A couple of comments: I used to wear leather pants with built in knee cups but started liking jeans on warmer days. To protect myself I bought hard knee and shin guards that velcro across my calves under my jeans. So if I take a hit or put a knee down on a twisty I'm protected.
Regarding state helmet laws, I have always been a cynic and I truly believe that most legistated safety regulations are lobbied and paid for by the insurance industry. I believe that the insurance industry brought about the original helmet laws because they thought it would reduce hospitalization/recovery costs, but over time decided that it would be less expensive to have a motorcycle crash victim die because of massive head injuries, a less than $10,000 funeral, rather than have him/her survive and incur medical costs which are always well into 5 figures.
Anyone who thinks that the increasing number of states repealing helmet laws are doing so because helmets don't matter, also believes that government has the best interest of its citizens in mind, which ain't so Joe!