Helmet? We don't need no stinkin' Helmet!

Seeing some of the motorcycle articles reminded me of something I saw recently.

Illinois has no helmet law. Some bikers use helmets, some prefer not to. This induhvidual went for the worst of both worlds.

Going south on I-294 at rush hour near O'Hare, a beautiful SV650 passes me. I look over and see it has a custom paint job, rider is in full leathers, and has a matching custom helmet on the FOOT PEG.

Talk about failure to grasp the concept.

 

This happens quite a bit around here in CT because both NY and MA require helmets, and the riders may be either coming from one of those states or headed to one of them. I've seen riders stopping just after coming into CT and REMOVING their helmets. Crazy.

 

I've never understood or had it explained to me why seeming sucessfull and intelligent people riding expensive bikes dont wear the most vital piece of safety equipment (the helmet) when on their bikes,personally i just couldnt imagine driving a bike with no head proection,the constant wind blast at 70mph the risk of getting a bird or big flying insect in the face are good reasons to wear a helmet other than how much better your survivability is in an accident when equipped with a proper helmet..

 

I happen to think the only thing dumber than riding without your brain bucket is forcing you to wear it.

 

Tell that to the parents of a very bright 20 year old girl who is in a residential head trauma facility. She was riding her mom's Harley (no helmet, wind in her hair) and swerved to miss a deer, hit a second deer and careened off the road. Major head trauma and was in intensive care for several months while in a coma. University of Rolla was supposed to be her destination this fall and her plans were changed forever.

She had a few broken bones but the head trauma could have been PREVENTED with a helmet.

Another girl was a passenger last year on a Harley (no helmet, wind in her hair) during a poker run. They were hit by a car and she had head trauma. She is in a vegetative state in a nursing home.

Tell that to her family and boyfriend.

 

Preaching to the choir here. That is why I think it's nuts to ride without one, and why I always wear mine, even though technically I could get an exemption here in Texas. But if you ride without, then accept what comes to you.

I don't mean to sound cold, but stupidity creeps in when we are isolated from the consequences of the decisions we'd otherwise make; slowly, through helment laws, seat belt laws, drug laws, etc. I fear we are losing the common sense that dictates that you should wear a helment because it's the smart thing to do rather than because some bureaucrat says you should.

 

Why not get rid of all the bureaucrats and have everything unregulated? No drivers licence, commercial operator licences?

I get it - all regulation is evil.

 

Sorry jcp123.
I took your statement wrong. I'm always on the defensive when it comes to helmets. It's sad, but it is up to the individual as to what risk they take with their brain in Illinois. I rode dirtbikes and always wore a helmet and my helmet left a dent in the hood of a
Cadillac in 1976. The only damage I had was a bruised leg, sprained ankle, and a broken toe.

 

Speaking of which, I've had my helment for two years now...probably due for a replacement soon?

 

He's talking about regulations that are "for your own good", you aren't.

 

I have to agree with you. If you want a government that mandates helmets, I want a government that take fat kids away from their parents. Lets outlaw alcohol, sugar, fat, sunbathing, driving fast, driving slow, flying small planes, eating sushi.....well you get the point.

(think this will create a rukus?)

 

A different tact: Our cars must pass safety inspection to be allowed to drive them....should the safety and emission regulations be voided?

A cyclist without a helment crashes and has head trauma. Goes to the county hospital, costing the taxpayer's thousands....he still has the right to go without a helment?

 

Think it's Supreme Justice Oliver Wendel Holmes that said: "Your rights ends where mine begins".....defining that line causes endless litigation that includes topics like helmet laws.

My rational for helmet laws is driving a motorcycle is a privilege, so they should take reasonable measures to avoid an accident and burding taxpayers with hospitalization.

 

Don't mention those inspections. They might be my least favourite thing about Texas. I miss California where all I had to do was write a check and get my tags (I was smog exempt). I maintain my car, and don't appreciate inspection personnel making up problems to not pass what's a perfectly capable automobile that's putting no one at risk. Anyhow, that's enough on that rant (just got denied an inspection for the first time today).

Anyhow, as to the helments...I believe in survival of the fittest. Those who are smart enough to wear their helments, live. Those who aren't, may not live to procreate. Harsh, maybe, but it's nature's own law applied to our "civilized" way of life.

 

I suppose in modern cars, yeah, it's mandated, and I don't agree with those laws either, for the exact same reason. The financials I can eat for the sake of being able to live as I see fit and letting others do the same as well. There are plenty of ways money is wasted, but I'll stop here since I don't want to start a flame war/political thread.

Suffice it to say...helments exist for a reason. WEAR THEM! Even if your state doesn't require them. Ditto for seat belts.

 

More people get ill due to salt, just to name one, than motorcycle accidents. Are you ready to outlaw salt. Tabaco, alcohol. Where do you stop? Are helmets your line in the sand, or do you, for the sake of society want to control more of American's decisions?

 

The Inuit tribes kicked their grandparents out of the igloo and let them die in the Artic - that's survival of the fittest.

Motorcyclists already are 35 times more likely to get killed on the road as it is...why not try to get those numbers down?

To me, civilization allows people like Helen Keller, Louis Braille, and Stephen Hawking to live and contribute....a more Darwinian society marginalizes or kills them off (in extreme cases).

 

That's why arguments that "it costs more" don't hold true with motorcycles and helmets. Most often with no helmet it is the grave, with a helmet, it is more expensive.