Originally Posted by Jake911

I was born in East LA and spent about 30 of 50 years in CA. I'm there now!

Prior to CA's mandatory helmet laws, motorcycle registration was between 550,000 - 750,000 per year. Immediately following the mandatory helmet law, registration dropped significantly and in 1995 was 525,000. So loosing 225,000 bikes on the road is pretty significant to the economy. lic.abateflorida.com/Library/Library/TruthAboutHelmetLaws.pdf‎ (p. 11.)


(p. 11.) ABATE (American Bikers Aimed Towards Education) made the following estimates of what this amended law repealing mandatory helmet laws has brought into the economy of Florida:
§ 40,000 new motorcycles at an average of $10,000 each: $400,000,000
§ Sales tax on motorcycles at 6%: $24,000,000
§ Registration fees on motorcycles: $1,444,000
§ Change of titles fees: $1,190,000
§ Total: $426,634,000


Using the same numbers, California's economy lost out on $2,666,462,500 a year with mandatory helmet laws.

Additionally, empirical evidence shows that States with better rider training and no mandatory helmet law have a lower fatality rate than states with not so good training and a mandatory helmet law. ( See link)

All of this is premised upon the link sited.

Originally Posted by rjg883c

I didn't read the ABATE study. How did they determine those dollar amounts? Was it a guess? Did they conduct a poll asking people what their plans were regarding motorcycle purchases? And did they determine what else people would have done with their money/transportation needs?

Originally Posted by LucyOnBlack

The biggest hint I can give you is when examining the helmet, the liner inside (here in Canada anyways) has to be a certain thickness of padding... HOWEVER the padding is not required in the top, only the sides.
The best helmet I found has no padding to speak of in the top (just liner), with the standard... believe inch around the sides.
With no padding in the top other than liner, the helmet sits/pulls down. It is incredible the difference in look. You don't have the big dome look of helmets that sit and ride high on your head. The pull on your neck of having the wind catcher egg head is to a minimum.

I was given the name of many a helmet, however when I discovered the trick of no padding in the top... I found the closest to perfect helmet that doesn't look too bad. Still not a beanie... but the best we'll get with the new laws.

Originally Posted by Jake911

I was born in East LA and spent about 30 of 50 years in CA. I'm there now!

Prior to CA's mandatory helmet laws, motorcycle registration was between 550,000 - 750,000 per year. Immediately following the mandatory helmet law, registration dropped significantly and in 1995 was 525,000. So loosing 225,000 bikes on the road is pretty significant to the economy. lic.abateflorida.com/Library/Library/TruthAboutHelmetLaws.pdf‎ (p. 11.)

ABATE (American Bikers Aimed Towards Education) made the following estimates of what this amended law repealing mandatory helmet laws has brought into the economy of Florida:
§ 40,000 new motorcycles at an average of $10,000 each: $400,000,000
§ Sales tax on motorcycles at 6%: $24,000,000
§ Registration fees on motorcycles: $1,444,000
§ Change of titles fees: $1,190,000
§ Total: $426,634,000

(p. 11.)

Using the same numbers, California's economy lost out on $2,666,462,500 a year with mandatory helmet laws.

Additionally, empirical evidence shows that States with better rider training and no mandatory helmet law have a lower fatality rate than states with not so good training and a mandatory helmet law. ( See link)

All of this is premised upon the link sited.

Originally Posted by Deuuuce

First no helmet without padding in the top will meet DOT and SNELL standards. DOT is required in the US. What safety rating does your helmet have?

Second, if a helmet is designed properly, there is hardly a wind catcher.

Originally Posted by gus4440

I have been riding for 45 years and have read motorcycle forums since the old dial up message boards. The HD forum is the only place I have seen guys so vain talking about mushroom heads and the way they look. Any other bike forum would laugh you off the group if you post about the way you look wearing a helmet. It doesn't make your *** look big, it makes you look like a big ***.

Wear a helmet or not, I don't care. Don't try to BS me about if they can save your life. A friend and coworker hit a deer two years ago. His helmet sits in the office for show and tell. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to tell his life would have ended that day without the helmet. As it is I still have a riding buddy.

If you know and accept the risk I'm ok with whatever you do. The ones that make me cringe are the riders and passengers that do not understand the consequences of riding with no gear if you go down.