If you didn't have to wear a helmet, would you?

[Oldgit]

eggheads--nuff said on that one. :pc

[Bornagain again]

I started as helmets came in.  I was with the its my head brigade, but nowdays I wouldn't go out without one.

Power in even the mid range bikes is more than what was exotic machinery then and there 5 times as many cars on the road now.  The odds are stacked to high to go without.

Although the bollocks about expensive lids being safer than cheap ones makes me laugh.  Check out the Sharp testing shows how much rubbish there is in that theory.

[ponkster]

I do and always would, re the personal choice thought if you die it effects more people than you in so many ways so I think its right to be law

I do not directly endanger anyone else on the road if I do not wear a helmet - if indirectly affecting people was used as justification we wouldn't be allowed to drink , smoke , eat red meat , and do any dangerous pass times
And as for the firemen and paramedics - boo hoo - thats what they are paid for
! Lol

[Grahamm]

There is another point at issue here: The cost of treating brain injuries that might have been avoided by wearing proper head gear.

If you're going to go down that route, you should include the cost of treating every accidental injury that might have been mitigated had someone been wearing protective gear. Tripped over a kerb? Hurt your knee? Should have been wearing knee pads...

[Razgruff]

:agree
any accident involving a bike is is going to result in avoidable injuries even if the rider has leather helmet gloves turtle shell and all the other gear.

Lets be honest here people  :rolleyes
How many people do
you know in cars that walk away from sliding on diesel, loose stuff, or hitting an animal on the road.
How many bikers do you know hospitalized from the same things happening to them.

conduct a risk full assessment  and you will never get on a bike again lol

forgot to put the link in lol

http://www.bikersrights.com/statistics/twisting.html

[adeejaysdelight]

And as for the firemen and paramedics - boo hoo - thats what they are paid for
! Lol

LOL? Really, were you laughing out loud at your stupid statement? I would guess you have never seen someone burst open, but I assure you it's not very nice and lives with you. I wonder how YOU would deal with seeing that? The fewer times "these people that get paid for it" have to attend such incidents, the better. And FYI, that is not what emergency services are paid for. They are there to help people, not scoop them into black bags and go tell their wives that they are widowed (although maybe some would be better off!)

[Lazarus]

cmon guys - no need for a full blown argument over this.

[tkwish]

Whilst I agree people need to act responsible there are horses for courses I regularly ride in India where the roads are crowded with bikes the average speed is around 20mph and less than 1% wear a lid lid are only wore on the highway I would feel unsafe in a lid with the restricted view

[littlejohno]

[quote author=littlejohno link=topic=8371.msg82520#msg82520 date=1371652430]
I do and always would, re the personal choice thought if you die it effects more people than you in so many ways so I think its right to be law

I do not directly endanger anyone else on the road if I do not wear a helmet - if indirectly affecting people was used as justification we wouldn't be allowed to drink , smoke , eat red meat , and do any dangerous pass times
And as for the firemen and paramedics - boo hoo - thats what they are paid for
! Lol
[/quote]

First the cost to the economy is huge around a million firna fatal and would you like to deliver the death message !!!

I see the point re drinking and smoking but drinking is limited in certain ways smoking has warnings and age restrictions and both have a huge cost for the country even with the tax.

Its a hard one but i stand by my reasoning though

[ponkster]

.

[Razgruff]

:lurk

been waiting for that reply  :rollin :rollin :rollin

[Stooby2]

I always wear a lid and wouldn't ride without one. They prevent minor accidents becoming major ones - the time I high sided off my VFR750 going round Marble Arch on diesel at about 25mph. I came down on my front and smashed the chin bar completely - left me dazed and with a good headache for a couple of days. Without a lid I'd have suffered some nasty facial injuries.

And my father-in-law was an underwriter for a major insurance company.  His view was that if helmets were made optional then all the insurance companies would ask in the quote stage whether you intend to ride the bike without a crash helmet. If you answer "yes" then you'd either face a huge premium or be refused insurance.

[peterjca]

I definitely would wear a lid everytime I'm out on the bike (despite accidentally voting "no chance" in this poll -- can an admin correct that please?)

[Tiberius Onklevaart]

[


For your info Ive seen more burst and dead bodies than you can imagine - I have been an opperational full time firefighter for 26 years now - hense the lol - so calm down and get off you high horse yer wee prick!

With spelling and grammar like that I had you down for a doctor. Or a journalist.

[ponkster]

= No - drunk and grumpy

[Bornagain again]

I love the way cost is always used as an arguement.

I wear a helmet and try and avoid accidents but have seen a few over the years.  I haven't had to scrape someone off the tarmac, likewise I haven't had to peel a burned body off a car seat  or walk along a railway track and pick up body parts etc.

I chose when I was younger to earn my money building vehicles, I could have been a soldier (if I hadn't been banned from enlisting) and probably seen nasty things, or I could have been a paramedic/ambulance driver and seen nasty things.  Like most things in life that is a matter of personal choice so why does that give people who did the right to the moral high ground.

If you don't like what you see as a paramedic and feel that the people deserve what they get for being idiots then surely you picked the wrong job. 

[taylor]

if you had to wear a turban would you? :lol

[Tiberius Onklevaart]

Stick by it Chris,  its all cushty man

[adeejaysdelight]

Obviously seeing all those dead bodies has affected you. It seems to have impaired your ability to construct a grammatically correct and legible sentence. Shame, but never mind “yer” retard.

[VNA]

Ah another nice relaxing debate.

You know when this sort of stuff comes up I can't help thinking aboot some of the folks I see out on the road.

Now first I'm gonna touch wood.  I'm no angel, I like to give it a bit of welly now and again, quite often more now than again, but I try to keep my brain engaged at the same time, I say try.

But I've done quite a few long drives in the last year on my hill walking trips, and in the summer months, well the behaviour, attitude and riding style of some of the bikers on highland roads has to be seen to be believed.  Yeah we've all seen it.  It's a minority, but you might say a sizeable minority - you know on those certain days they all crawl out of the wood work.  But we all get tarred with the same brush.

And those guys, well if things go wrong I'm not sure that all their fancy multi coloured power ranger suit, Arai hat etc will be any use to em at all.

Anyway I do remember riding off down the road a few years back, and I'm thinking - something ain't right here - you know that funny feeling.  I came to the junction at the end of the road, stopped and scratched my heid.  Ah, doh, I forgot to stick ma lid on.  Aboot turn and back tae the hoose.

Here another thought.  I used to cycle quite a bit.  The hill doon tae Lochranza on Arran is a cracker.  Used to overtake the cars on the narrow twisting single track road and see well over 50mph on the push bike.  Just wearing lycra and a bit o polystyrene on ma heid. 

Sure if there was no helmet law, yup I'd certainly pop down tae the shops etc without a lid.  Keep the speed down, short distances only.

And what I fear is, with all these gear police aboot noo, telling us we must wear x,y and z.  Well it's just inviting legislation.  And if it ends up being enforced and my license is threatened by not wearing whatever I have to wear, well the lid that lid that I've accepted I have to wear when oot on my bike might get hung up for one last time.  I mean what will be the point in riding a bike if it's dictated to you what you have to wear.

Blah blah blah.