Wear that Helmet!

[Mikekoz13]

I used to work in the ER of a major hospital one of the prevalent jokes was "what do you call a motorcyclist that has been in an accident?...an organ donor."

HAR-DEE-HAR-HAR................. not funny at all...........................

[Paul]

But an individual should have the right to choose whether or not they want to wear a helmet.  It is just like seatbelt laws.   One more intrusion into the privacy and personal rights of the individual.   If I or anyone else doesn't want to wear a helmet OR a seat belt, that should be our choice.   Calling people names who choose, for personal freedom reasons, not to wear one sounds just like one more minority wanting to have their way, treadding on the of personal freedom of others

[Mikekoz13]

But an individual should have the right to choose whether or not they want to wear a helmet.  It is just like seatbelt laws.   One more intrusion into the privacy and personal rights of the individual.   If I or anyone else doesn't want to wear a helmet OR a seat belt, that should be our choice.   Calling people names who choose, for personal freedom reasons, not to wear one sounds just like one more minority wanting to have their way, treadding on the of personal freedom of others

I agree 100%!

[D.A.L.U.I.]

But an individual should have the right to choose whether or not they want to wear a helmet.  It is just like seatbelt laws.   One more intrusion into the privacy and personal rights of the individual.   If I or anyone else doesn't want to wear a helmet OR a seat belt, that should be our choice.   Calling people names who choose, for personal freedom reasons, not to wear one sounds just like one more minority wanting to have their way, treadding on the of personal freedom of others

I agree 100%!

I like the freedom idea, but I'd couple it with responsibility--if you don't have insurance, and you engage in what can be considered risky behavior, find someone else to pay for your care, short and long term. 

[tomgallagher]

I wonder if there is anybody out there that was anti but are now pro due to these laws having saved their lives or that of a loved one.

[hammerdrill376]

I have seen it both ways. As I stated I  had a friend who died in spite of the fact that he was wearing a full helment and other safety gear. No amount of protection on a bike will save someone when  Ford Expedition runs over them. I also knew of a girl years ago who could not get out of a burning car because her seat belt jammed after a crash. These are probably exceptions to the rule so to speak and in general wearing a seat belt and helment make sense. But I stand by the belief that it should be a choice and not government mandated. Little by little our freedoms of choice are being taken away. Remember the old story of how you cook a frog? You don't throw it in a pot of boiling water. Put it in a cool pan and slowwwwly turn up the heat. Next thing he knows...he's COOKED! That is what the government has done and is doing to America. Keep government out of our personal lives.

[Mikekoz13]

Even though I wear a helmet I do believe it should be each individual rider's choice.

[jamesh75]

Yep, it should be the riders choice.  I wear one, but my dad has been riding over 40 years and I've only seen him with a helmet a handful of times.  It's his choice.  I have friends that wear helmets, and others that don't.  I'm not going to harp on the ones that don't.

[440satellite]

I'm 100% with you guys that it should be the riders option to either use or not use the safety gear, both in a car and on the bike.  Personally I always wear a full face helmet and have yet to get any grief about it, not that it would change anything.  HD is the predominant bike people own in my area, so owning a ricer I get more grief about it than I do the helmet.  I don't have any desire to have a Harley but to each their own, although my HD owning buddies and I have some pretty good discussions pointing out the weak points of eachothers machines.   

[petree dish]

Sure it can be a personal choice. I honestly have a difficult time understanding why anyone who rides ther bike with any balls would not wear one though. Then again, I only ride sportbikes..

[buddha]

Little bit of info that I learned late in my riding career: If your helmet takes an impact it is time to discard it and buy a new one. They are only designed to take one good jolt and then the structural integrity becomes compromised.

[Mikekoz13]

Little bit of info that I learned late in my riding career: If your helmet takes an impact it is time to discard it and buy a new one. They are only designed to take one good jolt and then the structural integrity becomes compromised.

Buddha is exactly right guys. I read an article that said if you drop your helmet from as little as three feet the structural integrity is probably ruined. This means you need a replacement.

Also.... I recently read an article about DOT, SNELL, and the European ECE ratings. It made me rethink my whole idea of helmet safety. Apparently a lot of people now believe that a SNELL rating may be more harmful than good. It seems the HARDER the helmet (SNELL) the less energy is dissipated on impact...not a good thing for your head.

I did a little further digging and it looks like a helmet that has both the DOT and ECE ratings may be your best bet for safety. Any helmet I buy in the future will have these ratings.