yeah, seatbelts are lame. if i had ta wear a seatbelt, i would just give up driving.

 

This is a very real danger.......nothing to laugh at!

 

First off I completely believe it is up to the rider to decide. That being said, as a current racer with 12 years on the track I have three or four helmets sitting in the garage that have taken severe impacts. One from me being hit by another bike. All of them have shell damage at the point of impact. I was lucky enough to walk away from each of those crashes (allthough some of them came along with some memory loss of the incident and the period immediately afterwards.) So those professing that helmets are only good in the "slide with no impact" accidents are just not correct.

 

Funny why these statistics are always left out of the media circus.The Zealots that feel we all need helmets live in a fantasy world when the think a helmet is total protection.If the truth were known about how many riders actually end up para,quadrapelegic,or die,from wearing helmets,they might think differently about spouting off.Our world is overrun with Bandaid fixes,helmets is just one of them.

 

You cannot compare racing to street use , only thing close is a slideout , IF on the street you run into no oncoming traffic or other fixed hazard ..... pleanty of runoff like you would have on a racetrack. Racing also involves everyone going in same direction and with very few fixed objects to bash your head into , NO other vehicles to blindside you while they are blowing thru a traffic signal or sign as well as other street hazards , YES in someays they MAY help your mind survive a crash whilethe rest of your body stays paralyzed for life......... 50/50 shot on the street , too many variables. Don't 60% of rideres dead at the scene have a helmet on?

 

Dad wearing full gear, racing leathers, full-face Shoei helmet. Crashed & killed - broken neck & back. Doing less than 80 km/h.

Best friend Steve wearing full gear, racing leathers, full-face HJC helmet. Crashed at 50 km/h on gravel in a turn. Killed instantly. Broken neck.

It's all in how you land. I have no faith in helmets anymore. Here in the Great White North it's mandatory, and I hope that will change someday. I love going to the US and riding with no helmet. It should be a choice.

Cannon

 

Way back in the day, late 70's really early 80's, I seem to remember that ABATE teamed up with the Insurance institute that does all the crash tests and put the theory that helmets break necks to the test. Using different manufacturers and all DOT approved helmets they found that the helmets had a bounce to them that had enough force to actually break your neck. Which lead to the redesign of almost everyones helmets. The ones made today are designed not to bounce so much and fracture/break on impact which is why you're told to replace your helmet if it's ever been severely banged into something. I'm trying to find the article, I'm sure it was in Easyriders or Iron Horse but not completely sure. I'll see what I can find and post later.

 

Lost my son on his Buell, He was wearing a state of the art full faced racing helmet and full armour. His neck was broken but in fairness his other injuries were severe enough to cause death also. My only point is that it's almost the same percentage of deaths caused by head injury in both auto and motorcycle accidents. Anybody who advocates the use of helmets on two wheels while not wearing one in a cage is a hypocrite.

 

Bike racer that walk away have more protection than just the helmet. Alot of people that talk about you need to wear a helmet will go out riding with just a T-Shirt on there backs. And how many people now a day where steel toe shoes for riding but you need that helmet. Some of your crash start from bad riding protection from the start.

 

I see many more collar bone breaks as a result of wearing a helmet rather than neck breaks. if anything the helmet will help reduce the chance of a neck break because it limits the movement of the neck. if you crash into something fast enough to cause the momentum of the helmet to cause the neck to break, you're going to have several other severe injuries as well, and would probably end up a vegetable anyways, regardless of you wearing a helmet or not. but i'm sure the chances of you dieing in the same wreck are much greater if you're not wearing a helmet.

i've wrecked many times on a racetrack, several times over 100mph, one was over 160 mph, and once on the street at over 80mph. i have no doubt at all the helmet saved my life on at least a few occasions, and most certainly reduced my injuries in ALL instances.