12-04-2014, 01:56 AM
In this thread we can talk about the risks, the benefits, whether it should be mandated, or worn voluntarily, it's impact on society etc
Now we must keep it civil. I know there are strong feeling on each side, but the safety issue keeps creeping into other non related threads and taking them off course. So...want to talk gear? do it here!
My opinion of course...
There is only ONE piece of safety gear you can buy which MIGHT save your life, and that is a motorcycle helmet. I say might because wearing a helmet is no guarantee you are going to survive a crash, but it sure ups your odds and is the one piece of equipment that raises your odds of survival by any percentage at all.
All other safety gear is not designed to save your life... jackets with armor, pants with armor, gloves with armor, or boots with armor will NOT under normal circumstances save your life. They will keep you from getting punctured in certain places, may stop a bone from being broken and may prevent you from getting road rash, but they were never intended to save your life. I wear this kind of gear when I feel like it, because I don't want those types on injuries either, but sometimes for certain reasons, I skip wearing some or all of this gear knowing full well what the outcome MIGHT be.
The argument that motorcyclists involved in crashes are a drain on society's medical system and a financial burden is at least partially true. However I suspect the majority of people lying in hospitals in vegetative states are NOT there because of motorcycle crashes. In motorcycle crashes the outcomes are usually one of two..(1) you recover and go home and (2) you die, usually at the scene or very soon afterwards. The exact same outcomes for people in car wrecks, plane wrecks, industrial accidents, home accidents, sports accidents, skiing, skydiving, or rock climbing accidents or disease. There have been many national cases of someone in a vegetative state with loved ones fighting to have their machines turned off, and I don't remember a single one of those cases being from a motorcycle wreck. Not saying it doesn't happen, but I would venture to bet there are as many people draining the medical system from diving head first into the shallow end of a swimming pool as there are from motorcycle accidents.
I believe everyone should wear a helmet. I think it would be nice if it were mandated. I think if they can force you to wear a seatbelt, they should be able to force you to wear a helmet. I wear a helmet 100% of the time. But this is still America. We have freedom of choice in so many things. I support freedom of choice in almost all instances. Freedom for all is important , the foundation that this country was built on. So until they mandate wearing helmets I have to support one's choice NOT to do so.
ATGATT ? if you want to, by all means do it. Want to ride nearly buck naked? That's your choice as well. Just remember every choice has a consequence, and if you can live (or die as the case may be) by the consequences of your choice, hey who are my to tell you any different?
Now we must keep it civil. I know there are strong feeling on each side, but the safety issue keeps creeping into other non related threads and taking them off course. So...want to talk gear? do it here!
My opinion of course...
There is only ONE piece of safety gear you can buy which MIGHT save your life, and that is a motorcycle helmet. I say might because wearing a helmet is no guarantee you are going to survive a crash, but it sure ups your odds and is the one piece of equipment that raises your odds of survival by any percentage at all.
All other safety gear is not designed to save your life... jackets with armor, pants with armor, gloves with armor, or boots with armor will NOT under normal circumstances save your life. They will keep you from getting punctured in certain places, may stop a bone from being broken and may prevent you from getting road rash, but they were never intended to save your life. I wear this kind of gear when I feel like it, because I don't want those types on injuries either, but sometimes for certain reasons, I skip wearing some or all of this gear knowing full well what the outcome MIGHT be.
The argument that motorcyclists involved in crashes are a drain on society's medical system and a financial burden is at least partially true. However I suspect the majority of people lying in hospitals in vegetative states are NOT there because of motorcycle crashes. In motorcycle crashes the outcomes are usually one of two..(1) you recover and go home and (2) you die, usually at the scene or very soon afterwards. The exact same outcomes for people in car wrecks, plane wrecks, industrial accidents, home accidents, sports accidents, skiing, skydiving, or rock climbing accidents or disease. There have been many national cases of someone in a vegetative state with loved ones fighting to have their machines turned off, and I don't remember a single one of those cases being from a motorcycle wreck. Not saying it doesn't happen, but I would venture to bet there are as many people draining the medical system from diving head first into the shallow end of a swimming pool as there are from motorcycle accidents.
I believe everyone should wear a helmet. I think it would be nice if it were mandated. I think if they can force you to wear a seatbelt, they should be able to force you to wear a helmet. I wear a helmet 100% of the time. But this is still America. We have freedom of choice in so many things. I support freedom of choice in almost all instances. Freedom for all is important , the foundation that this country was built on. So until they mandate wearing helmets I have to support one's choice NOT to do so.
ATGATT ? if you want to, by all means do it. Want to ride nearly buck naked? That's your choice as well. Just remember every choice has a consequence, and if you can live (or die as the case may be) by the consequences of your choice, hey who are my to tell you any different?