09-05-2013, 09:54 PM
I am a very safety conscious person in all of my activities and I think this is an important discussion. While I rarely see people riding metric bikes without helmets I always see those of the HD v-twin persuasion without. I think it was described as a "lifestyle" thing, but without life there is no "style".
If a person is willing to sustain road rash, that is certainly their choice. Body leather, no matter how expensive, will not prevent broken bones. It's the helmet that is important, not just to the rider, but to all of us. Severely head injured people usually end up on life support and become a drain on society because their medical care far out weights what they paid for health insurance, even if they were covered. If not covered, it comes out of our tax dollars in Medicaid. Even the cheapest, goofiest looking half helmet provides some protection. Everyone has a right for that reason, to care about whether or not people wear helmets at the minimum. You don't need $700 leather pants. I would bet almost all on this forum wear helmets and some sort of body protection. It goes with the type of bike we ride.
If a person is willing to sustain road rash, that is certainly their choice. Body leather, no matter how expensive, will not prevent broken bones. It's the helmet that is important, not just to the rider, but to all of us. Severely head injured people usually end up on life support and become a drain on society because their medical care far out weights what they paid for health insurance, even if they were covered. If not covered, it comes out of our tax dollars in Medicaid. Even the cheapest, goofiest looking half helmet provides some protection. Everyone has a right for that reason, to care about whether or not people wear helmets at the minimum. You don't need $700 leather pants. I would bet almost all on this forum wear helmets and some sort of body protection. It goes with the type of bike we ride.