Motorcycle Helmet Regulation: A Tale of Two States

I’m not sure what really mean by $10k of insurance, $10k is not nearly enough. You’ll burn through that in the ambulance, and then be a burden to your fellow citizens. The Arkansas H-D reps said that wearing a helmet would take away freedom. Well, my friend, Freedom comes with responsibilities.

All I can say is that it’s my personal choice to protect my brain whether I’m on a bicycle, motorcycle or skis.

There is an interesting rule in triathlons that states if you straddle your bike before putting on your helmet and snapping the clasp you will be penalized and can be disqualified.

Well I guess the decision should be ultimately up to the rider. If they dont want to protect themselves than that is up to them. They dont make us wear leather jackets or a spine protector.

Personnaly, I would not ride without one. I would like to ride another day in the case if I ever go down (again). But on the other hand this world is overpopulated…

This is a “no-brainer”. Every state should require wearing helmets and every person riding a motorcycle should wear a helmet. If you are dumb enough(no-brainer)not to wear a helmet, then ride without one. I would not be here today if I didn’t have a helmet on in a head on collision with a car that decided to run a red light in 1976.

$10,000 buys what, a brain transplant from a doctor or lawyer? Better make it $50,00 so you can get a politician’s brain- like new, never been used.

Seriously, people should be required by law to wear a helmet about the same value as their head.

I feel it is up to the rider to wear a helmet or not. Over 50% of auto deaths are caused by head injuries and I don’t hear any cries for helmet laws there!

politicians don’t have better things to concern themselves with? Who’s business is it anyway what another person does. Lets take a vote on who thinks everybody should mind their own business.

It’s odd — almost amusing — how inconstant American biker attitudes can be. Bikers can duck helmet regulating with proof of 10K personal injury insurance. An ambulance ride and one day in intensive care would burn through that. What then when the money’s gone? How about a lethal injection. Next step, selling all body parts, except the undersized brain. Helmet-less riders unwittingly could make a positive impact.(no pun intended).

Once financial responsibility was lifted off the back of the American people, it is doubtful any motorist would give a damn if they wore protective gear or not. You can’t legislate to morons — although in essence we do each time a cop pulls someone over for not wearing his car’s seat belt. There is big dough in “failing-to-click” fines. But it has little to do with safety.

Lastly, let’s not forget tight-money motorcycle manufacturers. Self-canceling turn signals could reduce accidents and save lives. It’s not new to the industry. Yamaha had them in the mid-70s and Harley-Davidson has joined the techno-leaders.

Manufacturers also could and should toughen up in the sport bike category or face a mandated crackdown. A 12-hundred cc
Suzuki that weighs less than 400 pounds should never be sold to a 19-year-old punk whose reproductive regions are five times the size of his brain. Big tariffs would send a powerful “get-smart-or-get-out” message to Japan when it comes to these rocket ships. (No, we haven’t forgotten Buell).

So, where is the ABATE crowd with all its activism and self-proclaimed power? Helmet laws only? Too bad, you’re capable of bigger things.

———-

The writer has ridden motorcycles for nearly a half-century.

Less goverment, not more. Let the rider decide.

Some topics should never be discussed. Religion, politics and helmets, there are just too many strong feelings one way or another. We might even want to add motor oil to the list. I am staying out of this one.

In my garage, i have a reminder each time a take my bike out. A few years back an impatient idiot ran a red light taking a left turn crashing right into me. I thank my lucky stars that i’m here today and am able to post this. I wouldn’t be here today if I wasn’t wearing my full face helmet. On the shelf where my bike and my 17 y/o son’s bike is parked is my helmet from that crash. The outer shell on that is cracked from the crash. So you’s idiots out there still think wearing a helmet isn’t cool ??? think again. The rules on the roads has changed since i first began driving / riding. It’s every men for themselves out there. No one can predict when an accident is going to happen, and when another idiot becomes impatient.

If you want to ride without a helmet why not have proof of medical insurance ($250,000 minimum) and a living will on file?
That way you minimize the amount of health care benevolence in the event of extensive head trauma after riding without protection?

Hey Tom, don’t forget ‘loud pipes save lives.’ I have been known to ride the sidecar rig around town without a helmet. Not really that bright, but… On two wheels-always wear a full-face helmet.

What about other safety gear? On hot summer days, I’ve been known to wear jeans, t-shirt, tennis shoes and no gloves. After my accident, gear all of the time. I was wearing helmet, gloves, boots, Firstgear MeshTech jacket but jeans. Idiot pulled out in front of me…some gear needs to be replaced. Jeans ripped a bit…some minor road rash on my knee.

Sorry, but I don’t wear a helmet except in states where it is required. Do I carry plent of insurance, YES. Do I know the risks, YES. Have I talked to my wife and told her that I know that if I get in a major accident that I don’t expect to live, YES. It is my choice and I don’t need a ignorant liberal politician to tell me what is good form me. Hell, I think that the idiots that have outlawed transfat should be castrated.

I don’t have a problem with people who won’t ride without a helmet but I do have a problem with the people that think that everyone should. If you have the insurance and know the risks that it should be the rider’s choice.

Wouldn’t this be the same as discussing the use (or not) of seat belts in cars?

David,

I’m fine with your comment as long as you don’t cost me a dime.

According to The National Highway Traffic and Safety Adminstration, 86% of the deaths in mandated helmeted states were wearing helmets, compared to the 63% of deaths in states that do not require helmets who were not wearing helmets. which sounds better to you.
The “public burden theory”….I have worked since I was 16 years old and am now over 50. I have paid medicare ALL of my working days. Do I not deserve to draw out of a fund that I was promised if I paid into I could use it if need be? Also, do you have medical insurance where you work? The majority of the people who ride bikes do. Now lets look at automobile drivers tha have medical insurance. How many of those do you think have enough to take care of them if they crash in a car? Bikers are no more of a public burden that auto drivers are.
The Hurt Study reports that after 13 miles an hour, in a crash, the human neck elongates, the added weight of the helmet causes neck injuries. Here is the real dilimia that motorcyclists face, no helmet=head injury or with helmet=neck injury. The other reality is that most injuries that occur are bodily, internal and trunk injuries. The helmet is good for 2 hits in the same spot, after that the helmet has lost it’s abilities to prevent anything.
Advocates for Safe Highways is behind ALL the safety business. Guess who makes up Advocates for Safe Highways…insurance groups. They are really the ones that lose money when we are not as safe as they want us to be. Ben Franklin once said, “those that would give up liberty for a little safety, deserve neither liberty or safety.” I tend to agree with old Ben Franklin.
Connie Shepherd
ABATE of Arkansas District 22 Board Member
Secretary, Ride Free Arkansas PAC
Arkansas State Representative to The Motorcycle Riders Foundation

I have worked in level-1 trauma ER’s all over the country and helmets do sometimes save lives but more often than not we pick peices of helmet out of the skull and brain only to have a shell of a human being taken care of in rehab centers for the rest of his/her unproductive life but is it not funny you never ever hear about those stats!

My head, my choice… In winter i choose a full face only to stay warm, in summer i’d love to wear no helmet but i don’t live in a free state so i’m forced to wear a tupperware bowl on my head to keep the man off my back… To many people today worrying what the next guy is doing. Just another nail in the american dreams coffin… And please, save the money spent on insurance speech for your kids, this country wastes so much money on crap that we can afford to waste a few more dollars on a some cracked skulls…

I don’t need a helmet. I’d rather have my skull crushed by truck than live in a country run by commies…

What never ceases to amaze me is that the pro helmet people always resort to calling the pro choice riders ugly names. Just because we choose to not wear a helmet, why must you call us names? I realize that sticks and stones etc…. but it is disturbing that the pro helmet people cannot intelligently converse on this subject. It should be about choice, I don’t call you names because I disagree with your faith, political preference, eating habits and many other areas that we could disagree on. I prefer to honor your right of choosing what you feel is best for you. Can you not do likewise? Or did your mother never tell you that if you can’t say something nice, then keep your mouth shut?

After 35 years of riding, two crashes (neither wearing a helmet) and more miles than I can add up without taking my shoes off, I believe I can make my own decisions. If you feel you need to make them for me, then you can make my bike payments, insurance payments and any other costs associated with me riding. Then just maybe I will let you decide if I wear a helmet!!!

I continue to be amazed that this is even debated. Year after year the mountain of evidence grows and grows. Wearing a helmet should never be an option…but a requirement.

Basem,
Do you pick these just for laughs to see how many people are awake? You’ve had a few good ones recently..been a looooooong winter.

I love the politician that demanded proof of medical insurance if you’re not smart enough to wear a helemt!! RIGHT ON!

I believe in freedom of choice…….I also believe Darwinism. In this issue, they complement each other.

My husband was in a bike accident in June 08. We live in BC, Canada and the laws here state that a helmet must be carried by the rider at all times. It doesn’t have to be worn, or it doesn’t have to be Department of Transportation certified. My husband was wearing a “show” helmet, just a basic skull cap, not Department of Transportation certified. He got cut off by a Ford Explorer doing 80kmh/50 mph. Thank God he is here today to tell us about it. Even though the helmet was not certified, it saved his head. He had 4 fractured pelvis bones, smashed both his hands and just recently had an operation to put his nut back where it belonged. Do helmets help? I think so. But I do believe that the choice should remain with the individual. Ride on people, do it with caution, but also with joy.

Those of you that say helmets should be required/manditory/not wearing one is a moron etc……DUHH, You ride a motorcycle!!!! SO YOU MUST BE STUPID!!!!!
If you think a helmet makes a differance,Here’s your sign….YOU RIDE A MOTORCYCLE !!
BUT – Thats your choice isn’t it!
What M/C law will finally make you stop riding?? Really, what will it take?
What’s that you say?…they will never make you stop riding?
Sorry your too late because it is coming. Yup! thats right.
Helmets are just one phase, but it is one that, those of us that have ridden for decades keep in the forefront as we fight other laws.
You who fight us on something as simple as a helmet choice, will enact other laws that eventually will eliminate motorcycles.
So I ask you again – WHY DO YOU RIDE SUCH A DANGEROUS VEHICLE?!?
JUSTIFY IT !!!
And when you do – it is the same reason for HELMET CHOICE, as there is no actual safe reason for riding a bike, except free will.

To the lady In B.C. who’s husband was in an accident…
The vast majority of my 40 years riding was in B.C. (Ontario now) and I suggest you recheck the law. Helmets are most definitely mandatory in B.C. They have been since early 70’s.
I hope he’s OK.

High on the Liberal Wish List: helmets make a difference.
FACTS: -death rate in helmet states & free states are identical
-neck injury rates in helmet states & free states are identical
-medical costs for helmeted riders & non-helmeted riders after accidents are identical
-ridership rates are higher in free states than in helmet states
-appliction of a little hgh school physics will show that helmets are not required to prevent injuries at impact speeds below 6mph, and will make no difference at impact speeds above 12mph.

With some minimal effort, you can verify these facts. If you are making a decision on this question and haven’t done the homework, shame on you, and mind your own business.

I think it is very important for riders to wear there helmet i also think that the motorcycle head light modulator should be a must on all bikes.

If you have to wear a seat belt in car — you have towear a helment on a bike.

Last comment should have been “you should have to”

guidoLaMoto,

Care to cite your information for us???

Google it like I did. It’s all out there. Be an informed citizen.

Guido…
You ever been hit in the face by a Bee?
Had a bird bounce off your head?
A rock in the face thrown up from the car in front of you?
Statistics be damned – if you fall off your bike and your unhelmeted head hits the asphalt, you are probably dead. If you’re wearing a helmet you stand a very good chance of LIVING the rest of your life, upright, mobile, and lucid.

Wear a freaking helmet fools.

So go on and be a rebel, fight the ‘easy’ fight, and don’t wear a helmet. Old school ‘rebels,’ a.k.a. “one percenters” would laugh in your face for thinking you’re actually fighting against something real, here. I would think ABATE would have other uses, but seems they can’t pull their helmet-less heads out of their respective rears to think about anything else but helmet laws.

When I hear news of a fellow motorcyclist losing his/her life, I am deeply saddened. But when it turns out the rider could have been saved by simply wearing a helmet, I make sure and shrug my shoulders, walk the other way, and try my best not to laugh while thinking them to be a moron. If they didn’t wish to wear a helmet, they don’t deserve my sympathy. Do me a favor, if you’re not gonna wear your helmet, let me know where your rotting corpse will be buried, so that when you do finally get clocked upside your bare noggin by a fresh piece of asphalt (or a car windshield, or a flatbed truck), we can gleefully drag our butt-cheeks across your waste of a grave. You can manipulate your statistics any way you wish to try and support your case…we all can.

We can banter all day, folks, but the bottom line is this: wearing a helmet, particularly a full-face helmet, exponentially increases your chances of surviving an accident. Risk your life if you want…just don’t expect the responsible riders to feel sorry for you.

I live in BC too. For those of you that ride a Bicycle. The bicycle is considered a vehicle. You are expected to follow the rules as a vehicle is supposed too. You cannot flip between treating yourself like a pedestrian one minute and then a vehicle the next. That is probably the reason why some cyclists get hit. Also, in BC, helmets are mandatory even though it is not enforced by the police.

choice is ok as long as your choice does not create a medical cost to my contribution to taxes. Most times unfortunately that is not the case. Make decisions and be responsible for them!

I dont wear a helmet because I am forced to-free state- I wear one because I dont like being hit in the face by bugs and other fun things. I dont like the weight, or the fog up at stop lights on warmer days-but warmer days bring more bugs. Bugs hurt.
A $10,000 insurance policy isnt enough when you are riding, but we know it sure isnt enough in a automobile either. I have been in enough car accidents to know that doesnt cover the trip to urgent care to get muscle relaxers after a crash.
Ride safe, watch for Stupid people. Plan ahead for Stupid people- leave yourself an out.

In reply to Sheriffdave

What do you have against free will? Man what happened to this country?

Let’s all wear life preservers when we are near water, all steep cliffs or hills should have a fence that keeps us 25 feet away, put down the beer and smokes, don’t go in the dangerous woods with a gun, you can’t eat that it will make you fat.

Well screw that, I pay my bills and I have more insurance than 20 illegal immigrants put together. I want to smoke, drink beer, piss off a cliff, hunt in the woods, I want to ride without a helmet and I want to eat a big old fat t-bone. And if you cagers would pay attention when you drive I will live to eat at the next steakhouse.

there are over 200,000 more car/truck crashes in the US than motorcycle accidents. i think everyone that drives a car should be forced to wear a helmet! i am tired if paying for thier stupidty!

Addressing the Helmet/seatbelt laws..The seatbelt law is now a federal law..the helmet law is up to each state to decide as both laws should be. Maybe a helmet law for cars would be a good thing, as there are head injuries in cars also. I ride with and without a helmet as I choose that day. I hear MUCH better without a helmet. Yes choosing to ride a motorcycle is inherently dangerous, but they still let us, the riders decide to ride, So they also should let US decide what to wear. I am an A.B.A.T.E. of PA. and proud to be a part of the organisation that got the helmet legislation modified in Pa. and is still working for Rider’s rights and STILL has a rally at the state capital twice a year.

If Rider Don’t wear a helmet he will face hard trouble, how he goes to the right place without the use of helmet?

I Think they should to give someone who was injured some dollars, But i know that United States have a difficult and german style of rules, and it goes bad.

sometimes I says that Motorcycle is not compare for buying, there were accidents, and too if there’s water on the road, while someone riding he can crashing into something. there’s bike who cost 25,000 dollars? no more than that?

I dont understand why my daughters helment [dot]did not make a differience concidering she is dead. she died with a full faced,cracked right into . she died instantly .only 23 yrs old. believed in all safety. did things right . police put no helment on all reports . finally I found her helment at impound with the bike . police never changed the report said it doesnt matter .but it sure did to her. tasha lumpkin september,17,2006 mercades intentionally hit n run . 2 witnesses picked them out . got thrown out of trial because the judge caruso [cruiseo] said impossible to be going 70 mph on highway and to see inside a mercades convertible 2 seater , right next to alot of riders for along time before the car hit from behind . there is no law for some of us …

I wear a helmet, and my close friend does’nt. He likes the feeling without it and I don”t–We don’t judge one another. He rides a Buell and I ride a Kaw, so what. We even work on one anothers bikes—- The one reason I do wear a helmet though is if I do have an accident and I’m brain dead I don’t want my daughter to have to give the DR. permission to pull the plug. And a helmet may save her from that.

Helmets save more lives than not, prevent more severe brain injuries than not, and also prevent severe facial disfigurement. This is fact – to think otherwise is illogical and irrational. Those who disagree with wearing a helmet are simply ignorant, self-serving, irrational, fools.

I’ve personally been involved in two motorcycle accidents with flip-front modular helmets that prevented serious injury. First incident resulted going over the bars to a “superman” landing on pavement and sliding to the point where the bottom edge of the chin guard was ground down – that would have been my own chin. Second incident resulted in leaving the road, hitting a tree and being thrown violently on the top of the motorcycle dash. The right side of the chin guard was deeply scored and the helmet absorbed all the impact . . . that would otherwise have been my head and face. The force was such that my right clavice was broken from the impact, so without the helmet, there certainly would have been serious facial and head injuries, given the forces involved. In both accidents, I “literally” walked away … but my helmets didn’t.

Beyond the safety sensibility factor, the financial cost of supporting a vegetative helmet-less idiot in a hospital for an undetermined period of time, (not to mention the emotional cost to the family), goes well beyond what an insurance company will pay. $10,000 is a joke.

Living wills aren’t worth the paper they are printed on if you can live without life support, which many severely brain injured people do. So instead, you end up being a burden on the state, taxpayers and your family, keeping your sorry-assed carcase alive. At least someone who had the misfortune to end up in this state despite wearing a helmet took sensible precautions to try and avoid it; they should be looked after.

Freedom? … Wake up FCS! That’s a stupid argument. Riding a motorbike without a helmet is NOT “freedom”. Come on! Get real! You’re just enjoying of riding your bike down the road. Thinking it’s “freedom” is just fantasy and fallacy you idiot. You still have responsibilities to family, work, etc., including not being a burden on society, when you get back off your bike.

Maybe if a law was in place that allowed euthanization of anyone who chose not to wear a helmet, then the choice to wear or not to wear could be left up to the rider . . .

. . . But until that time, “Put It On and Shut Up!”

(or sell your bike, you’re an idiot!)