Posted on 07/03/2011 8:33:56 AM PDT by Berlin_Freeper
LAFAYETTE, NY (WSYR-TV) – New York State Troopers say one man is dead after a motorcycle crash near McClary Road and Route 11 in LaFayette on Saturday.
New York State Police say 55-year-old Philip Contos of Parish was part of a protest against motorcycle helmets.
Police say several motorists from the group ABATE (American Bikers Aimed for Education) of Onondaga County had come together to make a point that they didn't need their helmets.
The group was driving south on Route 11 in Lafayette around 1:30 p.m., headed toward Lake Como, just south of the Finger Lakes.
Police say Contos suddenly hit the brakes and lost control of the motorcycle.
According to troopers, Contos was thrown over his handlebars and hit the pavement as his 1993 Harley Davidson motorcycle skidded toward the guardrail.
Contos was still alive when crews arrived at the scene and was transported to Upstate University Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
According to police, Contos was not wearing his helmet, as required by law. Witnesses say this decision was part of the protest.
Police say that based on evidence at the scene and from doctors, Contos would have survived if he had been wearing a DOT-Approved helmet.
(Excerpt) Read more at 9wsyr.com ...
He may never need a helmet, but it was his choice. There’s something important in that, that someone has both liberty and individual responsibility. It’s unfortunate that he died, but the right to live as he saw fit is an important one.
I've often wondered the same thing and agree with you.
Acronym FAIL.
So, which of these winners called the cops and generated public costs?
All those freedom riders should have to buy insurance to cover police,ambulance, hospital and funeral cost so the public purce don’t have to pay for their stupidety, after all hair blowing in the wind has it’s price
No, reporting fail.
American Bikers Aimed Toward Education.
And it would seem to me that if you choose not to wear a helmet, your insurance premiums should be much higher because of the increased risk.
Insurance companies don't like helmet laws. It's a different dynamic with motorcycles than with cars. In cars, the difference between no seatbelt and seatbelt can be the difference between being killed or seriously injured and walking away. With a motorcycle, the difference between no helmet and a helmet can be the difference between getting killed and being traumatically injured.
Insurance company bean-counters figured out a long time ago that dead policy holders are cheaper to care for than traumatically injured policy holders.
Drive by them in my car without being buckled in with a seat-beat.... $110.000 fine
Failed Acronyms Initiate Laughter.
It's kind of like telling farmers they have to fence along public right away and not let their cows wander.
Or the use of a public dog catcher to catch strays before they turn into road kill and bloat up spraying the neighborhood with puss and stuff.
I do understand why cyclists would rather let the animals just blow up, but that's not the way I ride.
A friend of mine went across the hood of a car while wearing a half helmet with a sticker on it that said “Helmet laws suck”.
After about two years of plastic surgery to put his face back together he went out and got a full face helmet. He still disagrees with helmet laws but these days he says helmet laws only protect the stupid, the smart guys are wearing helmets and don’t need to be protected.
Other way around down here in Texas. Most of the helmetless crowd around here are older people (middle-aged-plus) on Harleys and other cruisers.
With modern sportbikes, no helmet can be a huge problem for the rider as the speed one naturally wishes to go on the things, combined with the angle of the little windshield, means that no helmet = the wind tries to take your face off. Most sportbike riders that use the highway generally wear helmets and at least partial gear these days.
Ah, thank you.
Somehow bikers believe that riding without helmets, with short sleeves and shorts and with gutted mufflers makes them kings/queens of the road. The road often has a counter argument, which is much more potent.
A friend of mine owns a Harley. He has said that he would lay the bike down (sacrificing the bike if he had to) to avoid a direct impact. He also suits up because road rash can be a terrible thing.
I think the biggest problem most motorcyclists have is they don’t drive defensively enough. They ride as if they have a right to the road and, dammit, they are going to exercise that right!
I can’t tell you how many times I have seen motorcyclists ride too close behind a vehicle or suddenly switch lanes without adequately, imo, having checked to see if they can do it safely.
Technically speaking, motorcyclists do have a right to the road, but if they practiced all the common sense safety tips, most of the accidents would be completely avoided.
I do ride a scooter myself, but I always ride defensively. I do not trust other drivers.
Could be 10 MPH and you still go down ~ or slam into a car and go over.
I know a lady in such traffic in Los Angeles and all at once a head came through the green vaned barricades down the middle of the freeway. The body stayed on the bike on the other side.
He wasn't smiling as his still twitching face landed on her windshield.
This was all slow speed stuff.
I’m somewhat conflicted on this issue.
Like most, I don’t like overbearing nanny state restrictions on everything. But where do you draw the line?
I wear a helmet even in states where it is not mandatory. I also assume that every other vehicle out there is being driven by someone who is deaf, blind, drunk and texting and ride accordingly.
I’ve been riding for over 30 years and haven’t so much as dropped a bike. (Knock on wood). Stay safe, all.
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