No helmet? Fine, but must agree to be organ donor. Everyone wins....cyclist is happy. Dialysis patients are overjoyed.

Ask the Steelers quarterback if he thinks wearing a helmet is a good idea.

When I get a motorcycle, I will wear a helmet. However, I support leaving the choice up to individual riders. At the same time, I'm not afraid to be called callous by saying I wouldn't authorize any tax dollars to pay for treatment of injuries that would have been avoided by wearing a helmet.

I feel the same way about seatbelts.

quote:

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When I get a motorcycle, I will wear a helmet. However, I support leaving the choice up to individual riders. At the same time, I'm not afraid to be called callous by saying I wouldn't authorize any tax dollars to pay for treatment of injuries that would have been avoided by wearing a helmet.

I feel the same way about seatbelts.

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It's not callous, people should be free to make choices and deal with the circumstances arising from those choices.

quote:

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Originally posted by Gordon LeMaire:
It's not callous, people should be free to make choices and deal with the circumstances arising from those choices.

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It pains me to say that I can't even remember the last time I had the opportunity to vote for a politician that was willing to stake out that kind of position. Now that gov't charity has become an "entitlement," it seems that they all think they can get farther with $ugar than with vinegar. And they're probably right.

Wait a second. You mean to tell me that candidates are trying to impress their constituents with spending more money? If spending money to deal with the consequences of stupid decisions is popular with the voters, then why do they keep trying to spend less on prisons?

It's a few years old but provides some evidence of the negligible effects helmets have on visibility and hearing.


http://nickolson.net/helmet1.htm

JAS

choice is overrated. so is vinegar.

Does helmet hair count? How about the band HELMET?

"Padre, it's hard to tell you this, in person, face to face, albeit through this screen, and you'll understand if I don't try to look you in the eye as I say it, but...but...b-b-but, I rode my motorcycle without a helmet today, and I talked to my probation officer on the cellphone while waiting in line at the post office when the sign clearly prohibited that; I took the label off my mattress; I didn't put my seatback fully up before we landed at Hobby; I threw away my jury summons....I -- ..."

"Let me interrupt you, for your own good...If you say anything about playing a banjo, I'm calling the cops...".

You took the label off of your mattress? THE LABEL SAYS DO NOT REMOVE UNDER PENALTY OF LAW!

How can you live with yourself?

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Originally posted by ATG:
Clearly, a mandatory helmet law will save laws. "
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I disagree. Texas has a helmet law. If you are Under 21, you have to wear one, no exceptions. I stop many folks not wearing lid's who are under 21. They know they are violating the helmet regulations and just don't really care.

As far as the original article....

Motorcycle deaths are not up because of the helmet issue, they are up because more people are riding more motorcycles. Very simple reason for the increased statistics.

The major cause of deaths in a car/truck/etc. is from brain injury. The same for motorcycles. When will the legislature require helmets for people riding in cars?

I worked a motorcycle crash about a year ago. The guy had his helmet on. However he hit his head, and his helmet of course against a steel overhead sign post. Whether he had a helmet on or not was irrelevant at that speed and impact. He was toast. It's the same with autos. If you crash hard enough, you will die from brain injury also.

I think Texas has it right on the helmet issue. Once your 21, you dont need one anymore, but probably will wear one. If you don't too bad for you.

I ride, and I never go anywhere on mine without my lid. When will legislators require a seatbelt on a bike? That makes more sense than the mandatory helmet.

www.cop-talk.net

It is not a sight or sound issue, or even a safety issue. On those days when it is comfortable to wear the helmet, you are more likely to do so. On the other days, you make a different choice. As long as we allow motorcycles, we will probably allow the occupants the freedom to choose (or make it the subject of continuous debate).

As a rider with more than 30 years of 'hard' experience of riding motorcycles in multiple states as well as countries, I'll offer my "two cents worth" too.

As an American, I dislike anyone telling me what to do or how to do it. That said however, I would not object to a mandatory helment law that also included mandatory requirements for rotating flashing beacons welded on top of all motor vehicles where the driver is reading a book, notes, maps, etc. while driving, watching a GPS screen, talking on a phone,eating their lunch, putting on make-up, using his laptop (police cars!), playing his radio so loud that my mirrors vibrate, or reclining his seat more than 30 degrees from vertical, or exceeding the speed limit by more than 10 MPH!

Helmet debate pits safety against freedom
By ANNA M. TINSLEY
Star-Telegram Staff Writer

STAR-TELEGRAM/RALPH LAUER

Ken Keating doesn't fire up his Harley or BMW motorcycles without first strapping on his helmet.

All because of a dirt bike accident nearly three decades ago.

"I split my helmet on a tree," said Keating, now 40, of Fort Worth. "It made a lasting impression. I realized that could have been my head that split open."

In Texas, motorcycle riders like Keating who wear helmets do so by choice.

But that choice may soon slip away, as the National Transportation Safety Board is asking Congress to make states require motorcycle riders to wear helmets at all times.

The group says that motorcycle riding has become more popular in recent years and that motorcycle-related deaths, with and without helmets, have gone up as well. In Texas and the rest of the nation, motorcycle fatalities now make up about 10 percent of all traffic fatalities.

"The simple act of donning that helmet can begin the process of preventing that type of fatality and serious injury," board Chairman Mark Rosenker said.

Some Texans say Congress needs to stay out of their business.

"I have never owned a motorcycle helmet and therefore have never worn one no matter what the law says," said H.W. "Sputnik" Strain, state chairman of the Austin-based Texas Motorcycle Rights Association.

"It is not a case of wearing a helmet but rather a case of a few elected and appointed officials believing they have the power to refuse me my God-given right to make my own choices about my personal right or how to raise my kids."

A question of freedom

Maybe it's the wind blowing through their hair. Or maybe it's their sense of freedom.

Either way, some motorcyclists say they won't wear helmets. They successfully rallied Texas lawmakers a decade ago into repealing the state's helmet law for riders 21 and older -- and have fended off potential challenges to it ever since, said Strain, a key leader in the effort.

Now, in Texas, motorcyclists over 21 choose whether to wear a helmet. If they don't, they need to carry extra health insurance or go through additional safety training.

Keating, a member of the Boozefighters Motorcycle Club, said he wears a helmet for safety. But, he said, it has other benefits as well.

"I'm in a motorcycle club, and I don't want to give the cops one more reason to pull me over, whether it's the law or not," he said. "They may have repealed the law, but they haven't repealed the cops' rights to pull you over."

National officials say motorcycle-related fatalities in Texas have gone up in recent years, from 243 in 2001 -- of which only 71 were riders wearing helmets -- to 360 in 2005, 145 of those with helmets, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

"You should have a helmet on every time you get on the motorcycle," said James Boyle, who teaches safety classes at Texas R.I.D.E.R., a Fort Worth-based motorcycle safety school. "Imagine going down at 60 mph without it. You've got to be prepared -- it could happen at any time."

Laws, laws, laws

All but three states have some sort of helmet law, even if it's just to cover riders under 21.

Texas was among six states to repeal helmet laws in 1997, although Louisiana has since put its law back in place. Gov. Rick Perry is among those who support the current law in Texas, spokeswoman Allison Castle said.

"Some people ride without them," said Kenneth Smith, director of the Fort Worth and D-FW chapters of the Texas Harley Owners Group. "They don't think a lot of their head.

"I have always worn a helmet," said Smith, 66. "It's common sense."

NTSB officials say riders without helmets are three times more likely than those who wear helmets to have a brain injury in a crash. And last year, 4,810 motorcyclists died in crashes nationwide, statistics show.

But some Texans some say they fear that congressional leaders may go too far if they put in place new helmet rules for riders nationwide.

"States should make that decision," said state Rep. Marc Veasey, D-Fort Worth. "It shouldn't be something coming from Congress."

U.S. Rep. Michael Burgess, R-Lewisville, agrees.

He's not in any hurry to put new restrictions on states, but he is urging national transportation officials to finish a study on causes of motorcycle crashes that he included as part of the highway bill.

"Helmet laws should be a decision made by state legislatures and not the federal government," spokeswoman Michelle Stein said. "Studies do show that it is safer for riders to wear a helmet, but that should be a personal choice within the purview of applicable state laws."