Motorcycle Fatalities Down in 2009

[dhgeyer]

One thing that hasn't really been stressed in this thread is that a full face helmet is likely to help prevent some accidents by protecting your eyes from wind, bugs, small debris, sand, and etc. I rode for years without a full face helmet when I was young, as they were not in general use at that time. I wore goggles over my glasses, or sometimes just glasses. Even if you don't get hit in the eye by a big bug or other object, the wind in your eyes causes blurred vision, and along with the extra noise is distracting and fatiguing after a while. If there is any slight loss in peripheral vision, which with a well designed helmet there shouldn't be, it is more than offset by the better overall vision you have when your eyes are well shielded. A good windshield helps, but there is nothing as effective in this respect as a good full face helmet.

I think, too, that for long rides, the other protective gear covering your skin also helps prevent dehydration, fatigue, hypothermia, and other causes of loss of concentration. When it gets really hot, then you sometimes have to make a trade-off, but under most circumstances I think the more skin you protect the longer you can ride safely. I must not be alone in this, as you don't normally see serious distance riders without pretty much full gear.

[dannylightning]

hmm, well i see some one was talking about windshields, a windshield should be even with your nose and no higher, if it is raining and you have no windshield wipers you will not be able to see threw that windshield

if it is at nose level you can see over it and they claim that it will still deflect all the wind over your head. i guess that makes sense, a rainy windshield would be quite hard to see threw and could easily cause a accident.

and than you might get a busted head or a busted neck weather or no you are wearing your helmet lol

[diffluere]

BB - you could always wear one of these face shields! :neener:




Instead of making helmets mandatory, maybe they should ban the wearing of flipflops on motorcycles. That just seems plain dumb, and how do you shift without hurting your toes/top of foot? Seems crazy to me! I am just kidding because I believe the less government, the better, but sandals seem way more dangerous than going bare-headed.

[Water Warrior 2]

A number of years ago I saw a young lady riding with flip flops. She had a lot of attention from the boys cause she had a helmet and a bikini to keep cool in the warm weather. Not really safety conscious but her choice.

[dannylightning]

lol, why wear a helmet if you aren't going to wear any thing else, especially shoes.

there has been times where i have almost went down stair because of flip flops, there just loose and don't stay on your feet well, maybe that is cus i never wear them. i cant see wearing them on a bike sounds like the dumbest idea ever to me. i always wonder what people are thinking when the wear them on a bike.

[burkbuilds]

When I was a kid in the early 70's the girl next door jumped on the back of another neighbors bike and took off down the street wearing flip flops, cut off blue jeans and a halter top. They went over the hill and laid it down right behind the asphalt paving machine that was paving our street. They were covered in asphalt, and apparently in shock, they actually pushed the bike back up the hill to where we were playing in our front yard. My mom came out and begin spraying water from the hose on them until the asphalt started falling off them taking big hunks of their skin with it. She stopped and called an ambulance, and I can still hear LeAnn begging me not to tell her mom she was on a motorcycle. (Don't worry LeAnn, she'll never figure it out). Prior to that day she was a very beautiful girl, since then she has been scared for life. I'm not sure what protection would have done against 2000 degree asphalt, but I bet she would have been hurt a lot less if she had been wearing almost anything more than she had on. By the way, Mike, the guy, didn't even have the flip flops or any shirt on, just cut off jeans and he was also covered in asphalt. Neither of them had helmets on either. It was truly horrible.

[dannylightning]

that sounds horrible

damn