As if we didn't already know...
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-helmetlaws-michigan-injury-idUSKBN0UL2JN20160107
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-helmetlaws-michigan-injury-idUSKBN0UL2JN20160107
Helmets do make a difference
- Thread starter paulcb
- Start date
SmashVol
Site Supporter
Good Link! As someone who has been involved in EMS for 30 years, they do make a difference.
"Riders without helmets also drank more alcohol after the law was repealed, based on blood tests at hospital admission".....I guess I don't understand why changing the helmet law would affect the drinking habits of riders, or maybe they're still celebrating the repeal....
.........ff
.........ff
Throttlejockey
Padden is my hero
I would like to know the actual numbers, not just the percentage.
Having recently tested the protection capability of a helmet - I WILL NOT get on a m-cycle without one!
if I had not been wearing one I would have lost the left side of my head ...
if I had not been wearing one I would have lost the left side of my head ...
I came to TX in 1965. Since then we have had helmet laws passed and repealed several times. I wear a helmet pretty much all the time, and have since I started riding in 1964 (anybody remember Buco helmets?), mainly because it is more comfortable regarding wind, noise, debris, etc. than not wearing one. When the helmet law was passed the first time, in the late '60's, I got one of the first tickets written for not wearing one. It was the first spring day fit to ride. My bike had been sitting for probably a month and I wasn't sure it would start. Managed to get my 305 Dream going with the kickstarter, after some fussin' and cussin', so I rode it 10 feet into the street to turn it around so I could load up and went upstairs to my apartment to get my gear. I was coming down the stairs, with my helmet in my hand, when I saw the cop writing down my tag number so he could write me up for the ten feet I rode on the street without a helmet while turning the bike around. This was the 60's, of course, police harassment was very much a reality, especially if you had long hair and/or a beard, let alone a motorcycle, but my gut reaction whenever helmet laws are discussed is that it's just one more thing for the cops to stop you for.
To me, helmet laws are exactly like seat belt laws, and it amazes me that we have one but not the other in TX at present. I personally am against any law that penalizes me for making a decision that affects only myself. I think it sets a dangerous precedent and moves us further toward the nanny state that perpetually fearful people seem to think is desirable. Brushing your teeth after every meal is a good practice, and I advocate it, but it's nobody else's business if I choose not to do so, and it damn sure should not be a law. Government's job is to protect me from other people and them from me, not me, from myself. I agree that wearing a helmet is wise, I agree that you're foolish if you dont; I absolutely do not think it should be compulsory.
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thumperjdm
Naty Von Ozirisz 1997-2011
I can still remember riding a motorcycle as a teenager in California when there wasn't a helmet law. Luckily, it always felt awkward (and loud), so I almost always rode with one, before the law changed.
My last crash was in 2012, and I went down so quickly, and unexpectedly, that there was absolutely no ability to react, or counter-act it----I was already down and sliding when my brain caught-up to what was occurring. After getting up, and removing my (brand new) Shoei Neotec helmet, I was surprised to find a moderate amount of road-rash on the shell, and the visor. I quickly surmised that my adorable face ( )would have been drastically altered w/o protection. It pained me to throw a brand-new $750 helmet into the trash (after properly rendering it useless), but I immediately replaced it with the same.
My signature line (below) fits this topic.
My last crash was in 2012, and I went down so quickly, and unexpectedly, that there was absolutely no ability to react, or counter-act it----I was already down and sliding when my brain caught-up to what was occurring. After getting up, and removing my (brand new) Shoei Neotec helmet, I was surprised to find a moderate amount of road-rash on the shell, and the visor. I quickly surmised that my adorable face (
)would have been drastically altered w/o protection. It pained me to throw a brand-new $750 helmet into the trash (after properly rendering it useless), but I immediately replaced it with the same.My signature line (below) fits this topic.
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thumperjdm
Naty Von Ozirisz 1997-2011
Not to start an argument with you, but if all of your teeth fall out because you failed to brush them, I, as a taxpayer, am not responsible for your dentist bills.
An uninsured motorcyclist who crashes w/o a helmet, causing a long stay in ICU in the county-funded trauma hospital, racking-up hundreds of thousands of dollars in medical bills, will ultimately have those bills paid by the rest of us.
Blrfl
Natural Rider Enhancement
I'd hazard a guess that a large fraction of the people who ride drunk are also the ones who chose to ditch their lids after the law changed. There's a whole swath of accidents that would have resulted in minor injuries with a helmet that are turning into full-on trauma cases without."Riders without helmets also drank more alcohol after the law was repealed, based on blood tests at hospital admission".....I guess I don't understand why changing the helmet law would affect the drinking habits of riders, or maybe they're still celebrating the repeal....
--Mark
TPadden
Tom Padden
Got to love that preamble!
Critters
Retired Black Rat
I am the same, I know they are compulsory in the UK but I had a bad accident at work, 85mph crash, bike hit a tree, I hit a fence, a few broken bones but my BMW system helmet was split open at the top like a boiled egg, I kept the lid and sat it on a shelf where we stored our bikes so everytime I went out I realised I was not invincible.
I must try find the pictures of the remains of my crashed 1100..
Blrfl
Natural Rider Enhancement
In principle, I agree with you, but a wreck on public road has second- and third-order effects that go beyond just the rider.
--Mark
There are many thing that law enforcement could do to make roads safer for everyone but they chose battles not action. For example, phones while driving is against the law in most states. Accidents happen because drivers are texting or to involved with their phone. We as riders have seen this all to often yet only tickets are issued after accidents. I'm sure you could sit near an intersection and write tickets all day long. With out a doubt we all have heard of drunk drivers who have finally killed someone after 10 previous arrests for DUI. They, law enforcement and the judicial system, need to step up instead of stepping all over law abiding citizens freedoms and rights.
OP
OP
Agreed. Rarely, if ever, does a motorcycle or car wreck affect only the driver.
Yeah, I've heard this old line before. Fact is, people are dying every day of all sorts of diseases and afflictions, not related to motorcycling, because the taxpayers most definitely do not just pick up their medical bills for the rest of their lives. We don't even take proper care of our vets, in spite of our promises to do so, so I don't think they're going empty the treasury because some biker scrambled his brains. In this life, "Need" is not a function of "Get". However, if you want to live in a completely risk free society, where your tax money is never in danger of being used to help out your fellow citizens, then be prepared to give up sky diving, rock climbing, swimming, surfing, any kind of contact sport, and especially motorcycling. I submit that your chances of becoming a ward of the state are much lower if you do not wear a helmet, because your chances of being killed outright are so much higher, in which case the state would only be responsible for burying paupers. Perhaps helmet wearing should be banned...
drrod
Site Supporter
There is a long list of activities that are pretty much owned by the person but impact the health system as a whole. Alcohol, tobacco, obesity are a few that come readily to mind. I suppose an argument could be made that riding without a helmet is not much different. To me, it is just common sense. But that is just me. I used to ski without a helmet but have used one for over 10 yrs. For some reason, helmets on ski hills are nearly universal and are so without being mandated (for the most part). I wonder why the motorcycle helmet thing is so controversial?
Rod
Rod
I think there is pretty general agreement that wearing a helmet is a good thing; the issue is whether it should be compulsory.
drrod
Site Supporter
My point was more toward the fact that there is almost 100% of people on a ski hill wearing a helmet and it did not have to be mandated. Why so different in the MC community? If it just makes sense, compulsory or not should not make any difference to you.
Must be due to the demographics of each subset.
Rod
Texas, at present, does not require the operator of a motorcycle to wear a helmet, yet the vast majority of riders that I see, do. Much like your ski slope.
"If it just makes sense, compulsory or not should not make any difference to you."
Fair point. The problem is that people have a tendency to impose what makes sense to them on other people who may not share their views. ATGATT comes to mind.
I wouldn't try to talk anyone out of it, but I would definitely oppose making it mandatory. Full body armor and a full face helmet just doesn't work for me, in August, in Texas.
"Must be due to the demographics of each subset."
I think you're right.
Basically, when I see a rider going helmet-less, I look at what he's riding and how he's riding it, and that pretty much explains it. Usually this would be a Harley guy with ape hanger bars, with his wrists higher than his ears, running straight pipes,or a sport bike guy wearing shorts and sandals, running red lights. Average riders in these parts seem to be somewhere between these folks and the ATGATT guys..