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http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/2011/07/03/2011-07-03_motorcycle_rider_in_new_york_dies_during_ride_protesting_helmet_laws.html?r=news (http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/2011/07/03/2011-07-03_motorcycle_rider_in_new_york_dies_during_ride_protesting_helmet_laws.html?r=news)

Sigh.

Be nice in your comments, please?

as soon as I read the Subject line, everything that needs to be said and would be said was heard thru my head. 

RIP Philip

Doh!

RIP. Wear your helmet folks. Be safe.

Darwinism at work.

Exactly.

It's the kind of thing that I just don't understand fully.

I've ridden without my helmet before.  But not much.. probably for no more than 2 minutes in the last 20 years and only in my cul de sac while i was testing something. 

I can understand the political motivation, but at the end ..protest the law, but wear your helmet while you do it...

I saw this earlier today. We don't have a helmet law in SC. I see crazy kids on their crotch rockets helmet-less all the time, as well as older guys on Harleys. The other day a kid pulled up next to me on a busa. It's 95F and I'm in my black mesh Dainese Jacket, full face helmet, jeans, boots and gloves. He's in a T, sneakers, shorts and no helmet. Says, "dude, you must be roastin'!". I just nod and reply "yep, it's a hot one. Be careful." He nods and drills it as the light change. He won't make it another 6 months. Sad but it's his decision.

Right.  I live in NC, and it's amazing to see groups of bikes pulled off just they cross into SC. 

JM

Very sad irony.

Yeah, I find it odd to not have a helmet law but a seatbelt law. Not consistant.

We may change to a no helmet state here in Michigan, but id rather see the lane sharing thing. I figure a bigger bonus to all the bikers during the season. Just skip to the front of the line so to speak.

+1

I also find it ironic that certain motorcycle advocacy organizations seemingly only focus on helmet laws as their main agenda vs. lane sharing or other moto safety/awareness issues.

I had a Harley "road pirate" type tell me that his not wearing a helmet does not affect me. I let it go, but kept thinking about the higher insurance costs, the statistical likelihood of serious injury for motorcyclists overall that I get included into and the grief I get to hear from friends and family about my "dangerous" hobby that would be significantly less dangerous if that idiot would wear a helmet.

I really don't care if anyone else decides to wear a helmet. As an EMT, you're doing me a favor by splattering your stupid brains all over the asphalt. Less work for me to do! All I have to do is cover you up and call the coroner. Then the FD will come and hose your fluids off the street.

It's the same situation for people who get lung cancer after smoking two packs a day for 30 years. You KNOW the risks, but do it anyway. I have no pity for them.

Sorry if that sounds callous.

Thanks

I hate to hear about anyone that gets injured in a moto accident.  Unfortunately helmet or no helmet the argument can be made that we are all idiots for riding a motorcycle.  We put our life on the line everyday we go on the road to feel that sense of exhilaration and freedom.  I wear my helmet 99% of the time but I'll tell you there is nothing like cruising along at 40 mph on an empty country side road at 6:00 am to make your soul feel freer.  I wear my helmet by choice and I don't want anyone making that decision for me.  I like the idea of protesting the helmet law while wearing one.

People die everyday

Some just try harder than others.

Sad for his family and the other riders that had to witness it.

I agree that it's nice to have the choice NOT made for me. Some are just too ignorant to do so on their own.

I don't really care if there is a law requiring helmets. I wear mine religiously. 1 because I cant stand the wind noise and drying of my eyes. 2 because I've gone down before and hit my head on a car fender. Without the helmet, I'd probably be   well lets just say I might not be the same. I do however have a problem with the government saying that we must protect ourselves. I do understand the whole financial aspect. I don't want to pay for some idiots medical bills because he wants to be free. Stats don't lye. RIP rider, but remember, you put yourself there.

I dont always where a helmet around town (small town),  but on anything outside of that I do.  What really scares me though is lane-splitting, the few times I have done it I was puckered up.  Some idiot makes a slight adjustment while texting and your pretty much history.

Texas had a helmet law for years. Then it was repealed after some bike rider pressure. I was shocked. How often does a law like that get reversed by a state legislature? Ever see them repealing a seat belt law? I just always figured that a bunch of people in the Texas legislature hated motorcycle riders and by repealing the helmet law it would quicken their demise. Like the dinosaurs. ;D There certainly wasn't a riders group that powerful to pressure them to overturn the law. Had to be something else... I like my conspiracy theory. [thumbsup] [Dolph]

Helmet is law here (tho I'd wear one regardless), but splitting scares me, too. I'd have to be in a situation I can't imagine to actively split in traffic. Tho, I can see a difference in splitting stop and go vs splitting moving traffic. I'd never attempt the latter.

What everyone else has said. It's sad, but it's his decision. I wear mine or I don't ride, but that is my choice.

I'm very big on applying laws for motor vehicles. If cars can't lane split, then motorcycles should not either. In Florida they attempted to pass a law that they could confiscate your bike if we were caught going over 30 of the posted limit. If it doesn't apply to a car...

In the same fashion, will they force us to use helmets while we drive our cars? It's safer. As you can tell, I'm very conflicted.

I'm all for less laws.  Riding without a helmet and gear is make the beast with two backsing stupid, but it should be up to the individual.  I still want to have the right to choose for myself.  If this guy were alive I'm sure he would be pissed at himself for proving someone else's point. 

Last 3 states I have lived in haven't had helmet laws. My favorite is when I see sport bike riders with the mesh riding jacket and no helmet.

I will do short test rides around the neighborhood after maintenance work with no helmet but I feel pretty vulnerable. Getting hit by a car (wearing only a helmet and gloves) changed my prospective completely. I had more injuries than necessary but less than I could have had.

"...There are many things that we can point to that proof that the human being is not smart. The helmet is my personal favorite. The fact that we had to invent the helmet. Now why did we invent the helmet? Well, because we were participating in many activities that were cracking our heads. We looked at the situation. We chose not to avoid these activities, but to just make little plastic hats so that we can continue our head-cracking lifestyles.
The only thing dumber than the helmet is the helmet law, the point of which is to protect a brain that is functioning so poorly, it's not even trying to stop the cracking of the head that it's in..."
Jerry Sienfeld

 [laugh] Good one! [laugh]

I also disagree with the govt. mandating things like seat belts and helmets, but I still don't want to have to pay for someone else 'lifestyle' choices.  Why couldn't you get a different colored sticker when you register your bike to differentiate between those who wear helmets and those who have payed an increased insurance premium for the increased risk of riding without protection.

On a different note, is that the beautiful Ms. Bacall in your avatar?

Back to helmet-less biker dies...

I can't go along with the no-helmet-law vibe presented here simply because it's already regulated. You need an endorsement to legally ride, you need insurance and you need to register your bike. Unless all of those are bunk as well, a helmet is perfectly consistent with those other three mandates.

It is   ;D

Nice taste! [thumbsup]

This hit the news feeds around here shortly after I got back from my Sunday AM ride.

I probably scraped about forty dead insects off the faceshield when I got home and parked, any of which could have been intended for my eyes at 80+ mph without my little layer of clear Lexan.  I also found two nice new divots from road debris... one about an inch long and maybe 1/8 of an inch deep.  Those are just the ones that hit hard enough to stick or leave a mark, so I have no idea how many bugs bounced off to perish elsewhere or about any of the other crap my bucket made contact with.

Never mind the issue of life preservation in a crash - how the hell do helmetless guys enjoy the ride with all that shit pelting them in the face?

I think it's a certain segment of the population of riders that ride low and slow.  Anyone who is going highway speeds needs something.  The RayBans and a $45 bandanna from the Harley store isn't going to cut it.

Man, I wonder that every time I see someone riding on the highway with no helmet and NO SUNGLASSES!! [bang] OK, forget the helmet/safety issue. What about the 2 pound grasshopper the size of a sparrow that hits you in the eye at 60+mph?? I have had bugs so big hit me so hard in the faceshield that I have had to pull over and clean it just so I could keep riding and see where I was going. How the hell could you handle that impact on the check, forehead, mouth or eye??? No shit, that could put your eye out! Want to trade your vision for looking cool or the freedom of going helmet-less? How about just wearing sunglasses or clear shooting glasses? I just don't get it. [bang]

 [bang]

Motorcyclist in Helmet Protest Hits Head, Dies (http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=KC-B-oYRJeQ#normal)

Some are bunk...in WA you don't need insurance (but we are a helmet state).

Florida does not require insurance or helmets. It does require that you use eye protection.

Not necessarily; Arizona is a no-helmet-required state and I routinely see folks out bareheaded at 80mph.  It can't be comfortable, but they choose it anyway. One of the weirdest things I've ever seen was while driving back through the desert from California to Arizona on a holiday weekend, accompanied by 60mph+ winds that were kicking up one of the nastiest sand storms I've ever been in.  I got out of the car on the AZ side pretty certain that there would be no paint left on the upwind side of the vehicle; all around me were big twin cruiser folks who'd pulled over to remove their helmets after crossing the state line & heading back out into the gale. Fashion, freedom, peer pressure -- whatever it was, these folks were deliberately removing a piece of gear that would have made the nasty conditions at least a bit more bearable, not to mention a bit less life threatening when the blowing sand cut highway visibility to zero.

Personally, I wouldn't ride without a helmet & wouldn't want anyone I care about to go without. But I can't say I give a lot of thought beyond that to whether or not the state requires everyone else to do what I do by choice.

Indeed, this reminds of this story:

http://articles.latimes.com/1999/oct/23/news/mn-25364 (http://articles.latimes.com/1999/oct/23/news/mn-25364)

I thought of that incident as well. A very sad loss of life, and pretty much a PR nightmare scenario.

My wife says I'm always thinking with my dick.  Maybe I should be wearing a jock strap instead.

most riders that I've met who argue against helmet laws aren't arguing that it is safer but rather that the choice should be just that.. a choice. it should be one's own choice to ride with or without a helmet.. just like it is our choice to be riding a motorcycle despite the higher risk of injury or death compared to driving a car..

Wearing a seatbelt in a car isn't a choice (with NH being the exception), why should wearing a helmet on a motorcycle be a choice?

   

I guess it depends on your comfort level with authority dictating what you can and can't do.   

Riding at all is less safe than being in a car, so why should we have the choice to do it?

Seatbelts should be optional too.  One bad law doesn't make it right to create other similarly bad laws.

You can't really compare seatbelt laws to helmet laws. Not wearing your seatbelt endangers other passengers in your vehicle as well as bystanders if you get thrown from the vehicle. Not wearing a helmet is only a detriment to yourself.

Land of the Free, Home of the Brave. If your brave enough to ride without, more power to ya, just dont come begging on my door when you need a lifetime of financial support and your wheel chair bound and cant feed yourself.

Seriously?

Because it can be a more efficient means of transportation, more cost effective, takes up less space, uses less resources... it is a perfectly legitimate form of transportation.  

  While we are at it, lets do away with speed limits and traffic lights  [roll]

With or without helmet laws, ill always be wearing mine.

or how about requiring high risk insurance for those who wont wear a helmet? Better yet, have the insurance company say "if you are in an accident without a helmet on..no coverage."?

A similarly formed argument could be made for public transportation, and by extension compulsory public transportation.

Yes, buses and trains are bigger than bikes, but they hold twenty times the people or more, and one bus is "a more efficient means of transportation, more cost effective, takes up less space, uses less resources" than the same number of people transported by car, and satisfies the safety-minded as well.

If we look at these arguments from a purely utilitarian point of view, then we'll find ourselves shoe-horned into the most cost and space effective, lowest resource, most efficient form of transport for the greatest number of people.

But I, at least, don't want to live in a society which bases its decisions of what a committee of people sitting 'round a great mahogany desk decide is the "Greatest Good for the Greatest Number."

I don't have good arguments for why helmet laws should exist (actually, I do, but they're pretty boring).  I just know that there's a whole buncha stupid out there, and that sometimes the stupid needs a little reminder that if it stays stupid, it gets dead.  And then sometimes you gotta drag the stupid outta Darwin's clutches, kicking and screaming .  Not cuz the stupid doesn't have the freedom to be stupid or the God-given right to make itself dead, but just cuz we all have an obligation to the stupid to try to keep it around just a wee bit longer.  I'm not sure why that is, but I don't feel too bad about that.    
[Dolph]


There's a helmet committee that sits around a mahogany desk?  Now what's just weird.   ;D

We have the choice to take public transportation, drive cars, or walk.  You can't smoke on public transportation, you have to wear a seat belt when driving a car and you can't walk in the middle of the street. Most people wouldn't question non-smoking public transport, or that people shouldn't walk in the middle of the street... greatest good for the greatest number.      

I was just answering your question of why we should "have the choice" to ride motorcycles.  That choice has nothing to do with safety.  

It is narrow minded to think that only the person not wearing a helmet carries the burden of their actions.  It is a financial burden we all pay for in healthcare, insurance and taxes.    

How do you think it works now?

I think I told you about the desk at Z one night... it was for them.

I think people miss the point.

This is a topic about a dude who died by landing on his head cause he didn't want to wear a helmet.

Not a discussion about what freedoms I have lost because Uncle Sam makes me wear a Foley catheter.

Actually, it's a topic about a guy who died by landing on his head while attending an event to defend his freedom to die by landing on his head. 

Indeed it is.  Sad Irony.

i was thinking about that... it's actually not irony at all.  it's just stupidity.

it's like how the only irony in the alanis morrisette song "ironic" is the fact that it is not ironic at all.  every situation she explains falls under "well, that just sucked".

that's sad irony.  sad irony sucks.  happy irony is the lottery machine putting the wrong numbers on your ticket, but those numbers turn out to be winners.

Seriously. Here's a quick article you can read, too lazy to find more. Google is your friend. I also personally know a few people who have been seriously injured by passengers who weren't wearing seatbelts hitting them inside the vehicle during a rollover. It happens and isn't uncommon.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/japan/1380376/Unbelted-rear-passengers-biggest-danger-in-crash.html (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/japan/1380376/Unbelted-rear-passengers-biggest-danger-in-crash.html)

Probably not the best article but you get the idea.

Alanis Morrisette didn't understand the concept of irony when she wrote the song "Ironic", which, in itself, is ironic.  The biker's death is in deed a sad sad irony...

Now I gotta youtube that shit 'cause I barely remember the lyrics of that song.

An old man turned 98
He won the lotttery
Died the next day.

weird al need to do a cover of this song with lyrics that are actually ironic.  haha

Yeah, that's tragic, not ironic.

And as the plane crashed down he thought
 "Well isn't this nice..."
 

THAT'S ironic!

Simply stated, it's irony.

Ducatiz... You crack me up!