I'm all for freedom of choice and the right to be stupid but come on... Really, why not wear a helmet? It's not that uncomfortable and after a while you get used to it to a point you actually could miss it if you ride wiyhot one. A good friend says: there are replacement parts for most organs and most broken bones can be repaired, yet we still can't fix a broken skull. Hector
Actually they can fix broken skulls and I am living proof. I went face first into a tree doing about 130mph (yes miles per hour), I was wearing a helmet and it saved my life, I did get a broken skull and have metal plates n my skull instead of bone in places and various other metal bits instead of bones, yet I still believe in freedom of choice and I wouldn't berate anyone for not wearing a helmet etc.
They can fix skulls, just not whem the stuff thats supposed to be inside is splattered all over the road. I also believe in freedom of choice, as I said I would even defend the right to be stupid. By the way, I'm against mandatory seatbelt laws. I believe they are in place not because soneone was worried about saving lives but because someone thought it would bring good money in fines. So basically that covers my opinion on helmet laws too. Then again I always wear a seatbelt when I drive and a helmet when I ride. i'm looking fter myself but most important I'm looking to be around for my sonds and granddaughters. Hector
my worst injury in 50 years on a motor cycle was dodging a girl riding the wrong way on my side of the narrow country road,I was wearing my full face with the visor off for summer .When I hit the cliff the edge of my windshield came in and smashed my cheek and broke my upper jaw on both sides.No photos but I had the complete right side of my face brusid.and a very angry looking red eye.
Who cares what other people do. No helmets are good for organ transplantation. If you're going to wear a helmet, you're kidding yourself if it's not full face. There are statistics about what part of your head hits the pavement first. Somewhere between %30-40 of the time it's the lower face and jaw. If you would like to chew your food instead of sucking it up through a straw, use a full-face helmet. David
I wonder if seatbelts would even exist today for you to wear if the Gov had not made their installation mandatory by Law in the late 1960's. Regards....just jeff
"By the way, I'm against mandatory seatbelt laws. I believe they are in place not because soneone was worried about saving lives but because someone thought it would bring good money in fines. So basically that covers my opinion on helmet laws too." What a bunch of nonsense. I guess that is why there are seat belts in airplanes. So the stewardess can fine you if you don't wear it.
I would argue that seatbelts save lives. Not that I give a frick if you (or anyone else I don't know) die in an accident but I wouldn't want your body to come flying through my windshield during an accident or to run your lifeless body over after it was thrown from a vehicle... Back to the point, I now wear a helmet but still feel it's a personal choice that doesn't have the possibility of impacting people like not wearing a seatbelt could
I wear a helmet and at least a jacket most of the time, but there are times when it's a nice day, traffic is nonexistent, and the pace is leisurely to just enjoy the experience of motorcycling without being closed up in a space suit. One time in particular was between Eau Claire and Lacrosse, WI. It was a Sunday, I had all the time in the world to get to Lacrosse, and I'd been riding in full gear for over a week and many thousands of miles and wanted a break. I might also do it on a ride to work, which is 1.5 miles with a 30 mph speed limit, especially if my hair is still wet from the shower. The company health insurance does not pay for motorcycle accidents if the rider isn't wearing a helmet, so there is that to consider.
I don't think in the past 100 years there are many motorcyclists, who KNEW they were gonna crash, when they started their ride, that ended up in that crash. It is practically always a surprise, even though probability is not the same for everyone. Short rides close to home are statistically not that much safer, maybe because you didn't think anything was gonna happen there, so you weren't paying attention. Makes wearing at least your head protection the only sensible solution.
I must have come off hundreds and hundreds of times off-road, with no helmet impacting the ground. Even 80mph flings when I lost it in sand. I've come off hard maybe ten times on tarmac over 16/17 years, after one incident 9 years ago I didn't walk for a year. . . Then, just under a year back, a KTM RFS spat me off (at 60mph)in the city. Apart from the skin loss and twisted knee I was okay - but my helmet took a hell of a beating. That was good. I reckon it saved my jaw, teeth, forehead and nose from TOTAL re-construction. Wear those helmets.