Helmets and motorcycles
 

Okay. So I do not ride a motorcycle. I am, however, curious about why some of those who do, do not wear helmets. It would seem a bit of a risk. But I do not know. So........thoughts?

Wind through the hair, bugs in your eyes, the feeling of freedom.

They made it compulsory in Oz, about 3 weeks before I stacked my bike.

Without the skid-lid, I'd have been at best badly injured, at worst dead.

Shortest life of a helmet I know of.

I wear one because it's law in my state. I find for a short ride (the closest gas station is 1/5th of a mile round trip) the helmet, vest, gloves, etc is a bit much for less than 5 minutes. Personally I'd rather the choice rather be made to wear one. My dad first started riding in Connecticut where there is no helmet law, so for him it's just what he grew up with.

Pro-choice

[[ Assumes Devil's Advocate Role]]

How many here are happy with contributing to a multi-million dollar assistance bill looking after someone who opted for the dangerous alternative? If you're going to take extra risks, should you pay higher insurance to cover it?

[[ End Devil's Advocate Role]]

Your not wearing a helmet you're an idiot <-----my opinion

I am a motorcyclist

I'd be OK with someone having their own choice to not wear a helmet:

*if* that was taken as an absolute agreement on their part, that when they crack up, nobody, and I mean nobody else, directly or indirectly ended up paying for their hospital bill. Their choice.

However, I would still insist that wrap-around eye protection be mandatory. If a biker gets a bug in his/her eye, that person is an instant hazard to everyone else on the road.

See, the problem with charging people for "risk," is that we all take risks. Some of us jog, and will blow out our knees eventually. Some of us smoke, but don't do anything else risky. Some of us drink. Some of us eat carcinogenic steaks. Some of us engage in dangerous sports, or have dangerous work. Some of us have genetic risks that we may or may not know about. Some of us are with abusive partners that will send us to the ER many times over our lives.

I worked with a lady who died of mesothelioma. She was an office worker her whole life. But her dad was an asbestos worker, and when she was young, they didn't know the risks, and mom washed everyone's clothes together. 60 years later, she's dead. They were all high risk...should they have paid more?

So whose risk is acceptable, and whose is not? And how is it my right to tell you how to live your life? I certainly don't welcome you telling me how to live mine. Personally, I take the view that when it comes to insurance and social safety nets of other kinds, we're all going to have our turn sooner or later with something, and everyone contributing covers that. Sometimes you won't be taking much out of the system, for years. And then down the road you might have a car accident, or find a lump, and you'll get way more than you ever paid in. Mr. AZRH had surgery this summer. He was in the hospital one day; the bill (without insurance) was over $23K, just for the hospital--everyone else billed separately. We've never paid that much in premiums; we've always gotten individual coverage as a benefit at our job. And given the astronomical profits insurance companies make, I don't know that any individual other insured is paying that much for me, either.

I think we all chip in, and it all works out in the end. I wouldn't ride a motorcycle without a helmet, but other people have to make their own choices.

What??? you want me to have helmet hair!?

Better than tarmac head.

I've tried riding once without glasses....It sucked. Ridden a couple of times without a helmet. It was rather nice not having the extra weight on my head. Like I said though, for me it would depend on how far I'm going. 1 mile round trip, no helmet. To work and back (roughly 25 miles round trip), I'd wear one.

I rode with a 'jet" style helmet with a perspex shield down to just below the nose. This was before full-face helmets were common.

Mine is a half helmet and I wear sunglasses for eye protection. I haven't tried a full face, but with as hot as the three quarter helmets get I don't want a full face. Doesn't really stop them from being heavy though.

Most accidents happen close to home.

When my ex was in rehab after his stroke I saw people with serious brain damage caused by accidents. It was pretty scary. I wouldn't knowingly risk putting my family in the situation of seeing me like that.

I live on the back roads where there isn't a lot of traffic during the day. When I say not a lot of traffic, I mean at most one car every 3 hours.