Helmet or no helmet?

[eddy]

dont have a choice in England we have to wear one all the time which i would any way every time i i ride my bike around my drive with no lid on it dont feel right

 

[cqt1414]

two topics at play here:
1) are they safe
2) should they be optional

i'll get #1 out of the way first. we all know wearing one is safer than not.

but #2 is a bit more tricky. personally I do not think the government should force helmets. I always wear one, and feel naked without. I think a free people in a free country should have the choice.

ps: regarding the "insurance angle". I've read countless threads regarding insurance prices nationwide thru all the major insurance companies. And I do not see any major increase or decrease in rates from states with helmet laws or without. so this argument does not hold water. to reiterate: I always wear one, I just don't need a dirty dishonest polititian to threaten me with legalities to do so. I do so from free will!

God Bless and be safe this holiday!

 

[mynewride]

I always wear one, I just don't need a dirty dishonest polititian to threaten me with legalities to do so. I do so from free will!

God Bless and be safe this holiday!

i agree 100 percent! i always wear. in fact i just upgraded my jacket to a new rs taichi 826 leather.

 

[peterbusa]

Damn..thats packed full of irony. Whether or not there is a law, common sense tells you that in the case of head vs. object...the object wins damn near every time.

That correct ,now that story says it all.Poor family.

 

[newman]

I live in england like eddy and would always wear a helmet anyway, I'm sure one saved my life when a mini came out of a one way street the wrong way I hit the side went over the roof somersaulted landed on my back and my head whipped back and hit the road.

 

[2Wheels2Live]

DarWIN
Posted via Mobile Device

Yep, some folks are just meant to die early. Its part of life. Whether they're in the wrong place at the wrong time, or make a bad choice like no helmet.....when its their time its their time.
I've often wondered though if the last thought they had was "damn! I shoulda wore a helmet!!".
I think we've all known folks like that...the foolish risk takers that don't listen, the ones that always seem to make the wrong choice without ever learning. My brothers one of those...its a miracle he's still alive. But the odds are he won't make it anywhere near his senior years :-(
We all know and accept it now though

 

[03busaman]

Insurance companies have the right to deny coverage to whoever they want and can also deny claims. I don't imagine that a helmet clause would be hard to write into an insurance policy.

Don't get me wrong, I never ride without a helmet, boots and gloves. I rarely ride without my jacket, and frequently ride in a 1piece leather suit. I understand the importance of proper safety equipment. Heck I saw a few rider safety contradictions on my way to work today. A Harley rider wearing a bright orange safety vest, but still no helmet and a guy with a helmet but also wearing just shorts and a tank top. I even mentally chastise them for their lack of forethought. When it comes to helmet laws though I'm more concerned with the loss of liberty than whether or not it is a sound decision. I just don't believe it is the place of government to dictate this to us.

If we are going to start making laws to improve our insurance rates I would like to see a ban on all tobacco products followed by the return of prohibition.

"THE RETURN OF PROHIBITION" ?
NOOOOOoooooooooooooooooooooo

 

[2Wheels2Live]

Your so wrong here, I work in a hospital and I see many squids laid up in the Pumpkin Patch (Trauma) no health insurance or anything. This may sound imoral to some but its facts, Most of em would be 6ft under cause you know most of em wouldnt wear helmets.
Cheaper to burry em then to keep to feed em through a tube and guess who pays for that when they have no health insurance,, Yupp the tax payers.

That reminds me of something, our planet has almost 7 BILLION people on it....way way WAY more than it is going to be able to sustain much longer. We're already looking at running out of clean drinking water in our lifetimes, along with oil and the ability to keep sustainable food sources up with population growth. And the oceans have been overfished and polluted to the degree that the fish harvestst are WAY down and can't recover, and most of the life nurturing coral reefs are dead. Add in the fact that with current population growth, there will be 9 BILLION poeple on this planet at the end of the century....which will be completely impossible to feed/water/give fuel to, and it makes you kinda think maybe more folks need to die ??? Obviously all the starving, aids riddled folks already around the world aren't dying fast enough to offset the babies being born, maybe we should quit protecting people so much and let them live or die by their own decisions, the way nature intended them to?

 

[Sum Beach]

I see it like this, if you wreck with out a helmet, you either get lucky and die or you survive and turn into Gary Busey.

I ride with a helmet all the time no matter what.

 

[JZ7355]

Helmet always! My helmet saved my life.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[DaCol.]

Helmet laws are un-American. If you want to put yourself at risk it should be your prerogative.

I agree , and it also cleans up the GENE POOL

 

[sk8snw8s]

I see many on here who represent states with the laws, I want to hear from some whose states don't have this law and how would you feel if your state reversed this law and said now you have to wear your helmet. Just basically how would u feel if your state reversed your no helmet law, I see a lot of states wanting to get rid of the no helmet law but none wanting to go to a mandatory helmet law.

 

[busa-saga]

it was either my face or my helmet.i dont think i'll be getting rid of this helmet anytime soon. I like to remind myself and others why helmets are MUST have.

 

[Sum Beach]

^^^ Looks very much like my wifes helmet after she wrecked!! She walked away happy from that accident because she walked away!!!!!

 

[Tufbusa]

ps: regarding the "insurance angle". I've read countless threads regarding insurance prices nationwide thru all the major insurance companies. And I do not see any major increase or decrease in rates from states with helmet laws or without. so this argument does not hold water. to reiterate: I always wear one, I just don't need a dirty dishonest polititian to threaten me with legalities to do so. I do so from free will!

God Bless and be safe this holiday!

I think you are mistaken about that. Insurance companies tend to spread the losses out among all the states in order to keep the prices comparable. We here in the Pacific Northwest for instance, whom have never witnessed a tornado pay increased rates to subsidize folks in the midwest whom are very high risk.

 

[akamorpheus]

Your bike, your life. Do what you want.

 

[Flicka]

I think you are mistaken about that. Insurance companies tend to spread the losses out among all the states in order to keep the prices comparable. We here in the Pacific Northwest for instance, whom have never witnessed a tornado pay increased rates to subsidize folks in the midwest whom are very high risk.

That's what I was thinking too, but I have no facts to base it on...

I hate that this happened to the guy, but I feel worse for his family than I do for him. ...probably not the point he was hoping to make.

A good helmet has saved my life before, and I have a new Arai Corsair V that will be here in a couple of days

 

[Schexy1]

I see many on here who represent states with the laws, I want to hear from some whose states don't have this law and how would you feel if your state reversed this law and said now you have to wear your helmet. Just basically how would u feel if your state reversed your no helmet law, I see a lot of states wanting to get rid of the no helmet law but none wanting to go to a mandatory helmet law.

New Mexico doesn't have a helmet law but I grew up in a state that did so I wear one almost all the time. Also, when I got here I was in the AF and you had to wear helmets on base.

I see no helmet as a convenience and not something I need to do all the time. An example of this is, one day my ex had an emergency and needed me to pick up my son from his practice. I was only a few minutes away so no big deal, except I was 30 minutes from home with one helmet. If I went to get the other helmet, he and his coaches would have had to about an hour for me to pick him up. But since I could, I gave him my helmet and rode without one.

To me a helmet is safety equipment and not needed to operate a MC. I wish everyone would wear one but I don’t want to see it forced upon anyone, just like I don’t believe anyone needs an assault rifle at home but I would not want them to be told they can’t have one.

 

[MelodicMetalGod]

A 1983 Harley? Geesh. Flipped over the handlebars?
Sad but man what ammo he just gave all those in favor of helmet laws!
Those for helmets will speak about him for years to come.

Speak about whom? Drat! Already forgot his name...you know, whatshisfacewithoutahelmet that died while protesting helmet laws.


An 1983 Harley? And he flipped over the bars? Are you SURE? That just doesn't add up...

(Apologies in advance...just playing with old stereotypes )
...Do Harley riders even USE the front brake?
...Is the front brake on a 1983 Harley even strong enough flip it?



Not to be callous, but it's tough to have sympathy for someone that has carefully considered the helmet issue and is actively working against it when it backfires on them.

Famous last words: I don't wanna wear a helmet and I'm not gonna do it! It's my right as an American! Besides, I've been riding 25 years and never had an accid.....OH SHEET!

OK...maybe that is a little callous.

 

[MelodicMetalGod]

New Mexico doesn't have a helmet law but I grew up in a state that did so I wear one almost all the time. Also, when I got here I was in the AF and you had to wear helmets on base.

I see no helmet as a convenience and not something I need to do all the time. An example of this is, one day my ex had an emergency and needed me to pick up my son from his practice. I was only a few minutes away so no big deal, except I was 30 minutes from home with one helmet. If I went to get the other helmet, he and his coaches would have had to about an hour for me to pick him up. But since I could, I gave him my helmet and rode without one.

To me a helmet is safety equipment and not needed to operate a MC. I wish everyone would wear one but I don’t want to see it forced upon anyone, just like I don’t believe anyone needs an assault rifle at home but I would not want them to be told they can’t have one.

First off, it's a far cry from not wearing a helmet due to unavoidable and extenuating circumstance to actively recommending and fighting against EVER wearing a helmet. That said...

By not wearing a helmet and giving your helmet to your son, both of you became more vulnerable. You lost the protection entirely, including the protection from wind/debris/bugs that a helmet provides that helps to ensure that the rider doesn't lose control in the first place. You also lost the crash protection and your son, in a helmet not fit to him, had lesser crash protection. I'm not questioning your choice under the circumstances, but I do submit that you and your son were in greater danger of having an incident and at greater risk of injury if an incident had occurred.

For my money, a helmet for everyone on the bike along with proper riding gear or riding doesn't happen unless not riding becomes more dangerous than riding without a helmet (which virtually never actually happens).

For me, the bottom line is this: If something DID happen and me or someone else DID get hurt, could I say that I took all reasonable precautions for myself and my passenger? I never want to have to answer the question with a "No."