Rideing with a helmet is like having sex with a condom. need i say more.

 

Hey Tray, I thought about it too up in Gettysburg. I ended up putting it on. I've ridden without a helmet (when I was a kid) and I love it. All about personal choice.

 

Always tempted to try....rode without one in a parrking lot....I kinda equate to running with scissors! Seat belt laws weren't driven by insurance but by the Federal government threatening to withold federal highway funds to the states. If the statistics continue to show more fatalities and motorcycle popularity continues to increase, the feds will do the same guaranteed. Of course if the idiots (cages and motorcycles alike) who drive and ride like morons or drink before they do would change their behavior, then statistics might show something very different.

 

One of my close friends of 40 years wrecked his heritage classic this last saturday. He was riding in a 35 MPH zone wearing a 3/4 helmet and some stupid woman backed out from a driveway right into his path. He had honked his horn, was watching her, and thought she was stopping but she did not and drove into the road, he dropped the bike and smacked the pavement and the car.
OUCH!
He has a broken femur (thigh bone) and also busted up his right jaw when he hit the road. He will most likely now have one side of his face caved in more than the other according to the plastic surgeon, because they are afraid to try to reconstruct his jaw since complications could involve blindness, and they do not want to risk it.
So if you want to consider which helmet to wear, I suggest a full face to prevent this type of injury, for your own safety.

Soooo, now having said that, I must confess that I usually wear a little beanie helmet for short runs around town. (like my friend was doing )
But when I leave out for Sturgis next month I will be wearing my full face helmet for sure, as I always do on the freeways, but now I clearly see you can get really messed up in town too. But I am not giving up my beanie but I will continue to be ever vigilant when riding.
So what I am trying to say is to each its own. I prefer let the rider decide, but around here, (in MI), you almost feel you need a full face helmet in self defense because the cagers are so stupid/arrogant/uncaring/in a hurry/ you name it.
They WILL pull out in front of you!
later,
Sprinter.

 

People seem to forget that the biggest common factor is speed. The only ACCIDENT is when a boulder falls off a mountain. CRASHES occur when some butthole pulls out in front of you. CRASHES occur when one takes a curve too fast. If you ride accordingly as MSF and common sense tells you, one can substantially decrease the chance of a crash.

Helmet or not.. it's amazing what happens when one slows down and pays attention.

Just another arsholes .02.

 

New hampshire doesn't have a seatbelt law for adults and I think if the feds do the helment law NH will still be a Lid Free State. We are such rebels here

 

kinda like playin with your dick for the first time eh

 

I Know what it's like to have your head smashed against the curb.. after skidding there on the pavement. Recovery is a long & painful process...some are luckier than others & get most of themselves back.. law or no law, reducing the risk makes more sense to me than combing the tangles out of your hair..

 

America may not be as free as it used to be, but all bikers in every state should have the choice. I joined ABATE to support that belief. There's nothing like riding a Harley and listening to the sound of those pipes but if you wear a 3/4 or full-face helmet, that sound is muffled. I live in Pa. and was in Gettysburg this weekend too. Almost everyone there went helmet free or rode with a 1/2 helmet. I wore my 3/4 helmet and it sure didn't look as "cool" but I did feel safer on the way to and from Gettysburg because it protects the side of my face and ears. I don't want to sound like I'm preaching but I learned a hard lesson about helmets 25 years ago when I was in a bad motorcycle wreck. I ended up in intensive care for two days and my new wife and three month old daughter almost lost me because of some a$$hole crossing the centerline. I was wearing a full-face Bell helmet with a small view window and still suffered a fractured skull. There were no scratches on the top of my helmet at all - they were down the right side and in the front. I could have been killed if I was wearing a 1/2 helmet and probably would have been killed without one. Unless you hit the pavement vertically, a 1/2 helmet won't do much to help you.

My 2 cents...

 

Did you insurance premimum go down when mandatory seat belt laws went into effect? Mine didn't, in fact it has been steadily increasing every year even though there are mandatory air bags, side air bags and many other safety features in new automobiles.

As far as safety goes, there is only one non helmet state (Colorado) in the top ten states for the most fatalities on motorcycles.

A mandatory, very comprehensive rider's training program aimed at avoiding crashes would probably be more effective, and you do get a break on insurance if you have completed a rider's course.

Regards,

Bill