Topic: Wearing a helmet?

[neudl]

I’m sure this issues has been covered, but I was recently visiting Colorado, where I was born and raised, and I was shocked at how few motorcyclists wear helmets.  Colorado had a helmet law, until it was repealed in 1977 under pressure from a group, ironically called Colorado Motorcycle Safety Association.  I would guess that less than 20% of motorcyclists I saw had helmets, or proper riding gear for that matter.  The few helmeted cyclists I saw, mostly on sport bikes, were wearing t-shirts and shorts.  Virtually every cruiser rider, and passenger, was un-helmeted.

So here is the question – if you live in a state without a helmet law, do you wear a helmet, or, if you live in a state with a helmet law, would you lose the helmet were the law repealed?  I understand that helmets can be annoying, but I can’t fathom risking having my head crunched, maybe I’ve seen too many motorcycle accidents.

[GoatBaSS]

Covered.

But I ask you, fair members, how much is your head worth?!
 
 Oh and in Alabama it is the law.
 Been on both sides and wear a full face. Just dont feel right otherwise.

[firecracker]

No helmet law in Oklahoma.  Most cruisers go without, most sport bike riders wear 'em (except for the squids).

Me?  I'm too old to be reckless.  Bright Yellow Modular - Nolan N102



Think they see me coming?   

[matchanu]

No helmet law in NM.

There is no possibility of ever NOT wearing a helmet for me.

I won't ride with people who don't, I just don't want to be associated with that kind of buffoonery.


I even went as far as to put reflective tape (checker board pattern) on my helmet.

[Jugghead]

In PA, the law says if you pass the MSF course OR have been licensed for over a year OR are over 21, you don't need a helmet.
Me?  I meet all three of their stipulations, but still...
I wear all the gear, all the time. Even when it is hot as balls.
 Helmet, padded jacket, leather overpants, leather boots, leather/padded MC gloves.

[S-Dog]

I always ride with a helmet.... I am REALLY lax when it comes to other protective gear .. I will ride with short sleeves and shorts on with sneakers(although I usually have jeans and boots)... but NEVER without a full face helmet

[cleveland]

I don't.

Yes, I know I should.  I should quit smoking too!  I should eat better, exercise more, the list goes on.  If you got all day, we could go over all the things I should be doing. 

Admittedly, I am getting helmets for everyone in the house this winter though.  My girl has been pushing for them, and you have to pick your battles.   

Speaking of which, anyone got kids helments they want to get rid of?

[Rushoid]

Cleveland, you should be doing all of those things for your kids, if not for yourself. (Do as I say, not as I do  )

I do wear a helmet everytime I ride. Indiana doesn't require it because of ABATE's ("a not-for-profit, safety, educational, charitable and advocacy motorcyclist organization.") efforts to shut down such laws. Actually, I agree that there is no need for a law, but that everyone should wear one. Anyway, the funny thing is the pic at the top of their page http://www.abateonline.org/default.aspx If I figure right, that bike is going about 135 MPH!    Yeah, that's safe on a public road. 

[cleveland]

Cleveland, you should be doing all of those things for your kids, if not for yourself. (Do as I say, not as I do  )

Yea, that's how she closed the sale too.  Them dam kids will be the death of recklessness. 

[Shiftredline]

Maryland has a mandatory hemlet law.

I have a half hemet when I ride my chopper and a full face for the CB. Do dont alway wear other protective gear but atleast wear my riding boots.

[xtalon]

If my state didn't have a helmet law, I might be tempted to go without just for a quick run to the corner store less than a block away, but that's it.  I know.  Iknow, statistics say most wrecks happen less than a mile from your house.   

When I was younger, I rode my bike to Myrtle Beach, SC.  There was no helmet law, so I sat out one day down a 4 lane highway at 55mph without  a helmet and I thought, 'Man, this is just stupid'.  So I turned around and went back and got my helmet.

I bought a Davida classic helmet for my CB, but haven't decided if I will even wear it.  The times I leave my house a year without my full face, leather jacket and gloves, you could count on one hand.  For most of the riding I do, I wear full leathers.

The helmet is the most important thing, but I've had pavement chew through leather gloves, rip open seams on full leathers, treat denim jeans like they are made of tissue paper.  Your skin has no chance, so protect it the best you can too!

--xTalon

[Gordon]

I live in Colorado, and I like the fact that I have a choice to not wear a helmet, but I still do 99.9% of the time.  I have no problem with someone who doesn't wear a helmet, though.  It's a choice everyone should be able to make for themselves.  I don't try to preach helmet-wearing to adults who can make their own decisions, but what bugs me is when someone tries to convince me, through some twisted logic, that not wearing a helmet is actually safer than wearing one. 

[xtalon]

I live in Colorado, and I like the fact that I have a choice to not wear a helmet, but I still do 99.9% of the time.  I have no problem with someone who doesn't wear a helmet, though.  It's a choice everyone should be able to make for themselves.  I don't try to preach helmet-wearing to adults who can make their own decisions, but what bugs me is when someone tries to convince me, through some twisted logic, that not wearing a helmet is actually safer than wearing one. 

+1
Well said Gordo!

-xTalon

[dusterdude]

yes,and sometimes if we didnt

[BobbyR]

I have lived in a NY all of my life and as long as I have been riding there has been a helmet law. It has become such a part of riding that even when I go into CT which is a 1/2 hour from me and has no helmet law, i leave it on. I will ride on my street without one if i am listening for a noise.

[fuzzybutt]

helmet, armored jacket and draggin jeans when i ride. i like my skin right where it is thank you very much. it sucks wearing all that gear during a south carolina summer but i'd rather sweat than have to recover from losing a patch of skin or a cracked open melon. i've actually told people i run into at gas stations or wherver, that i see riding with no helmet, shorts and flipflops as so many of the urban sport bike riders around here do, that i hope theyre organ donors, because sure as hell when they go down theyre gonna die or wish they had. either that or just plain told em theyre freakin morons. at least wear long pants and something besides sandals ya know?

[clarkjh]

Anyway, the funny thing is the pic at the top of their page http://www.abateonline.org/default.aspx If I figure right, that bike is going about 135 MPH!    Yeah, that's safe on a public road. 

I think the speedo is in KM/H, so thats not too too bad.  My next lid will be a flip lid.

James

[firecracker]

Maybe ABATE just has a really good sense of humor.

This June, the Illinois ABATE gathering (convention?) thought it was a good idea to post their banner in front of... a cemetery       




Am I the only one that is amused?

[tramp]

let me see
my face and gravel together
i think not
always wear a helmet

[333]

Having worked in the industry, I have many stories, but....

In nearby Maryland, when there used to be no helmet law, I saw a rider onetime with shorts on.  Nothing else.;l  No shoes(barefoot!!!) no shirt, helmet, nothing!   How he held up that Yam tourer at a stoplight in August I'll never kinow!

Maryland has a mandatory hemlet law.

I have a half hemet when I ride my chopper and a full face for the CB. Do dont alway wear other protective gear but atleast wear my riding boots.

Personally, I like parades without a helmet, but that's it.  Otherwise it's a fullface.  I don't understand why some would go with less depending what kind of bike they are riding at the time.  The pavement is just as hard, and the speeds are the same.

[rugger81]

Here in OH you are only required to wear a helmet until 1 year after you get your motorcycle endorsement.  Thing is though, I bet only about 10-20% of riders I see on the rode wear any gear at all, helmet included.  I don't think the state should force riders to wear a helmet, but helmetless riders make Darwin happy. 

Personally, I always wear my helmet, jacket, and boots but still need to buy some riding pants.



 

[Shiftredline]

Having worked in the industry, I have many stories, but....

In nearby Maryland, when there used to be no helmet law, I saw a rider onetime with shorts on.  Nothing else.;l  No shoes(barefoot!!!) no shirt, helmet, nothing!   How he held up that Yam tourer at a stoplight in August I'll never kinow!

Maryland has a mandatory hemlet law.

I have a half hemet when I ride my chopper and a full face for the CB. Do dont alway wear other protective gear but atleast wear my riding boots.

Personally, I like parades without a helmet, but that's it.  Otherwise it's a fullface.  I don't understand why some would go with less depending what kind of bike they are riding at the time.  The pavement is just as hard, and the speeds are the same.

Well thats just my preference. Personally I dont understand why the biker community is always against other bikers and their life choices about their riding gear. I could care less. If you are having fun in the wind then by all means, its your life not mine. But if you must know when I got rid of my Suzuki Tl1000s I sold all my full face helmets and race leathers with the bike. I got a cruiser and they threw in the half helmet and gloves with the deal. When I got the CB running and started to cafe it and putting it through its paces, it reminded me of my sportbike. So I picked up a full face from a friend and a armor jacket.

[mark]

Full face helmet, heavy old leather jacket, and padded gloves - every time out.
Some better gloves, riding boots, and maybe a pair of DragginJeans are on the shopping list.

I've seen other threads here with links to this site:  http://home1.gte.net/res0ak9f/bike.htm (ride2die.com)
worth looking at if you haven't checked it out yet.



even Roadrash Babe had enough sense to wear a helmet.


Happy trails.

[toycollector10]

It's mandatory here in New Zealand. I'm 53 and I will be very slow to heal if I crash and my bones have been leaching calcium since I was thirty-something so they will break easily.

So I'm full face, padded gloves, leather jacket and usually a back protector, padded and armoured leggings, stout boots......

If you don't wear a helmet or only wear a do-rag or mini-skid-lid thing you'll pay. It will only be a matter of time.

So good luck to all you good looking riders who don't wear a helmet.............. ......   ...  .. . . .    .     .      .         .                 .

[techy5025]

I won't ride out of my driveway without a helmet, or out of the subdivision without all the gear....and it is hot here in Florida.  I do have a mesh jacket on order as the existing one....besides having a hole in it from my last bif...doesn't allow for much air flow.

I'm not sure how much riding with gear helps to protect bones from breaking, but it is sure to help with rash prevention. I did see an ad for what could be described as a jacket with a blowup liner. The liner is tied to a CO2 cartridge whose trigger is tied to the bike via a lanyard. If you exit the bike, the lanyard pulls, the cartridge empties,  and surrounds you with an air cushion. Knowing me, I'd forget the lanyard, step off the bike at a gas station, and blow myself up! 

Jim