94 - I lived in Tampa, and I have to say that FL drivers are probably the worst I have ever encountered as far as idiots not paying attention. But the accident rate in FL didn't go up 81%, just the fatalities.
The number of car fatalities have decreased, even nationally, where biker fatalities have risen. On a national level the numbers are smaller as all the state are added then divided by "50", so it keeps things in the single digits.
capt - Like I tell my nephew when he's hurt himself doing something dumb, "If you're going to be stupid you better be tough."
In some states you can be prosecuted for not telling someone you have HIV/AIDS.
Like anyone in the DMV will tell you - Having a license is a privilege, not a right.
Tampa's beautiful, loved the area... Gotta tell ya, while Fla drivers were bad, the all time worst I've experienced was Arkansas. Another place I made sure to leave nothing behind. I digress... back to the topic.
I always wear mine. It is a 3/4 with a full face shield.
I know I should wear a full face helmet but it just doesn't work for me.
I hope that I don't regret that choice some day.
I wonder what choices we would have in helmets if they were not required by law in some states. The competition to get your business probably is what has driven most of the improvements.
I was in the infantry in Vietnam 70-71 and always wore my "steel pot." It would not protect you from all small arms fire but you never knew when that would be the case. It was heavy and hot but more than once I felt something nasty hit it. I'll never know if it saved my life but it damn sure saved me some pain.
I'm not going to tell anyone else what to do and agree there is too much government regulation. If wearing a helmet makes me some kind of wimp, then so be it.
I wear a half Helmet in the summer and a full face when it is below freezing. I have snuck off on occasion without and it does feel good. Can't always do whats good for you!
Both in the Military and as a civilian a Helmet saved my head from major damage. So yeah I believe they are a good thing and wear mine most of the time.
However, its a personal choice. I do not want the political pigs telling me what to do. More bad ones then good and they can all kiss my A@@.
It's a personal thing. Sometimes I wear it, sometimes not. I am starting to think more and more that I should always wear it but it feels good not to. I know my off-road helmet has saved me a few times. I should wear it all the time! I think it should be by choice though and not by government mandate!!!
I hate sounding like the old ladies at the DMV but "driving is a privilege, not a right." Wearing a helmet is a minor inconvenience at best, and the stats show that they do save lives and injury. This is much the same argument I hear about seat belts and the stats show over and over that thousands of lives have been saved and injuries prevented. Occasionally you'll hear a story that ends with, 'If he had been wearing a seatbelt he'd have died", and it coming from someone who'd know best, like a doctor, police, or paramedic. But those are far and few between. I have NEVER heard anyone in the professional life saving business say, "If he'd have been wearing a helmet he'd have died."
What cracks me up are the bikers that will spend as much or more for a "novelty helmet", that has all the protection of wearing a Tupperware bowl on your head, as they would have for the smallest, cheapest DOT brain bucket they could have found; thinking that they're somehow sticking it to the man and getting away with something. I've also heard biker after biker bitch about the cost of helmets while two minutes beforehand they were saying how much the dropped on a new pair of wheels for their custom ride, or some chrome goodies for their ride that have nothing to do with anything other than looking pretty. It doesn't make sense to me.
I will admit that in my 10mph ride from my garage out back to the top of the driveway without a lid feels pretty cool, but I'm IN MY DRIVEWAY! No critters darting out, no distracted soccer mom hauling 8 screaming kids in her minivan, no bubble-headed teen texting their friends, no businessman yakking to his stockbroker, no pair knuckles driving the car only able to view the road from the bottom of the steering wheel and the top of the dash, and no one that thinks that bikes just plain don't belong on the road and doing their best to drive me off it!
While ABATE has every right to fight the helmet laws, at the rate things are going with laws against bikes and the bike industry, the focus needs to be on making sure that we continue to have the right to ride! I'll keep my lid, but I also want to keep my bike the way I made it.
QUOTABLE QUOTE: “We, too, born to freedom, and believing in freedom, are willing to fight to maintain freedom. We, and all others who believe as deeply as we do, would rather die on our feet than live on our knees.”
Franklin Delano Roosevelt (1882 - 1945), 32nd President of the United States
Interestingly enough I never even pondered it until recently. I rode with the same novelty helmet I purchased almost 20 years ago when they passed the helmet law in California. Mainly because I thought it was the closest thing to riding without one (and probably a little of not wanting to give in to what someone else mandates me to do). Truth of the matter I never really considered riding dangerous. As a matter of a fact we would take em off if we got into remote areas or crossed into states where there wasnt a helmet law.
I had a serious accident recently. Several broken bones including a skull fracture and head trauma. Never even saw it coming. Riding around 65 MPH when suddenly cars started skidding all over the place and one jumped out in front of me. My helmet broke into 2 pieces. Did it save my life? Who knows. Would a DOT/Snell approved helmet limited some of the head injuries? Who knows. I'm still recooperating but believe I will take a serious look at helmets in the next few months. I still believe everyone has the right to choose for themselves.
QUOTABLE QUOTE: “We, too, born to freedom, and believing in freedom, are willing to fight to maintain freedom. We, and all others who believe as deeply as we do, would rather die on our feet than live on our knees.”
Franklin Delano Roosevelt (1882 - 1945), 32nd President of the United States
...And I was born to live with my brains in my head and not strewn around on a street. FDR was talking about living under tyranny, under a fascist state in the case of the Nazi and axis powers, not the state regulation of riding gear. We're closer to tyranny in having police asking, "Papers, please," (ala the Denver muffler stamp law) and the EPA laws recently passed (that seems to have been all but forgotten here) than laws that requires a helmet for the privilege of riding a motorcycle.
Last edited by Majicbringer; 09-06-2007 at 12:08 AM.
Reason: missed a preposition dammit!
Freedom no matter what the reason is freedom
I believe if the goverment told all males to wear a condom over their heads a majority of the sheep of this country would strtch one over their head. Ask questions demands answers and remember that the ones that make the laws are the first to break them without penalty.
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