"Motorcyclist deaths spike as helmet laws loosen"

[Jgeekw]

Motorcyclist deaths spike as helmet laws loosen - USATODAY.com

I know many of us think we shouldn't have helmet laws, and that people should be able to decide for themselves, and I'm one to agree with that. I just wish however, that statistics like this weren't out there, giving ammunition to pro-regulation people.

[scottie]

Originally Posted by Jgeekw

Motorcyclist deaths spike as helmet laws loosen - USATODAY.com

I know many of us think we shouldn't have helmet laws, and that people should be able to decide for themselves, and I'm one to agree with that. I just wish however, that statistics like this weren't out there, giving ammunition to pro-regulation people.

we dont have the choice over here in the uk..helmets save lives!!!!

[jerkybear]

This is such a hot topic. I, personally, would rather not wear a helmet, but I know from what I have seen in the ER what kind of trauma the head can sustain. You can lose your arms, legs, kidneys, and other body parts and still live, but there is no life without the brain. Maybe the bikers killed would not have survived with a skidlid, but I prefer to protect my brain as much as I can. One of the guys recently in my area that was killed was not wearing a helmet. The LEO investigating stated that the biker wasn't wearing a helmet, and had massive head trauma. Maybe he would have survived with a brain bucket, maybe not, we will never know. We are all grownups and we have make the decision for ourselves. I don't think that government regulation is the way to do it. IMHO. Craig

[Nate]

With three major presidential candidates practically indistinguishable on the implementation of some form of nationalizing health care (true fascism), I don't think that the anti-helmet law crowd have long to wait before they'll being wearing beanies everywhere. Once nationalized so-called risky behavior will be the first to be reigned in.

[A2rider]

There were more pedestrians killed in 2004 than motorcyclists. Maybe the walkers need the helmets more than we do.

"She noted, for example, that motorcycle fatalities rose 13 percent from 4,028 in 2004 to 4,553 in 2005 and that almost half of the people who died were not wearing a helmet.

The number of pedestrian fatalities increased to 4,881 in 2005 from 4,675 in 2004, the Acting Secretary added."


Motorcycle, Pedestrian Deaths Rising

[CowboyBob]

One of the reports I saw (I think it was on Delphi or on a HD forum) The states with the biggest increase in fatalaties were actually states with helmet laws. Ridership has gone up markedly inthe last few years, accidents and deaths will also go up unfortunately. Any statistic can be skewed to read the way the presenter wants it. Lets see raw numbers state by state and from several years and what the helmet law status was for all those years then make a correlation. It is true they save lives, it is also true it should be choice-IMHO.

[Mercury]

heres my opinion....

I ride offroad, on rode and just about anything with an engine.

I have not always worn my helmet on the ATV. I seen what could happen to some body even going only 20 mph, they bashed their head so hard we had to rush them to the hospital. The guy was lucky, he had an abnormally thick skull which saved his life.

dirt in my opinion is softer then asphault, or another car even.

I now ride the atv with the helmet on proudly.


As for the motorcycle. Accidents can and will happen, its a matter of when.

I was in an accident recently and I thought about what COULD have happend if i did not have my helemt on, and it was scary, I was stopped for traffic and some person yapping on their phone did not stop for the car behind me, the suv with the yapper on the phone hit the car behind me - into me. I was thrown from the motorcycle. Had that been in a different spot i could have easily landed on the curb, head first.

just think about it good and hard and you will see the good overrules the bad for wearing a helmet.

Think about it this way....

When somebody gets hurt in a crash, or when you get hurt in a crash would you like to get scraped up and put in a ziplock or would you rather get up and walk away?

thats my 2 cents, but in your state if the law does not mandate it, I feel it should but I also believe in freedom. I think they should force helmets more then seatbelt in my opinion, but thats not what they do.

Kenny

[sdbrit68]

Originally Posted by A2rider

There were more pedestrians killed in 2004 than motorcyclists. Maybe the walkers need the helmets more than we do.

"She noted, for example, that motorcycle fatalities rose 13 percent from 4,028 in 2004 to 4,553 in 2005 and that almost half of the people who died were not wearing a helmet.

The number of pedestrian fatalities increased to 4,881 in 2005 from 4,675 in 2004, the Acting Secretary added."


Motorcycle, Pedestrian Deaths Rising

now lets look at the other side of the coin..............

you have a fixed number of deaths in 2004 = 4028
then you have a fixed number in 2005 = 4553

which gives you a 13% increase................

but wheres all the info left out ?

such as .............how mnay new riders obtained licenses that year,what was the rate of sale increase in bikes.

if bike sales rose 5 million, and deaths went up 500 .............thats not bad statistics

but like all stats, they can be twisted for the purposes of the article

[alstensby]

I don't understand why this is always such a hot topic. Oh wait...I forgot...the government is too busy trying to protect us from ourselves when there are more important things to worry about. I wear a helmet but don't feel the government has a right to tell us we need to, regardless of what the facts are. That's not in their job description! There's nothing wrong with regulating things for consumer safety. Make sure that the helmets being sold are safe and do what they're claiming. But stop wasting time and money telling people what to do for themselves! If someone wants to run the risk of riding without a helmet...fine. That's their choice! Last I checked, choice is a big part of freedom.

[A2rider]

Originally Posted by sdbrit68

now lets look at the other side of the coin..............

you have a fixed number of deaths in 2004 = 4028
then you have a fixed number in 2005 = 4553

which gives you a 13% increase................

but wheres all the info left out ?

such as .............how mnay new riders obtained licenses that year,what was the rate of sale increase in bikes.

if bike sales rose 5 million, and deaths went up 500 .............thats not bad statistics

but like all stats, they can be twisted for the purposes of the article

I threw this in here just to stir the pot.

EVERY stat is twisted to where you want it to be.

To flip the coin, how many new people took up walking that year?
Is it just due to increase in human population, or are people being environmentally friendly and deciding to walk more?

Were they on phones and failed to see the approaching vehicle?

What is their level of education?

Did they take a "Walkers Safety Course" before they decided to brave the streets?

I'm just making a point that life is dangerous, and all stats are fallible.

[CruisinPiper]

Ok... this is a sensitive subject but here's my thought (take it for what it's worth, which is not much ).

I usually wear a helmet, BUT I don't want someone TELLING me I have to. I also think that should I be in a MAJOR crash I'd rather be dead and my family get the insurance than mangled but alive and them have to take care of a veggie... I'd rather my family and friends didn't have to deal with that...

[Mercury]

welp folks.... everybody does not want the govt telling us what to do...

but look at seat belt laws...

if you don't want to - then don't wear a seat belt.... you run the risk of getting hurt in an accident and it is aganist the law

same thing goes for helmets in my opinion

if you don't want to then don't wear a helmet.... you run the risk of smearing your brains all over the asphalt.... and in some states it is against the law


lets try to figure out the reason WHY they make it a law rather then moan about why it is one...


This is all generated from my opinion and how i THINK it works... if i am wrong please correct me.


for example... In my opinion it is a law to wear seat belts and helemts in nj (where i live) cause the state is full of crazy and some horrible drivers.

The law enforcement people (cops) likely got tired of scraping people off the ground and taking them to the morgue because they were not wearing a helmet.

Cops have better things to do then to deal with all the paperwork on the scene of a death (i think there is more paperwork with a death involved then just a regular accident). Cops should be out trying to stop people who "cause" accidents not scrape up people who were in them.


If you don't want to wear a helmet - thats your choice, you wont get sympathy from me when you get hurt

I am very blunt about this cause i have seen way too much stuff happen to people without helmets.

I am 28 years old and have been riding atv's since i was 5

ive seen people have near death experiences, had their eyes poked out (no eye wear), had their heads shaved to their scalp - its all very scary



I would be willing to bet if those people who don't believe in helmets now, have a friend with a near death experience because of no helmet... I would bet those people would wear them



Also.... does the law really force the helmet law... i see people riding here in NJ with out helmets here and there, i never see any cops chasing them, and all the bikes i ever seen pulled over- well there was a helmet there too.




One last thing before I go back to work....

very blunt and its not to be taken personal:
To those people who don't wear helmets.... it is YOU who give riders a bad name even after you reach the grave.... in other words you don't wear a helmet, you die after a crash. People read about it in the paper and say - yep another stupid biker. The only thing stupid about you is you went out with out a brain cap, other then that you could be the best rider in the world.

Don't become a statistic. wear a helmet.

Kenny
Kenny

[BikerBeagle]

Actually, the only truly relevant information left out of the equation here is:

1) Of the "almost half of the people who died not wearing a helmet", how many would have died regardless ...where either a helmet would not have provided sufficient protection or they died from something other than head trauma?

2) And, of the remaining people who died wearing a helmet, how many of those fatal injuries were caused BY THE HELMET ...i.e. severe trauma to the spinal cord cause by the weight and bulk of the helmet at high impact?

Personally, I think we are within 2 years, at most, where all states will require helmets ...whether you like it or not. Most states already have mandatory seat belt laws on the books for cages, mandatory helmets is simply a logical progression of that same basic principle (and, by that, I mean, the principle of generating revenue for the public coffers).

[scottie]

surely if there is a chance it could save lives...why be anti helmets?i make my daughter wear a cycle helmet everytime she rides her scooter,or on the back of my bicycle.simply put there is more chance of it saving her life than putting it at risk!!!

[scottie]

as for seat belts...i hate wearing mine..but it is proven to save lives..my life means more to me than anything else!!

[Nate]

Originally Posted by alstensby

I wear a helmet but don't feel the government has a right to tell us we need to, regardless of what the facts are. That's not in their job description!

As I see it, that's an incorrect assumption. Whenever a license is required to do some thing, it is the entity granting the license that holds the rights and the licensee is only receiving permission to do the thing the license allows. The entity issuing the license to do some thing can revoke the license at any time for any reason.

Since we are licensed to operate a motorcycle by the states we reside in, we have no inherit "right" to do anything other than what the government that issues those licenses demands as the terms of the license. When the government mandates helmet usage, that is what motorcycle operators must do or risk a penalty that may even lead to revocation of the license.

When operating on a public (government) roadway, there are no "rights", only permissions.

[scottie]

i bet all you wive young children strap them in there car seats before you go anywhere....why?

[CheeseHeadNinja]

Originally Posted by scottie

i bet all you wive young children strap them in there car seats before you go anywhere....why?

Because they aren't adults and cannot make decisions for themselves. An adult should be able to make the decision to protect themselves or not. I always wear my helmet, but people who don't accept the danger and understand that they can die as a result of not wearing theirs. It's their choice if safety of wearing a helmet is more important than comfort/looks/whatever of not wearing a helmet.

[CruisinPiper]

Originally Posted by scottie

surely if there is a chance it could save lives...why be anti helmets?i make my daughter wear a cycle helmet everytime she rides her scooter,or on the back of my bicycle.simply put there is more chance of it saving her life than putting it at risk!!!

Also simply put... There is a much better chance of a helmet saving you from any serious injury or death in a low speed accident (ie bicycle speed) than there is of one saving you at highway speeds (65+mph). Again, I say that having my friends and family take care of someone that has severe bodily trauma, bed bound, and having them pay for, feed me, and wipe my @$$ for the rest of my life is much worse than giving them the insurance money, having them greive for a period of time and go on with their lives.

I would think that anyone that would prefer the former rather than the later is pretty self centered and selfish.

Of course, that's just my opinion.

By the way... you will see in my original post that I usually wear a helmet when I ride and you are right that it will help prevent head trauma. It's just that as I get older The difference between mortality and living as a useless drain on my friends, family, and society in general becomes larger...

[Connman]

I'm for everyone making their own decisions, but you can't argue that wearing proper gear saves lives.
What would the arguement be? Wearing helmets is dangerous???
I'd bet that wearing a helmet has never been a factor causing a death, but not wearing a helmet sure has.