Talk about your irony

[alanmcorcoran]

http://news.yahoo.com/ny-motorcyclist-dies-ride-protesting-helmet-law-143217859.html

[Water Warrior 2]

Very ironic to say the least. His choice cost him his life. But he also had the right to protest something he didn't like. Freedom of choice comes with a few drawbacks that can hurt.

[jonathan180iq]

Most laws are put in place because the statistics speak for themselves.
If you ride without a helmet, and you crash, you will be sorry.

It's really that simple.

Hopefully the other guys in that ride will take something away from the incident.

[bonehead]

Kinda says it all, does'nt it.

[alanmcorcoran]

I'm not in favor of helmet or seatbelt laws but then again I don't think everyone has a "right" to health care either - I guess I just take the good with the bad when it comes to legislation. I do feel providing a real-time textbook example of the opposition's basic tenet is not gonna be the most effective form of protest.

Meanwhile, I'll keep wearing mine. Got hit in the noggin by a good sized rock yesterday for the second time this month - that alone kind of rules out going lidless.

[jonathan180iq]

I've had face shields crack because of being hit by something I never even saw while on the road.
Imagine if I didn't have one...

[alantf]

I'm not in favor of helmet or seatbelt laws

In 1992 I had an accident. A truck pulled out of a side road, straight across the road, in front of me. I braked hard, & was doing , probably, 20 MPH when I hit his rear wheel. This was in the days before air bags, but I WAS wearing a seat belt. All it did was help to injure me. My head hit the steering wheel and the belt itself dislocated one of my ribs. I've still got the lump in my chest, after nearly 20 years, where the bone grew round the dislocation. I reckon the main thing that saved me from further injury wasn't the seat belt, but the crumple zone that deformed the whole front end of the car, up to the windscreen. :)

[jonathan180iq]

Imagine what would have happened to your chest without the seat belt...

[alanmcorcoran]

I'm not in favor of helmet or seatbelt laws

In 1992 I had an accident. A truck pulled out of a side road, straight across the road, in front of me. I braked hard, & was doing , probably, 20 MPH when I hit his rear wheel. This was in the days before air bags, but I WAS wearing a seat belt. All it did was help to injure me. My head hit the steering wheel and the belt itself dislocated one of my ribs. I've still got the lump in my chest, after nearly 20 years, where the bone grew round the dislocation. I reckon the main thing that saved me from further injury wasn't the seat belt, but the crumple zone that deformed the whole front end of the car, up to the windscreen. :)

Don't misunderstand me - I'm not anti-safety devices, I'm anti giving the government the right to take my money, time and liberty if I choose not to use them. I've heard lots of anecdotal evidence against seatbelts, but I think on the whole, you're in better shape if you use one than if you don't.

[alantf]

What I was getting at was that airbags & crumple zones seem to give better protection than seat belts, yet neither of these is required by law. Just the "inferior" seat belt. :??:

[alanmcorcoran]

I think airbags are pretty much standard on US cars since the mid 90's. They only go off once though and are pricey - I've heard that many used cars don't actually have them - either they went off already and weren't replaced or were removed/resold prior to resale. At one point they were seen as a seatbelt replacement, but since then it morphed more to a "supplemental" status. I personally witnessed a high speed pursuit crash of a Corvette into a tree (pretty much your basic "unmovable" object) back in the early nineties. This one apparently only had a driver's side bag - which deployed. Both of the (quite resilient) thieves survived, but the passenger seated booster left a bloody head-shaped imprint in the windshield. The windshield shattered, but was embedded with plastic wrap so all the pieces stayed nicely together. Both miscreants took off on foot - one escaped. Ironically, I think it was the one that put his head through the shield that got away (through my backyard.) The cops searched my house, attic and garage for the dude, but came up empty handed. (The tree was 30 feet directly in front of my front door.)