Posted on 07/05/2011 7:06:05 AM PDT by Red Badger
Edited on 07/05/2011 7:07:30 AM PDT by Admin Moderator. [history]
A bareheaded motorcyclist participating in a ride to protest mandatory helmet laws was killed when he was thrown over the handlebars in Onondaga, New York.
Philip A. Contos, 55, of Parish, New York, was on a ride organized by the Onondaga chapter of American Bikers Aimed Towards Education (ABATE), state police said Sunday.
(Excerpt) Read more at cnn.com ...
Motorcycle hooligans ping.............
That SOUNDS like irony but it really doesn’t. The issue is personal freedom, not whether helmets save lives.
Obounceula!
>>The issue is personal freedom, not whether helmets save lives.<<
BINGO!
“Contos hit his brakes, began fishtailing and lost control of his 1983 Harley Davidson. He shot over the handlebars, hit his head on the pavement and was taken to Upstate University Hospital in Syracuse, New York, where he was pronounced dead.”
Obviously he was going much faster than 14 miles per hour, which is the maximum speed helmets are rated for.
Exactly. The man made his decisions and had to deal with the consequences.
A full-face helmet saved my life once. I’ll tell anyone who will listen that they should wear a helmet. But I am loathe to have the government force mandatory usage.
The “it’s a good idea so there should be a law” argument is a long and rocky road to no good things.
The nanny’s argument is a very dangerous non sequitur.
There is indisputable evidence that motorcycle helmets saves lives.
Therefore we will pass laws mandating helmet use on public roads.
If that leap of logic is allowed to stand then you are saying it is governments job to force citizens to always act in the safest possible manner.
No. I protest. I refuse. It is not for a bureaucrat to decide.
At age 18, in 1973, I put a 2-3 inch gash in a helmet when I hit a berm and went over the handlebars. I was doing maybe 30 mph. I have ALWAYS worn a helmet since. This was in CA and I could ride without a helmet at that time...........
Ouch! I gotta disagree. Not about the personal freedom issue, but about the irony.
That's one of the clearest examples of irony I've seen in a while...
When I ride on long trips, I usually wear a helmet. Depends on what state I’m traveling through. But for in and around travel, I would rather not. I’ve been riding for 40+ years.
I’m not a bike rider or a mathematician although I’m pretty sure a helmet does not allow a persons body to defy the laws of physics. Besides he went over the handlebars...so what’s next? Seatbelts for bikes?
I always hear people say ... It isn’t a matter of *if* you have a motorcycle accident, it’s a matter of *when.*
I just find that hard to believe. With all the bikes that are on the road, *everyone* is going to have an accident? Everyone that drives hasn’t had a car accident. We always hear about the accident where the helmet saved the life, but there are also accidents where it didn’t. And accidents where the helmetless rider lived.
I’m sure helmet use is a good idea, but not mandated by the government.
Same with my seat belt, if traffic is heavy or weather deteriorates, I put it on.
I'm an adult, I have the ability to assess the situation for risk.
I despise the nanny state....I really do.
Give the government an inch....guess what?
Recently in Texas, they passed a no refusal law for holiday weekends. In other words, if your suspected of drinking and driving, the government WILL take your blood...on the spot, without a lawyer present.
This now has morphed into every weekend, now all the time, to license and insurance checkpoints.
It will continue on until the government can stop citizens any time, with or without probable cause.
Our liberty to travel from point A to point B are slowly fading.
if he was wearing a helmet his neck would have snapped which would mean he would still be dead. FMVSS 218 has no neck standards.
“I’m sure helmet use is a good idea, but not mandated by the government.”
If helmet use is so good, we should all wear one 7/24.
“A full-face helmet saved my life once. I’ll tell anyone who will listen that they should wear a helmet.”
Ditto - I creased the back of a Bell helmet on the curb after hitting water on a blind curve (they were watering the golf course). Didn’t help my knee (first of four surgeries), but it did save my life.
Colonel, USAFR
I thought I explained it but let me try again.
If he was arguing that he could drive a motorcycle without a helmet and still be safe, then it would be irony.
What he was saying was despite the fact that I am putting myself in increased danger, I protest helmet laws because personal freedom is more valuable than personal safety.
Absolutely. Especially old folks:
Falls are the leading cause of fatal (Kung, 2008) and nonfatal (Alexander, 1992; Cleveland Clinic Health System, 2004) injuries to older people in the United States. More than one-third of adults ages 65 years and older (about 12 million people) fall each year (Hausdorff JM, 2001; Chang JT, 2004).
I’ve had more than my share................
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