We ARE the "Live free or Die" state, you know.
2007-02-27 00:01:52 · 23 answers · asked by V-Starion 5 in Cars & Transportation ➔ Motorcycles
freedom of choice.......
2007-02-27 00:08:45 · answer #1 · answered by thelovebuzzard 4 · 5⤊ 2⤋
Well V-Star, seems that you've really 'stirred the pot'. It appears that there are a lot of mindless pu$$ies that just want to tell everyone else what they should/shouldn't do. I would LOVE to see their 'proof' where NOT wearing a helmet is raising insurance. (personally I think that's just a bunch of BS). NO state should tell a person that they HAVE to wear a helmet. It should be a personal choice. I have ridden for many years myself and when out on a long road trip I will wear a helmet (june bugs hurt like hell @ 70mph!- imagine one of those in the head....) But around town or on poker runs - no I don't wear a helmet. Fortunatley, I live in a state that doesn't have a helmet law and I AM a member of ABATE.
As for those who have 'compelling' evidence for wearing a helmet - several years ago I had a friend who had a car pull in front of him. His passenger (her FIRST motorcycle ride) WAS wearing a helmet and it DIDN'T save her. She died instantly when she flew over the car and hit the pavement. He WASN'T wearing a helmet and also his foot was severed @ the ankle (was reattached in surgery and is fine now), he was saved because he went into the windshield before going over the car. So......helmets don't always save lives, just like seatbelts don't either. And before anyone gets their panties in a bunch - I am living proof that seatbelts DON'T always save lives. I was in a wreck and would have been killed or seriosly injured had I had my seatbelt on. In HS I had friends who were hit by a drunk driver. He was thrown from the car, but she had her seatbelt on and will live the rest of her life as a quadraplegic.
Laws that serve only to protect us from ourselves are nothing more than another way for municipalities to make $$$$$$.
2007-02-27 16:04:39 · answer #2 · answered by barhopper 4 · 3⤊ 0⤋
No state should have a helmet law. Every adult should decide for themselves if they want to ride with or without a helmet. Lawmakers have no business in legislating laws to protect people from their own actions. That takes away our freedom. I'm also sick of hearing this insurance crap about if a biker gets hurt they don't deserve to receive help from insurance or the state. That's what we all buy insurance for and what some of all of our tax dollars support. We are entitled to it the same as anyone else injured in an accident. We aren't second class citizens. There are a lot of other areas our tax dollars are used that should get people up in arms rather than injured bikers. The cost we pay to deal with illegal immigrants, welfare cheats, government overspending, to name a few.
Those that are on the mandatory helmet band wagon better watch out. Today it's helmets, tomorrow they may take away your right to wave that helmet supporter banner. You might poke yourself in the eye and need medical attention. I know I don't want to pay for your stupidity.
I'm lucky to live in a choice state.
2007-02-27 13:32:08 · answer #3 · answered by BikerBob 5 · 2⤊ 0⤋
This is a personal freedom I believe all adults should have. Too many people have died for our freedoms, for the government to take them away!
If you are worried about your tax dollars, go to U.S. DOTor NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) websites and look at the statisics, Motorcycles are a small number compared to cars,trucks and pedestrians. Should they wear helmets? They wear seatbelts, but they are still costing me more tax dollars for head injuries than motorcyclists.
I feel sorry for those that believe that wearing a helmet will keep them alive, or prevent head injuries. That helmet will come apart in a crash at the speeds you will be traveling to work today. Unless you just cruise around the school. And in that case the police will have a few questions for you.
And there is no helmet that keeps your neck from snapping,your heart from being torn out by the handlebars, your skin being sanded off and dying later from the infection, and your kidneys,liver or other organs from being splattered. Don't matter if you had a helmet on or not.
As for our brains being splattered "like a runny egg" umm...I believe your family would be paying for a funeral not a burden to the state in any way. Your insurance rates are going to go up regardless,for many reasons, but if you want someone to blame, then how about the cars that don't even look before entering into traffic......again go to U.S. DOT, look up these numbers before you spout about something you don't know.
Helmets don't save lives or head injuries, preventing accidents does! And DOT does not approve helmets or anything else.They set minimal guidelines and if a manufacturer meets this, they can put a DOT sticker on it. Do you know that helmets are tested for accidents at approx. 13 MPH? That is slower than a school zone speed limit. At that speed, about all that is going to be hurt is your pride!
Car crashes are costing me more money as a taxpayer but I don't think the government should tell car drivers they should wear a helmet either.
If tax dollars is the important issue here, I say we look at the whole picture and do something about the larger numbers, not the smallest. So, lets do something about overweight people on welfare, then we be talking about outlawing McDonalds.Maybe we limit their food stamps to "no junk food or soda". This is a far bigger group of people and much higher tax dollars spent for healthcare.
What this boils down to is, we as adults, should not be told what to wear for our own safety, rather we drive a car or ride a motorcycle or walk on the sidewalk. It should be an individual choice.
As a motorcyclist, we ride knowing we are a target, so we learn to ride safer, predict trouble, gain experience and hope like heck the car behind us is paying attention and sees our turning light on, while we are giving the oncoming traffic the right-of-way, while waiting to turn and don't run us over!
2007-02-28 03:00:10 · answer #4 · answered by Broadgonebiker 3 · 2⤊ 0⤋
NO.
We already have a helmet law.
http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/rsa/html/XXI/265/265-122.htm
As you can see, it is so that the state can receive Federal funds.
The law, as written, is not bad. It does not allow minors choice yet it does allow adults to choose. The problem is in enacting laws that affect a small group of people so the rest of the state can get the funds. You have the choice to wear your helmet. Why would you force me to wear one? Will you follow it with other requirements or restrictions?
The main purpose of having laws is to protect the people.
No other person is in danger if I don't wear a helmet.
This issue is about an individual's right to choose for themselves.
BTW, there is no list of approved headgear, or established specifications.
Furthermore NO taxpayer dollars will be spent if I "gork" myself, as was so eloquently put. How many dollars have you NOT PAID in taxes because of the existing helmet law??????
2007-02-27 09:24:40 · answer #5 · answered by Firecracker . 7 · 4⤊ 0⤋
Helmet Laws Only "Work"Because Fewer People Ride Motorcycles.
2007-02-27 05:19:47 · answer #6 · answered by DAVE B 1 · 2⤊ 1⤋
Helmet laws should not exist in any state. This used to be a free country. Nowadays there is some do gooder trying to legislate every moment of our lives. Telling us to wear a helmet, don't smoke,don't drink. Then they say we have to register our guns and have no right to defend our own lives ! Well, I'm sick of it all!! It's time the free citizens of this country stand up for our rights before we become a nation of socialist sheep like most of the rest of this planet. As for raising insurance rates , rates go up because of inattentive drivers hitting motorcycles. Drivers account for over 80% of motorcycle accidents. This costs the insurance companies a lot of money. When a state institutes a helmet law motorcycle registrations drop sharply. Fewer motorcycles equals less outlay. The insurance companies want ALL motorcycles off the road for this reason they support helmet laws.
2007-02-27 00:25:25 · answer #7 · answered by jrrysimmons 5 · 3⤊ 2⤋
I ride sport bikes and my opinion is that everyone on a sport bike should wear a helmet. I think it is stupid not to wear a helmet; and frankly on sport bikes the gear looks freaken cool why not wear it.
On the other hand that is my opinion. As an American I realize I don’t own the rights of others and my opinion only counts for one person ….me. That is what makes us free, the ability to choose.
The idea of a helmet law along with many other laws designed to protect the citizens from themselves are wrong and not American.
Usually laws of these kind are implemented by someone who has had a bad experience, maybe a family member died while riding. Now their quest in life is to force everyone to wear a helmet. These people are NOT representative of the majority and do not view the issue objectively.
Laws created to protect us from ourselves should be illegal.
2007-02-27 00:28:04 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 6⤊ 1⤋
I always wear a full face helmet when riding my motorcycles.
I always wear a seat belt when traveling in a car.
I think laws requiring people to do either of these things are horrible ideas. The government has no business telling us what we should do for our own good. That goes for safety equipment, intoxicating substances, inhaling smoke from burning plants, the food that we eat, what medical procedure we choose to have or not have performed on our bodies, or what we choose to do in our own homes.
We're all supposed to be adults making the choices that we think are best for ourselves. Yes, some people will make bad choices. But you can't pass a law against being stupid. We'd all be in serious trouble if we did.
2007-02-27 02:56:34 · answer #9 · answered by Bob 2 · 5⤊ 0⤋
Absolutely not.It will never stop.case in point..Mass.they are introducing legislation to mandate that a helmet be worn for ALL winter snow sports.That's right,a helmet to take a sled ride down your local hill,wanna pull your kid around the yard on a toboggan..get the helmet.Freaking out of control.You safety Nazi will never quit until everything is ruined.We do not need the government to tell us how to live OUR lives.Lets make everyone live on tofu and carrots,sleep 8 hrs a night.Outlaw all tobaccoand liquor.Helmets in the car?why not.One sex partner allowed for life,after all it is for the betterment of the state,COMRADE.I did not elect a mommy thank you.
2007-02-27 03:05:59 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 6⤊ 0⤋
This question has been going on for years and I'm torn on this one.
As a former motorcycle mechanic of more than 20 years I have seen the horrors of people riding without helmets. People think that they die in crashes without a helmet on, but often they don't. They end up with brain injuries that tax everyone around them. One kid I knew hit the bumper of a car in front of him and banged his head on the trunk. After a year of not being who he used to be, he killed himself. A dear friend of mine found his son who had slid off the road and died. His helmet was strapped to the back of his bike. My next door neighbor is still in the hospital after almost a year since he crashed his ATV and suffered a brain injury. He may get to live in a group home for the rest of his life if lucky.
If you don't wear a helmet you are an idiot. Period.
On the other hand, I believe in personal freedom and the laws of natural selection. The smart should survive and the stupid should perish.
It's a tough call.
2007-02-27 02:02:52 · answer #11 · answered by aGhost2u 5 · 2⤊ 4⤋