As someone else said, the study does not account for the increased riders. In history, when a state has no helmet law, there are more riders. Put a helmet law into the state and ridership goes down, and so do deaths. I ride a motorcyle, and I used to wear a helmet. I don\’t anymore. It\’s so great to ride free. And from the research I\’ve done, it may not be any more dangerous at all. Yes, surprising, but check it out. Go to google, and type \”helmet law\”. You will find fairly convincing evidence that shows that if you evaluate things based upon the number of riders, and not just deaths in a state, that there may not be any difference in helmet vs no helmet. In some cases, helmets can kill you by breaking your neck or be the cause of the accident because you can\’t see or hear as well. Other times, you can end up with a neck or spinal injury because the force of the crash is transferred to the spine. I\’d rather die than have a spinal injury, and I\’m not afraid to die. Also, spinal injuries cost much more than deaths. But this is not the whole story. Please do the google search and have an open mind. It is not as simple as this article makes it out to be. It cannot compare to seatbelts. Check it out. You will be surprised. That is why there is not a helmet law in every state, because there is just not enough of an argument or proof that it makes sense. And there are organizations that fight for no helmets because of this.
That shoe fits perfect. Why would I care if homosexuals \”marry\”? That breed will die off anyway because they can\’t procreate and of course we all know it\’s not a lifestyle choice – you’re born homosexual, right? And you can also kill yourself or have someone kill you if you wish. Again, why would I care?
I choose to ride without a helmet because: It is so much more fun and free. If you wonder why, go ride a motorcycle without a helmet, then put one on, you will see. Or, take a full face helmet and get on a bicyle. Two completely different experiences. It is so different to me that I would not ride my motorcycle as much if I had to wear a helmet. The other reason I don\’t wear one is that from all the things I\’ve read, it is not much safer. The only studies I\’ve seen that say it is safer do not account for decreased ridership when the helmet law goes into effect. Therefore, they are only proving that a helmet law causes less riders, not that a helmet saves more lives. I think a great way to die would be on my bike. I\’d rather that than break my neck or be paralyzed or serious injury. In addition, I haven\’t seen a study that shows that it costs more to deal with non-helmeted riders vs helmeted riders. Again, all of the studies evalute deaths in a helmet law state vs a non-helmet law state. The study should study a helmeted rider vs a non-helmeted rider. But the real bottom line reason I don\’t wear a helmet is that they suck. They are uncomfortable, they remove you from the elements, they are hot, they are much less free, they block your sight and decrease your hearing, both of which are extremely important to a motorcyclist.
We care b/c your accidents raise our costs as well. A human head is like a melon. It doesn\’t take that much to cause a serious malady. If it hits the ground at anything more than a knock then you will need medical attention which often costs thousands of dollars. If the rider would have chosen to wear a helmet in such an incident the cost would be virtually nil.
total deaths is alarming but if having to wear helmets decreases riders than so be it. If you can\’t ride resposibly then don\’t ride at all.
I have not ever been on the bike without a helmet. I may try it some day if I\’m ever in a helmet-choice state, so I\’ll have some basis for comparison, as you suggested.
I wear a bucket-style helmet. It probably isn\’t as protective as a full helmet and face shield. However, I do like the fact that I can feel the wind on my neck and I can hear better with the bucket than I can with the full helmet.
Helmets aren\’t the only things that save lives… Loud pipes, bright lights and riding in groups… anything that draws other drivers\’ attention to your presence. (Some of my neighbors hate my loud bike and that\’s just plain too bad. I think it sounds great and every time that rumble turns someone\’s head, I\’m assured that the person driving that car knows I\’m there and hopefully will take caution when changing lanes.) But are loud bikes and group riders law? Nope. In fact, if your bike is too loud, you could be in violation of noise-pollution ordinances in some areas.
Maybe helmets should remain a choice… Looks like there are valid arguments for both sides and perhaps some of these studies are flawed in their execution.
Have you googled \”helmet law\”? I don\’t think you had time to do that and read for an hour on the subject. Your statements and questions are ignorant of the facts, and I don\’t mean to insult you when I say that. You just need to read up on the subject.
Yup – I have loud pipes too and it works well. I also have studied much on how to be a safe motorcylist and what to look out for, where to ride in the lanes, where and how most accidents happen. I\’m a very safe and defensive driver, and I\’m helmetless.
I will read up on helmet laws. thanks for your information. as i said before, I\’m not a motorcycle rider and I haven\’t had your experiences. If what I find changes my mind I will post about what I read here..probably tomorrow.
You might be a very good motorcyclist but being a defensive driver doesn\’t protect you from other bad drivers. A helmet likely will.
In any case I will do some search engine sleuthing. take care brad.
I am a new rider. I recently completed the MSC safety course. One of the first things they did was pass out organ donor cards a those riders who choose not to wear a helmet. We are a \”choice\” state. I have never ridden without the helmet and likely never will. It is not about ignorance or intelligence. It is a choice, and the choice should remain. The majority of accidents resulting in death or serious injury are not the fault of the biker, but drivers of 4-wheel vehicles. Bravo for financial responsiblity laws.
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As someone else said, the study does not account for the increased riders. In history, when a state has no helmet law, there are more riders. Put a helmet law into the state and ridership goes down, and so do deaths. I ride a motorcyle, and I used to wear a helmet. I don\’t anymore. It\’s so great to ride free. And from the research I\’ve done, it may not be any more dangerous at all. Yes, surprising, but check it out. Go to google, and type \”helmet law\”. You will find fairly convincing evidence that shows that if you evaluate things based upon the number of riders, and not just deaths in a state, that there may not be any difference in helmet vs no helmet. In some cases, helmets can kill you by breaking your neck or be the cause of the accident because you can\’t see or hear as well. Other times, you can end up with a neck or spinal injury because the force of the crash is transferred to the spine. I\’d rather die than have a spinal injury, and I\’m not afraid to die. Also, spinal injuries cost much more than deaths. But this is not the whole story. Please do the google search and have an open mind. It is not as simple as this article makes it out to be. It cannot compare to seatbelts. Check it out. You will be surprised. That is why there is not a helmet law in every state, because there is just not enough of an argument or proof that it makes sense. And there are organizations that fight for no helmets because of this.
That shoe fits perfect. Why would I care if homosexuals \”marry\”? That breed will die off anyway because they can\’t procreate and of course we all know it\’s not a lifestyle choice – you’re born homosexual, right? And you can also kill yourself or have someone kill you if you wish. Again, why would I care?
I choose to ride without a helmet because: It is so much more fun and free. If you wonder why, go ride a motorcycle without a helmet, then put one on, you will see. Or, take a full face helmet and get on a bicyle. Two completely different experiences. It is so different to me that I would not ride my motorcycle as much if I had to wear a helmet. The other reason I don\’t wear one is that from all the things I\’ve read, it is not much safer. The only studies I\’ve seen that say it is safer do not account for decreased ridership when the helmet law goes into effect. Therefore, they are only proving that a helmet law causes less riders, not that a helmet saves more lives. I think a great way to die would be on my bike. I\’d rather that than break my neck or be paralyzed or serious injury. In addition, I haven\’t seen a study that shows that it costs more to deal with non-helmeted riders vs helmeted riders. Again, all of the studies evalute deaths in a helmet law state vs a non-helmet law state. The study should study a helmeted rider vs a non-helmeted rider. But the real bottom line reason I don\’t wear a helmet is that they suck. They are uncomfortable, they remove you from the elements, they are hot, they are much less free, they block your sight and decrease your hearing, both of which are extremely important to a motorcyclist.
Just curious: what other activities do you participate in where you wear safety gear & why?
You would rather die than have a hot head?
We care b/c your accidents raise our costs as well. A human head is like a melon. It doesn\’t take that much to cause a serious malady. If it hits the ground at anything more than a knock then you will need medical attention which often costs thousands of dollars. If the rider would have chosen to wear a helmet in such an incident the cost would be virtually nil.
total deaths is alarming but if having to wear helmets decreases riders than so be it. If you can\’t ride resposibly then don\’t ride at all.
Thanks for answering my question, Brad.
I have not ever been on the bike without a helmet. I may try it some day if I\’m ever in a helmet-choice state, so I\’ll have some basis for comparison, as you suggested.
I wear a bucket-style helmet. It probably isn\’t as protective as a full helmet and face shield. However, I do like the fact that I can feel the wind on my neck and I can hear better with the bucket than I can with the full helmet.
Helmets aren\’t the only things that save lives… Loud pipes, bright lights and riding in groups… anything that draws other drivers\’ attention to your presence. (Some of my neighbors hate my loud bike and that\’s just plain too bad. I think it sounds great and every time that rumble turns someone\’s head, I\’m assured that the person driving that car knows I\’m there and hopefully will take caution when changing lanes.) But are loud bikes and group riders law? Nope. In fact, if your bike is too loud, you could be in violation of noise-pollution ordinances in some areas.
Maybe helmets should remain a choice… Looks like there are valid arguments for both sides and perhaps some of these studies are flawed in their execution.
Duffman,
Have you googled \”helmet law\”? I don\’t think you had time to do that and read for an hour on the subject. Your statements and questions are ignorant of the facts, and I don\’t mean to insult you when I say that. You just need to read up on the subject.
Yup – I have loud pipes too and it works well. I also have studied much on how to be a safe motorcylist and what to look out for, where to ride in the lanes, where and how most accidents happen. I\’m a very safe and defensive driver, and I\’m helmetless.
I will read up on helmet laws. thanks for your information. as i said before, I\’m not a motorcycle rider and I haven\’t had your experiences. If what I find changes my mind I will post about what I read here..probably tomorrow.
You might be a very good motorcyclist but being a defensive driver doesn\’t protect you from other bad drivers. A helmet likely will.
In any case I will do some search engine sleuthing. take care brad.
I am a new rider. I recently completed the MSC safety course. One of the first things they did was pass out organ donor cards a those riders who choose not to wear a helmet. We are a \”choice\” state. I have never ridden without the helmet and likely never will. It is not about ignorance or intelligence. It is a choice, and the choice should remain. The majority of accidents resulting in death or serious injury are not the fault of the biker, but drivers of 4-wheel vehicles. Bravo for financial responsiblity laws.