes for the morons.
You are right on Dread!
Should of ..would of ..could of..
Take your pick…
We always say or think this after something tragic happens
Claims guy…maybe if people pushed for legislation on this issue of having insurance so us taxpayers don’t have to foot the bill for the senseless idiots we could keep some of our money.
On a good note, today is the start of an annual poker run in my city. We expect over 10,000 bikers to come in this weekend. I have noticed that the majority of these bikers are wearing helmets. Stat safe bikers!
“A helmet is the only difference between an open casket or a closed casket”
Open Letter to NTSB Member Kathryn O’Leary “Kitty” Higgins … on “Compelling” vs. “Concocted” Statistics:
http://pub42.bravenet.com/forum/3562429698/fetch/862241/
I todally argee
No helmet? It’s a free country you say?
Well if you don’t have insurance and you land up in the emergency room (smashed to smitherines), then off to surgery who pays for that? Does the hospital absorb those extra costs? Do those extra costs affect overall hospital services? Yes they do! So wear a helmet so your arrogance does not drive up the overall costs at our local hospitals for everyone else. How about extra cleanup time on the bloody roadway? who pays for that?