Not sure if I can take this seriously given your registered user name, but...

1. Check out Gary Busie's history
2. Go to the American Motorcycle Association and the Motorcycle Safety Foundation for tons of information on this subject.
3. Check out the web sites of states that require/don't require helmets and the insurance company premiums in states that don't require helmets
4. There are plenty of web sites with horrific pictures of what happens when a rider is in a collision without a helmet.

 

Ben Roethlisberger

 

:lol:

1. Motorcyclists should wear helmets because of any number of statistics that show the vast increase in probability of survival as a result of wearing a helmet. Other injuries increase the likelihood that head trauma will be fatal, so wearing a helmet to reduce head trauma makes it so your body only has to deal with bodily injuries in the event of a crash.

2. Motorcyclists should NOT be required to wear a helmet because that's how Darwin's theory works.

3. I'm not doing your homework for you, buddy.

4. There is no good reason for not wearing a helmet.

 

Evaluation of Repeal of Motorcycle Helmet Laws in Kentucky and Louisiana October 2002

http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/People/injury/pedbimot/motorcycle/kentuky-la03/TechSumm.html

 

Check the Derailed forum... plenty of gore pics about accidents :001_unsure:

 

My mother-in-law was a RN in Mich. and when they voted in the helmet law she stated that the actual numbers of vital organ donor's had went down from the years prior... Just interesting useless info...

the screen name is ummm... different.. :stir:

 

I am going to hit you in the head with a baseball bat.

A: No, I don't think I'll wear a helmet.
B: Yes, I'll wear a helmet.

Pretty simple if you ask me.

 

Lol, Thanks for the comments on the screen name and all the information provided. LIke i said before, sorry if this is such an obvious question.So far, it seems like the majority of motorcyclists here are saying that we SHOULD wear helmets. But let's take it a step further...

1. If helmets can save your life, why do people fight laws that require motorcyclist helmet usage?

2. Why do some people still ride without protective gear? Helmets especially.

3. Should we be required to wear full protective gear (jacket, pants, boots, gloves...etc..) as well? Why/Why not?

4. It would be great if some of you out there could possibly share stories of close encounters with us. What happened and how a helmet/safety gear saved your life.


P.S. Please dont hit me with a bat Kahuna :whistling:

 

1. If helmets can save your life, why do people fight laws that require motorcyclist helmet usage?

2. Why do some people still ride without protective gear? Helmets especially.

3. Should we be required to wear full protective gear (jacket, pants, boots, gloves...etc..) as well? Why/Why not?

4. It would be great if some of you out there could possibly share stories of close encounters with us. What happened and how a helmet/safety gear saved your life.

1. Darwin
2. Darwin
3. No. Darwin
4. I've never had a crash at speed, but the little diggers I've had left me a tad sore. You can bet that without a riding jacket and gloves, I'd be in more pain than I was. I've never bumped my noggin and I never ride helmetless.

In all seriousness, I don't have a problem with people refusing to wear gear. I don't want to look like I tried to go surfing on asphalt naked, so I wear gear. Those who don't are eventually going to hurt themselves very badly and inevitably end up dead, or start wearing gear. If someone dies because they were being a complete moron, society won't miss 'em.

 

+1
Everything he said is exactly what I feel.

 

Folks SHOULD earn the privilege to take risks by proving adequate skill and being financially responsible. Unfortunately Darwin states stupid people will not wear protection and not have adequate insurance. In Cali, the minimum insurance coverage of $20,000 will NOT cover ONE night in a trauma hospital! Someone with head trauma can run a half million dollar bill and still be messed up for life! Thus an accident without safety gear could bankrupt the Rider even though the accident wasn't their fault! States must increase the minimum driving insurance limits and require folks take personal responsibility for their actions.

 

oh just tell him to go see the Brit a Tit Twit thread.

 

My position has always been to wear a helmet if you have something to protect. :smartass:
I've lived in states that had no law, then passed one (Cal), and at the time I saw a sound bite from Billy Idol who said "Those guys up there (Sacramento?) makin' them laws............THEY DON'T EVEN RIDE!"
Now, I'm not a big Billy Idol fan, but his point was well taken. Generally people who pass these laws have no business promoting a law that doesn't directly affect them personally.
So, do I wear a helmet (now living in Illinois with no law)? Yes. Why? I'd rather have it and not need it than need it and not have it. Same with jackets, etc.
Do I support a law? No. I hate being told what to do and when to do it. Pro-choice you might say.
Do I have a story? Of coarse. A single occupant driver who had no business in my lane blasted me off my bike on the Oakland Bay Bridge in the carpool lane. No lookie, just dart into my lane. I did a face plant @ 45MPH and my chin bar was destroyed. Chin, ok. Bike a total loss.
Later on a bicycle, my daughter would have sustained serious injuries if not been killed in a crash if not for her kiddie helmet. Thank God for the helmet on that day

 

Here's a link to a recent study (June 2006) from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Pretty scary numbers. Big uptick in fatalities caused largely by new riders + no helmet + large displacement bikes.

http://www.accidentreconstruction.com/newsletter/oct06/motorcycle_fatalaties.pdf

 

Not that bad but I hit hard enough to break the shield out of the side plate. I would assume my head would have hurt without my helmet that day.

I do not support helmet laws.

 

Damn tahts pretty hard core. HOw'd you get into an accident like that

 

I find it interesting that almost everyone here vehemently opposes helmet laws but steadfastly refuses not to ride helmetless.

I can't help but wonder if this has something to do with the attitude of a cyclist in general. We are willing to wear a helmet because we know that to do so could prevent fatal injury, but at the same time we would rather spit in a politician's face than support a law that forces others to ride with a helmet. Could it have something to do with the free and slightly rebellious nature of cyclists?

 

+1

I'll always wear a helmet reguardless if required or not and don't care if it is or not. If you take falling off out of the equation I use a full face helmet just to keep bugs and rocks from beating me up. I also use textile pants and jacket everywhere no matter temp. or I feel naked on my bike. Jeans just make you think your ok, got nice scars to prove that one.

 

soap box on/

Knuckle heads without full face helmets and safety gear crashing increases responsible riders insurance rates. There must be mandatory full face helmets laws to keep our outrageous rates from further increases! Madatory safety gear would reduce the injured rider's family anguish and bad press. We all take a lot of grief from my friends and family for riding WITH safety gear.

SB off/

For the paranoid there's the new Gold Wing with an Airbag! Is that suppose to make up for the physics challenged 900lb? I can't imagine it being that effective without a seat belt. Don't put a belt on your bike! :laugh:

 

soap box on/

Knuckle heads without full face helmets and safety gear crashing increases responsible riders insurance rates. There must be mandatory full face helmets laws to keep our outrageous rates from further increases! Madatory safety gear would reduce the injured rider's family anguish and bad press. We all take a lot of grief from my friends and family for riding WITH safety gear.

SB off/

My reply to a previous thread also applies to helmet laws - Read on

Comment 1: You cannot legislate morality. If a person feels they have the right as a human being to practice certain things, they will do so regardless of what the 'law' says. Constantly reworked areas such as:

Speeding - "It's my vehicle and I pay taxes and I can drive in any fashion I choose"

Abortion - "It's my body and I can do what I want with it"

Drugs/Alcohol/Smoking - See above

Guns, buying booze on Sunday, homosexuality, gay marriage, etc. the list goes on and on.

I am not giving my opinions on such behaviors, merely stating that if an individual feels it is their right to behave one way or the other, they will do so, law or no law.

 

Kahuna,

I mostly agree with your points. But first hospitals need to let those under-insured die in the waiting room. :whistling: Many hospitals supplying crucial trauma services have gone out of business servicing the uninsured. If everyone takes an effort to be responsible and wear safety gear it would keep adequate (not state's minimum) insurance affordable.

 

No pot stirring on this one! :smartass: I totally agree with you. Riders that don't wear gear, don't have health insurance, haven't taken any formal training, and then go throw a leg over a large cruiser or sport bike shouldn't be bailed out by the taxpayers when they wind up in the ED with massive trauma. You want to play, you got to pay. We pay enough in taxes already. :stir:

 

I consider full face helmets and safety wear the bike's seat belt and air bag. Those are both legally required for cars to reduce accident injury. Most sober experienced driver accidents are not the motocyclist's fault. After an accident the semantics of fault doesn't change the degree of injury, but wearing safety gear will.

Have Fun and Ride Safe!

 

It really seems like riding motorcycles is a risky venture...so time for more questions!! :laugh:

1. If riding a motorcycle is soooooo dangerous? Why do you guys ride? (be honest... even if's something like... "to impress a girl")

2. Would you say that most accidents result because of the rider's habits/wreckless driving (speeding, cutting lanes all the time, etc..) or because of other factors.

3. Should riders wear full gear even if they're just commuting? (NO freeway)

4. And with regards to the posts about insurance, my question would have to be... What about the people who just CAN'T afford adequate insurance because they're poor/poverished/deprived? I know a handful of guys who ride motorcycles because they cant afford a car but have to get to remote locations for work. Not to mention, insurance rates have increased ALOT since a couple of years ago.

Buying good coverage insurance these days can sometimes mean buying another vehicle, especially if you're record has some major points in it, points that could've accumulated from previous accidents where you could've been innocent. I guess my point is ... insurance is NOT CHEAP.

And After reading about MOtor's post about his accidents, i've concluded that... FUll gear = good. But if full gear is so good, i still dont see why politicians would not issue a law that would require riders to wear full gear. I can only see advantages to wearing full gear when riding. Applying my point, it would definately protect the rider better and possibly lower the fatal accident rate.

and just in case you guys dont know what i refer to when im talking about "full gear". By "full gear" i mean the whole sha-bang (helmet, gloves, jacket, pants, and boots).

 

Wearing a motorcycle helmet for a person of your cronilogical calibration insures in a high percentage way that you will be cognizant of your surroundings after you have been placed in a maximum security Pound-Me-In-The-Ass penitentery for slipping ruffies in the drinks of underage party goers.

 

1. Freedom, excitement, total control, and the closest thing to flying.
2. Most accidents are caused by drivers making a left hand turn in front of a bike.
3. All the gear, all the time. ATGATT.
4. You want to play, you got to pay.

 

I can say I ride for the releif I get and being more in touch with my surroundings. I can also focus on just thr road and my bike.

Full gear always.