Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Location: By the sea, by the sea, by the beautiful sea
68,342 posts, read 54,462,599 times
Reputation: 40746
Quote:
Originally Posted by Yellow Jacket
All of these holier than thou helmet saints are even more annoying than the non helmet guys. Let us force our choice on everyone else. I don't understand why they wear helmets as they have nothing to protect either.
Lets do this. You first pass a federal law legalizing lane splitting in all 50 states then I'll concede for a federal helmet law. I think all motorcyclists can agree that is a fair compromise.
Compromise? Nah! It's an apple & orange fruit salad.
Location: By the sea, by the sea, by the beautiful sea
68,342 posts, read 54,462,599 times
Reputation: 40746
Quote:
Originally Posted by Yellow Jacket
Well ban motorcycles or make bubble ones. I mean the government already tell us nearly everything we should do except for which stall to pee in. Leave the non helmet guys alone. A guy earlier in the thread had the right idea. I rather be dead than wishing I was.
The only reason why I wear a helmet is because my eyes can't handle the wind so they well up. Otherwise I would go no helmet all day.
I can certainly understand this point of view but we have so much regulation for automobile safety (airbags, seat belts, etc) but none requiring the safest accessory a motorcyclist has
I would never drive in my car without a seat belt but I don't support laws making them mandatory either.
I really don't care if a person wears a helmet or not, but, if you look at the stats on motorcycle fatalities most of them happened at speeds lower than 40 miles per hour and a large majority of those happen at intersections. A high percentage of these involve motorcyclist not wearing a helmet and if they had been wearing a helmet they would have most likely survived the accident. I agree that it is the riders choice, motorcycles are inherently dangerous, knowing that when you climb on one why wouldn't you want some sort of protection, it kinda like going sky diving without a chute.
The jumping community experiences a lot of deaths yearly. Some of the biggest names die every year. Most take precautions but they know it's a very dangerous sport and do it anyway. (jumping in general, BASE and what have you).
Do I think we should stop them from taking an extreme risk? No. Am I going to do it? No.
I get a big laugh out of many riders around here.
Yup, they have a big ol' expensive helmet on, going 50 MPH in a 35 zone, wearing a T-shirt, shorts, and flip-flops!
Apparently, it doesn't occur to them how much hide they will lose if they fall off that bike and slide down the asphalt for 30 or 40 feet!
Oh, sure, the helmet will protect their head, but life without skin or a foot (or two) is no great thing, either!
Yes, I did once bounce a bike off the side of a car, and landed on my hands, knees, and head on the highway. Luckily, I was in Army fatigues, with combat boots, gloves, and a helmet on!
I get a big laugh out of many riders around here.
Yup, they have a big ol' expensive helmet on, going 50 MPH in a 35 zone, wearing a T-shirt, shorts, and flip-flops!
Apparently, it doesn't occur to them how much hide they will lose if they fall off that bike and slide down the asphalt for 30 or 40 feet!
Oh, sure, the helmet will protect their head, but life without skin or a foot (or two) is no great thing, either!
Yes, I did once bounce a bike off the side of a car, and landed on my hands, knees, and head on the highway. Luckily, I was in Army fatigues, with combat boots, gloves, and a helmet on!
Done that on a bicycle going downhill. Nothing broken but let me tell you scrubbing the gravel out of road rash is just no fun. I do ride with jeans though which don't offer a whole lot in the way of protection. I've had one relatively low speed (~35 mph) off when I hit a bunch of gravel. I rolled more than I slid and even then ripped through the jeans in a few spots but didn't really have any abrasions. Jacket took the brunt of the impact. Ripped through the outer layer where I impacted but it did what it was meant to. Aside from some bruising on my hip I was fine. I hit on my shoulder and elbow/forearms a lot harder than I did my hip but had armor there. All that said, if for whatever reason you're only going to wear one piece of safety gear for me it would definitely be a full face helmet. There's not much reason not to at least wear a jacket though. Mesh may not offer the protection of heavier duty textile or leather but it's not much hotter than a t-shirt as long as you can keep moving.
In 40 years, Ive fallen 3 times on the road. 2 where low speed, one was about 35. The worst injury I ever suffered was when I dropped my Sporty at 35. The bike ended up about 40 yards away from me. I jumped up and ran to it to get it out of traffic. I was so amped with adrenaline I lifted right up front-ways. Didnt squat and back it up. I pulled my back out doing that. On dirt bikes, I spent more times fallen than upright lol
Compromise? Nah! It's an apple & orange fruit salad.
It's only apples and oranges for someone who can't think beyond the simplest perspective. They are actually related as they both are under the banner of safety. How dare people say that riders should wear helmets in the interest of "safety" yet they want us to sit in traffic like a sitting duck between two ton and a half cages "just like everyone else". For fooks sake it's a motorcycle. It's not a machine like everything else for the most part so it shouldn't be treated as such.
Hence my suggestion that if they were truly intrested in safety then they should allow lane splitting federally and then I will happily concede to the helmet because it seems that it's a general effort to achieve safety.
In reality, this helmet law is about controlling people's lives.
It is a federal law for car manufacturers to install seatbelts in their cars, but laws requiring that you fasten them are state laws. New Hampshire, for example, still has no requirement for adults to wear them, only children under 18.
On motorcycles in NH, only requirement is eyes are covered.. Helmets optional.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
