I’m from the NBWCOS (National Bubble Wrap Council on Safety) and I call on all States to require everyone be wrapped in bubble wrap. Peoples failure to wrap themselves in bubble wrap has resulted in thousands of deaths each year.

13
posted on 11/16/2010 3:46:10 PM PST
by driftdiver
(I could eat it raw, but why do that when I have a fire.)

>>As long as I don’t have to pay when they scramble their brains, then you are correct.<<

I remember having an argument with an officer of the Cascade bycycle club back in the 1980’s. He was a proponent of bicycle helmet laws and I was more, ah, libertarian on the issue. He used that same argument.

I asked him what he would say if someone proposed a law to ban bicycles from our highways and they said, “I’d be against the law if I didn’t have to pay for the health costs of bike riders (even wearing helmets) that are injured in accidents with automobiles.”?

The real problem is that we all have to pay into it, and it opens the door to outlawing everything from riding without a helmet to skydiving, rock climbing, heck, even hiking.

It is none of the government’s business unless the activity endangers other people directly, e.g. driving while intoxicated.

Given how congress has abused the interstate commerce clause, it's amazing that they don't demand we all wear helmets at all times, even when sitting in your lounge chair at home (wearing your seat belt!)

Mark

24
posted on 11/16/2010 4:16:51 PM PST
by MarkL
(Do I really look like a guy with a plan?)

Well,,, While visiting a friend who had a head injury, a bullet, at a very intensive care facility, I asked him what all the other patients were there for. He told me, “Motorcycle accidents.” Many of them had had their insurance maxed out, and were on the public dole. That’s when I decided that helmet laws were reasonable.

I agree with you, that it should be up to the rider. Personally, I've only ridden my bike on the roads without a helmet once, and I was only going 2 blocks to a McDonalds. And during that short time, I've never felt more naked.

And regarding eye protection, I can't imagine riding without it. But I actually saw some riders, sans helmets and eye protection, riding in South Dakota during the monarch butterfly migration!

Mark

26
posted on 11/16/2010 4:22:51 PM PST
by MarkL
(Do I really look like a guy with a plan?)

We're working with our state legislators [Wyoming] to require that any state law passed as a result of bribery or extortion is invalid and that no enforcement of it shall issue; and that any legislator who offers legislation that is found to have been brought forward as a result of such bribery or extortion shall both lose his governmental position, all retirement benefits, and shall be imprisoned for as long as such law remains in effect.

Bribery and extortion from the federal government are specifically mentioned as qualifying for the penalties prescribed.

I have no problem with an outfit set up like the NTSB making any such type of recommendations as mere recommendations, leaving choices of public awareness campaigns or legislation up to individual states.

The states’ answer to the NTSB for any such recommendation need ONLY be:

Everybody in Saigon rides a motor bike. Lawfully they must wear a helmet but most don’t. They are usually strapped to the bikes, I asked a friend how come. She said “why wear them, they are made in China,no good”.

He said, “Most of them.” It was kinda sad, because they were ruined. They’d never be able to get out of managed care. And,,,, I really miss Indian Larry! Someone I really enjoyed! His “gizmoness” was wonderful.

I have a hard time taking anything seriously from the NTSB when any dipshit/illegal can obtain a driver's license. I would venture that at least 50% of the people out on the highways have no business whatsoever pioleting a 2000 pound machine. I can tell by the paranoid look in their eye(s?) as they frantically scan the first 5 ft in front of them with a 10 and 2 death grip on the wheel as I pass them in the right-hand lane.

Screw the laws! I personally have always (even as a teenagaer) used my helmet/seatbelt because I understand pyshics and like to ride/drive like a bat out of hell. And I've never met anyone who didn't who could keep up with me either! ;)

My favorite childhood memory of freedom is of me napping in the back window of the family truckster on vacation while Dad drove with an open can of beer... and NO seatbelt! Man... those were the days! I'm so lucky to still be alive and paying taxes into the abysss of safety and evironmentalism.

And regarding eye protection, I can't imagine riding without it. But I actually saw some riders, sans helmets and eye protection, riding in South Dakota during the monarch butterfly migration!

I have taken bees, wasps, and yellow jackets to the face at speed. The first time it happened, I thought I'd been struck with a spent bullet- I almost came off the bike. There wasn't a stinger sting- it was just raw mass at speed. I picked the bits of it off of me later- so I was able to identify it. The second time I took a hit between the top of my goggles and the helmet. That felt like a rock out of a wrist-rocket. It produced about five miles of really vile language- it hurt like a sonofabitch.

Now, imagine taking a hit like that squarely in an unprotected eye. The eye will be destroyed and you're going to come off the bike at speed trying to claw what's left of it out of your head because you've got a yellow jacket inside of your eyeball.

Nightmare. No thanks. I always wear a helmet, but I have a horror of riding without my eyes covered. If my helmet went missing off of my parked bike a few miles from home- I'd chance it. If my eyewear disappeared, I'd walk somewhere and buy at least some plastic shades or something to get me home.

42
posted on 11/16/2010 5:22:27 PM PST
by Riley
(The Fourth Estate is the Fifth Column.)

While stationed in Hawaiiwhich does not require helmets to be wornI had a date with a girl who was afraid of motorcycles. So the plan was to ride over to Waikiki where she lived, park the bike, and hang out around there. However, once she saw me pull up, she changed her mind and wanted to go for a ride. That was no problem. I could hand over my helmet to her, and I could ride helmetless. Perfectly legal. It turns out she loved bikes, and every subsequent date included a cruise.

Once I was out of the service, I moved back to NYC. There are helmet laws there. This same scenario I encountered in Hawaii happened a few times. Except that once I had to say no because it would take too long to ride back home and grab a second helmet. Another time I simply risked getting pulled over. She loved the short ride. I didnt as I was constantly scanning for cops. That was probably rather dangerous for her, as I spent more time looking in my mirrors and down side streets than I did looking ahead for hazards. Its a serious infringement on my freedom, these helmet laws.

Eventually I bought a bike with a sissy bar so I could just shove a spare helmet on it. Lost two helmets that way. One fell off while riding, one was stolen. Thats the nature of the big city. If I want to see a movie, I either have to carry in a big fn helmet and keep it on my lap with my popcorn and soda, or I have to leave it out on the bike and hope no one snatches it. The whole time Im trying to relax and watch a movie, Im stressing over whether or not Ill have to sneak home without getting pulled over.

I now have a steady girlfriend, and she has her own helmet. Its too nice to leave on the back of the bike, so I cant even pick her up from work spur of the moment. We have to plan ahead of time whose house shes leaving at. As if the two of us arent mature enough to make the decision that we can risk riding five miles at no faster than 30 mph without a helmet. Im glad the government has stepped in to discipline us. (I have two riding without helmet tickets to my name so far.)

If nothing else, helmet laws have converted me from an authoritarian conservative to a libertarian conservative.

As a biker who prefers to usually ride without a helmet, but has to wear one in Virginia, I’ll quote an expert: “Helmets save lives - but not many.”

Even a full-face helmet will rarely save a life in any motorcycle accident above 45 mph. The human body just isn’t designed to absorb the shock of hitting solid objects at that speed, and internal injuries will almost always kill if an object is hit regardless of helmet.

No one has ever done statistical research on how many lives are saved by wearing helmets, mainly because it would be so difficult to determine whether a helmet would have saved a life or not. Doubtless there are some accidents where helmets save lives. But they appear to be few.

But if the gov. can dictate helmets, where do the safety protection requirements stop, as many here have said? Take the logic to its conclusion, and I should never leave my home. Just like taxes.....how much is enough?

A true story I love is a biker friend rides his V-Twin Yamaha to work 12 months a year, wears a full-face and “Robo-Cop” superman suit. He is a nurse anesthetist in the area’s largest public hospital and works in the ER. Initially his co-workers would say, “Look! Motorcycle accident!” every time someone was brought in from one.

He silenced them when he began saying, “Look! Car accident!” every time one came in, and they were 20x as many in number.

Have to disagree with you. And the fedgov themselves back me up on this.

In a ten year study from 1990 to 2000, the fedgov compiled what stats they could. I think it was called the FAR study. Don’t ask what it stands for, I can’t remember any more.

Now, here’s the shocker. They found that a helmeted head injured biker cost more to hospitalize than a helmetless head injured biker. The report got buried in some vault, but I think its still available.

Now, before your knee starts twitching to a chin cracking jerk, here’s why: Helmetless riders may die. Dead is dead, dead is cheap. Helmetless head injured riders for the most part can be rehabed to some point of self sufficiency. For example, Garry Bussey. Even though they may not look so good, for example Garry Bussey.

A helmeted head injured biker most likely will live and even look pretty good, and that’s the really expensive part. The helmeted head injured biker usually sustains A CATASTROPHIC NECK INJURY THAT ENDS IN PARALYSIS that requires hospice care 24/7. Rehab is extremely rare.

The bottom line is that helmets kill and cripple on a huge scale. But because its a NECK injury and not a head injury, its swept under the rug. That’s why NTSB ran away from their own report.

This major point is why many state legislators found for repealing mandatory helmet laws.

ALSO,
NTSB, by it’s actions, are breaking a law that was passed under Bill Clinton, that prohibits them from lobbying. I guess they figure in this climate of lawless bureaucrats run amok in DC, they don’t have to follow no steenkin law.

Yes, there is another side to the coin, and sometimes it holds a dark secret.

The truth is that when we modified the helmet law here in PA, fatalities went on the decline. And have done so for every year since.

NO one knows why for sure, but the thinking among us riders is that when going lid free, you slow down, put your radar antenna up, and drive more carefully.

I know, I’ve experienced the feeling myself.

But the one fact is, helmet’s efficacy has found to top out around 16mph. After that, the incidence of neck trauma starts to climb significantly. Over 40 mph, its a crap shoot. Over 50 or 60, it really doesn’t matter.

Saw an accident, guy got hit head on by a drunk. Tore him mostly in half. The headline? Biker Dies in Crash, He Was Not Wearing a Helmet!

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