When I started riding on the street I wanted to wear a helmet. I bought one. I hated it.
If we had to wear them here I might not be riding now.

 

One good fall without a helmet, and you will not be riding either.

 

Nothing is ever "given" to you.

 

If it's signed. When will it take sffect?
Laws passed in IA take sffect July 1.
I'm headed to Table Rock lake sometime and would really like to know.

 

Yeah I s'pose.

But still, it is a step in the direction everyone wants. I expected a bunch of about time and excitment and joyfulness, but mostly what I've heard is bitching that it makes no sense.

Not saying I don't agree about the interstate being safer n stuff.

 

Man, you need to get on your ATGATT horse and ride away.

 

Really? I experience more control and ability to react at slower stop/go speeds then at higher speeds like on the interstate. Thats what I based my decision on to not wear a helmet at that time while in Key West. Seemed like over kill. Helmets don't over rule bad skill and lack of good judgment

I disagree with you that its different degrees of dead. In Key West, traffic is bumper to bumper at times and about 3 square miles. Falling off a bike at 30-35mph and 70+MPH is infinately different in all aspects because of the control factor, in my opinion. Not saying I'm right but for me thats how I feel. The expediant unfolding of the events at higher speeds I think makes for some interesting display of controled reaction safety manuevers. I agree that you can smack your head from a fall standing upright and I've seen it cave a mans eye socket in and he died. He hit a curb head first from a standing upright position. So maybe we should wear helmets when we go for walks.

In Key West I was sitting on my sidecar bike not having to worry about toppling over in the stop and go 0-30 mph traffic(hardly ever reaching the 30 mph mark). While the odds seemed to be against me I was able to manuever my way in a safe and calculated manner thus surviving that choice not to wear a helmet in that time frame.

 

Just a few facts on what is really going on here in MO. I have been a member of Freedom Of Road Riders since 1981 and we have been trying to repeal the law that entire time. We have tried it with full freedom of choice, only 18 and under, only under 21 and now under 21 and on interstates. The law is not in effect until the governor signs it or leaves it laying on his desk and it passes by default. If he vetoes it, we have to go back to the House and Senate and get a 2/3rds majority before the end of the session on May 15th (almost impossible to do). If everything goes right, the new law goes into effect on Aug. 28th. There is a sunshine clause in the law that would allow the helmet law to go back in effect in five years if we don't get that changed. So if we get the law modified we still have more work ahead of us.

Anyone who thinks this is an easy process and that you can get anything you want is not living in the real world. FORR has spent 28 years and hundreds of thousands of dollars getting the law through the legislature as is. We also got it through in '99 when gov. Carnahan (who had taken campaign contributions from us and promised to sign the law) vetoed it. About a year later he died in a plane crash and not many bikers in this state mourned him.

Want to get rid of the lid law in your state? It's a long hard road filled with setbacks and compromises. You start by joining your local state MRO and going to meetings, sending e-mails or letters and making phone calls to legislators, and visiting the capitol. Then you should join MRF and the AMA to keep the feds from instituting a national helmet law or federal funds blackmail. Then when you finally get the law modified or repealed, you try to keep deaths down with awareness campaigns, rider education, and a ride straight campaign. If the deaths go up, the helmet law will return, pure and simple.

Smokey Strodtman
lifetime FORR member
lifetime AMA member
member MRF

 

Aug 28, 2009

 

What's wrong, do facts scare you?