Topic: Helmet Laws?????????????

[dilbone]

I know a couple of ohio guys have chimed in already, but there is definitely an "uncool" factor when dealing with helmets.  I feel like in Ohio if you're wearing a helmet you are viewed as a rookie rider that only has a permit(or first year of MC endorsement).  I wear a helmet, sometimes half sometimes full face, but always a helmet.

What makes no sense is that you have to buckle up in a car for saftey...have your child in a car seat(although we climbed all over cars like a bunch of monkeys as kids), but you don't need a helmet on a bike...  makes total sense...

[neudl]

Point taken Big Bog - and a good point too.  I was just trying to point out that there is an effect beyond the person who decided not to wear the helmet.  I agree we can't legislate against all poor choices

[Inigo Montoya]

In ND there is a helmet law if under 18. I guess maybe it gives a person time to realize that a helmet is smart. I feel as though hel,et use has gone up some here. At least among younger riders it seems to. It seems the idiots are the guys in their 40-50s having their mid-life. Then they get over it and put the lid back on. Of course not every single one is like that!
I notice that touring riders seem more likely to have a lid on.

[kenolds]

If the government - (you and me) - has to pay if you get injured, then we should be able to require helmets.  If you are financially able to pay for your own medical bills in the unfortunate event of an injury, the government should not be able to require helmets.  Unfortunately, then the guys who wear helmets for safety reasons will be prejudged as being poor.  So it will not be "cool" to wear helmets.  So less people will wear them and more will die.. Darn...this legislation business is harder than it sounds.
 
Let's just make sure everyone we want to remain living wears a helmet.  How about that?  If they refuse, make fun of them.  Peer pressure is extremely powerful.

Kenolds

[nokrome]

i grew up in ohio on the back of my dads harley and never wore a helmet (never thought twice about it back then, guess i just didnt know any better)
  now i live in oregon where there is a helmet law but even if there wasnt i would still wear it all the time, i just wouldnt feel comfortable without one, like driving a car with no seat belt
........my dad still rides and still never wears a helmet

[The_Crippler]

PA rider here...with a few exceptions, there is no helmet law here.  When I first moved here, there was one...later I worked in Ohio, where there wasn't.  I was younger and stupider then, and didn't wear one.  After a completely unrelated incedent that left me with a shattered leg, I didn't ride for awhile.  When I could again, the helmet law in PA had gone away but, as I said to my wife, "I felt a lot less indestructable now."

I wear a shorty helmet most of the time (not a beanie, like kit was mentioning, but not a 3/4) and a full-face when I'm doing lots of highway.  Also have an armored jacket and gloves.

A few notes on things people mentioned in here:

• Beanies: I get it in states that have helmet laws.  It's as little as you can legally get away with...but what about states that don't have one?  They don't do much more than a bare head.  Why bother? (Maybe for people that promise their wife/mother they'll wear a helmet)
• Crotchrocketeers with full face, but tank and shorts - I always shake my head at these people.  Protect the face and write the rest of the body off.
• I'll echo that on the OH sentiment.  Three states I've lived in haven't had a helmet law, but OH was the only one where I actually felt pressure not to wear one.

[1974CB750rider]

When I drive through the Carolinas and see people not wearing one I just shake my head thinking that they may as well be attempting to commit suicide. It only takes 1 time hitting your head and your dead or possibly worse a vegitable for the rest of your life. Peer pressure or not their is no way I would ride without one I wouldn't care if I was the only one in a group of 20 riders that had one. As far as a passenger goes they wouldn't be on my bike without one either. A lot of riders and I'm not trying to judge anyone but mostly younger crotch rocket riders think they're not going to screw up and a lot of times they don't but they didn't take into account that idiot that ran the stop sign or redlight in a 3000 or 4000# car. So to all my fellow riders always wear a helmet and watch out for the other guy. Be Safe

[Jing]

Live in Cali so its mandatory. I've seen people without one though. I actually saw these two racing in my city, One with a helmet, one w/o. Both crashed and the guy without the helmet started to eat asphalt with the left side of his face. My 2 cents but If its uncool to wear a helmet, its even more uncool to get messed up or die.

[The_Crippler]

Interesting that we're having this conversation.  Almost got side-swiped on the way home.  As the car zoomed away, what did I see on the back bumper?

[500K2Kitch]

I've always been in the "Let the Rider Decide" camp and this rider has ALWAYS worn a helmet since my first beat up 2.25hp Tecumseh powered mini bike in the '70's.

11 years ago I was hit by a cage around 25 MPH and learned up close and personal that helmets WORK (at least in that kind of crash).  The gouges in that old HJC 3/4 face are still seared in my mind.  Unfortunately I was not wearing a jacket or armor that day so I also learned a painful lesson in the value of other gear.

Nowadays I wear a full face and sometimes use a 3/4 during the summer on local group rides along with armour and varying degrees of abrasion protection depending on temp.

Here in PA you can go helmetless.  I must admit that I cringe everytime I see another rider without a lid and a jacket.  Makes me think back to my accident and what might have been 

 

[fmctm1sw]

Florida = no helmet law (provided you are over 21).  I'm required by regulation to wear one though...

[moham]

Let's not forget the other lesson: the more $ you spend on your lid, the cooler you are...

[Popwood]

Yeah, here in Ohio lots of riders with no helmets. Over time, it will take care of itself, but it will take time, just as Darwin has clearly demonstrated.

Thing is, it's not so much about being a good, experienced rider, although that is certainly important. There are just too many situations beyond our control and we need every advantage we can get to minimize risk.

I worked in cabinet/furniture shops for years. There were guys whose hands were mutilated from accidents and guys who had never had an accident. In those circumstances, it's not about outside influences. Running a machine you have control and the power to decide. Not so on the road.

[The_Crippler]

I worked in cabinet/furniture shops for years. There were guys whose hands were mutilated from accidents and guys who had never had an accident. In those circumstances, it's not about outside influences. Running a machine you have control and the power to decide. Not so on the road.

You make a good point.  You also reminded me of a saying my grandfather used to use: "You fix enough roofs, you're going to fall off one.

Those outside influences you mentioned - sometimes they just come down to the law of averages, even for the most careful rider.  Best to be prepared.

[stainy]

I say it should be up to the citizen to decide wether or not he wears a helmet, seatbelt, smokes, etc......

[BobbyR]

Here in NY the helmet law was in effect when I began riding, so I never rode without one. I am about 20 minutes from Ct which is an optional State and about an Hour from Pa. When I ride into those States I just leave it on. I went full face about 10 years ago after seeing a fellow who sanded his face off against the pavement.
After 35 years of riding it simply feels normal for me to wear one. When I went to full face it did feel a bit restrictive but that quickly passed.

[SiliconDoc]

A helmet won't save you when you burn the tires, drive like a bat out of heck, blow stop signs, gun the bike, don't use your turn signals, fail to watch your rear views, fail to treat parked cars like a stick of dynamite, get yourself pegged in between traffic even at highway speeds, take highly travelled routes, fail to slow down for low visibility or blind corners/spots, jack your bike up so powerful that you can't stay off the throttle, ride without a windshield, go fast like cars do when it starts raining, fog up your helmet shield so you can't see, have a helmet where your hearing is muffled, having too heavy a helmet or one that doesn't fit correctly causing reduced speed of head motion and/or face slap, having a hyper passenger who can't remain still or seated,  riding while on your prescribed medications, riding with too little sleep...
 If you're guilty of some or many of those but wear a helmet, don't expect the helmet to save you.

[Popwood]

I say it should be up to the citizen to decide wether or not he wears a helmet, seatbelt, smokes, etc......

Well, stainy, yes, I'd agree in an ideal world, that would be the case. But what about the irresponsible guy who doesn't wear a helmet and gets killed (or worse yet left in a nursing home for who knows how many years at someone else's expense), leaving his wife and three kids to fend for themselves? If a helmet would have saved his sorry a@@ I say make him wear it.

What if you were backing out of a driveway on a blind curve and a biker slammed into your car not wearing a helmet and died or was seriously injured? I for one wouldn't, couldn't just shrug it off. I bet for years I'd ask myself "why wasn't that guy wearing a helmet."

Now if folks want to contribute to a fund to pay for their "freedom" to not wear helmets, to smoke, to get overweight to the point where it's a cost to society, I say start the fund and let freedom ring.

[SiliconDoc]

 Most new cars have airbags - cars have 4 wheels, and generally don't tip over if one isn't paying attention. Cars and other vehicles have become immensely safer over the past decades, even in crashes.

The problem with becoming too hyper on helmet laws is this: After helmet laws are 100% everywhere, the next thing the safety nazis go after is > the motorcycles themselves, which are of course, inherently far more dangerous than automobiles.

 You think it can't or won't happen ? I'm not so certain. Won't take that much for the next step to implemented, especially in densely packed cities with highway speed suburban loops and heavy traffic - maybe just a few gated areas at first, then the creep begins. They'ell probably start with only trikes allowed when some big company offers widespread conversions... then work their way up from there.

 After all, for your safety, it should be done. 

[Retro Rocket]

The problem with becoming too hyper on helmet laws is this: After helmet laws are 100% everywhere, the next thing the safety nazis go after is > the motorcycles themselves, which are of course, inherently far more dangerous than automobiles.

We have had helmet laws in Aus for as long as i can remember and we are being encouraged to ride motorcycles in our cities to ease congestion and free up parking. If motorcycles were invented today they would probably be illegal on safety grounds but as far as i can see they are here to stay. Its funny, every time someone brings up the subject of a change of law in the US you think its the end of the world, don't you think there is any common sense in the US..??.....Just another conspiracy theory.

Mick

[OldSchool_IsCool]

Michigan rider, helmets required.

I wear a full face Snell-approved helmet with bulky leather jacket and armored gauntlet gloves always always.  Opposing council will have a very hard time proving "Contributory Actions"!!  

Maybe instead of going helmetless to demonstrate your bad azz self, prove your manhood and ride around with a cake of C4 strapped to your head.  Would render public money for medical care a moot point!!

[johnyvilla]

I know there is the 'coolness' thing, and the wind-in-your-hair deal, but from a functional standpoint, how do you non-helmet wearers see without a face shield, at 70mph? With my shield up sporting huge aviators, I start tearing at 60 and can barely see straight at 80. Is it just me?

[SiliconDoc]

The problem with becoming too hyper on helmet laws is this: After helmet laws are 100% everywhere, the next thing the safety nazis go after is > the motorcycles themselves, which are of course, inherently far more dangerous than automobiles.

 If motorcycles were invented today they would probably be illegal on safety grounds but as far as i can see they are here to stay.
Mick

Well, you met me halfway there, I say give it a few years, you'll see. A few years back no one would have believed universal seatbelt laws would come into being. In fact, our "common sense" government here in the USA swore to all of us they would never implement stopping for just no seatbelt, and would only ticket if something else caused a stop and no seatbelt was worn.
 I don't know exactly how long they stuck with their lie, but quite a while back the Ad Council (DC gov. ads) came on the radio and said " WE WILL CATCH YOU ! Click it or, ticket !"  (much like the drunk driving ads)

So, the thing is, we can't trust what is now, and expect it to stay that way, and yes, there are reasons for changing things people believe - as we see seatbelts are now considered by most posting on it here, or even all who mentioned it - an absolute must, and those not wearing are dissed.

My friend just told me the apartment complex he lived in here did not allow motorcycles. See, it's already been happening.

[Retro Rocket]

Well, you met me halfway there, I say give it a few years, you'll see.

40+ years and like i said we are being encouraged to ride, especially in the cities. A strata title unit is a poor example and i know first hand of the stupid rules and regulations these morons force on their tenants so that doesn't surprise me at all. Think about it, fuel costs are going up and we are being encouraged to buy smaller and smaller cars and yet they are still less efficient than a motorcycle. Another point to consider is that the motorcycle market isn't a domestic thing, its on a global scale, almost every continent produces and sells motorcycles to the rest of the world so i don't think the biggest market on the planet for bikes is going to ban them, it makes absolutely no sense at all and in my opinion will never happen, there's too many other factors to figure into the equation.

Mick

[BobbyR]

They will not ban bikes from the public roadways. I can see Apartments doing it, with all the open exhausts people are running, it is probably about noise.