Mandatory wearing of motorcycle helmets - good idea (saves lives) or irritating Government intrusion?

I know some bike (motorcycle) riders hate helmets, but most wear them these days. The ones who hated them said they interfered with their ability to hear surrounding traffic noises, etc.

I've got nothing bad to say about helmets themselves.

I will say I've been riding 40 years and survived just fine before the helmet laws (in California).
I wore a helmet when I felt it was appropriate and didn't if I chose, I liked it that way just fine.

Some of my major gripes about the helmet laws are ,1) People are under the misconception that helmet laws were/are passed to "Save us bikers" when in fact they are passed because lobbyists pay off politicians and make a ton of cash for the helmet and insurance companies.
2) If helmet laws reduced injury to riders ,why did the cost of insurance not go down accordingly when they passed?
3) I'm a big boy now, I don't need my hand held when I cross the street, nor do I need a govt. agency butting into my life , what's next, helmets in the shower? Do you have any idea of how many people crack their skulls slipping in the shower?

I can function ( hear ,see ) just fine with a helmet, but if I choose not to ,it should be my choice.

well look at it this way.... if ur in a crash on a normal road, the helmet may save your life.... if you're in a crash on the highway..... you're pretty much screwed unless an act of god saves ur butt.

Wear one. I had a friend who didn't want to wear one when her boyfriend took her out, but he insisted on her wearing one. What do you know, they get in a crash. Her head would've been scraped away against the road if he hadn't made her wear one.

Yeah, it also interferes with their ability to crack their heads on the pavement like a coconut, not have the money to pay the hospital bill, sue, and collect disability payments for the rest of their lives. Helmets not only save lives--they save a ton of money.

update: I know someone whose brain swelled and ended up losing his vision in one eye after a having a fender bender (going 25 mph) on a motorcycle with no helmet. He was 19 at the time.

I feel the same way about motorcycle helmets that I do about seatbelts in cars, up to 18, they should be manitory, after that, it should be pretty much your choice.

It's basically Darwin's "survival of the fittest" from there.

And impair vision to the side but i consider it both an intrusion and for some a good idea-it should be your choice
My old lady wont saddle up without one and I wont wear one
I do rarely wear one in extreme cold to keep my nose from falling off but thats about the only time.
But like i said both to some degree

After 18 it should be a choice, seat belts the same way. Who does the govt. think they are big brother?
Live Free or Die
I live right near Weirs Beach Laconia. Every year we have 100,000 plus motorcyclist converge on us. Every year we have about 5 to 10 fatalities. Every year there are always more fatalities that had helmets on than without them. now I am not saying they don't save lives, but if you crash at high speed, if you get hit by any other rig bigger than a motorcycle you are S.O.L. with or with out one.

Downunder, the wearing of seatbelts (where fitted and eventually for all seats in a car) was mandatory 40 odd years ago. We simply just wear them, properly.

Motor cycle helmets - don't know; but for as long as I can remember, on motorcycles and motor scooters. Most riders wear full-face visor-enclosed ones. Harley riders and chopper riders may be about the only ones who wear open faced ones.

Bicyclists also must wear approved helmets - came in about 25 years ago - one saved my son from head injuries years ago.

Now for the really big one - we have just had about 15 days where the temperature has been close to or over 100 degrees (Fahrenheit) and they still have to, and do wear them.

And my motor sport experience says wear the full harness seat belts (still in-date - not older than their expiry date); and roll cages, and helmets.

As we say in the classics, if you've got a $10 head, wear a $10 helmet.

If you ride a motorcycle, wear leathers or other APPROPRIATE protective clothing........

Wearing a helmet is an excellent idea, I always have. I also make any passengers I am taking wear a helmet. That being said, there should not be any requirement to wear a helmet for adults who have had their bike license over a year. THat is the law in Ohio and I believe in it. Although I think any motorcyclist that doesn't wear one is an idiot, I do not think we should require them by law to do so, it is a personal choice.

I always wear one. Just like in a car, I won't allow the car to start moving unless everyone is wearing a seat belt, but on a bike it's a helmet. Anyone who says it obstructs vision is full of it. They are build not to. Those who say it are non helmet wearing people and probably feel closed in when wearing a helmet. My suggestion to them is a half helmet. No one can say that cut any field of vision. Make it madatory is what I say.

My issue is not the helmet itself. I have no problem with them and frequently wear one.
My issue is being required to do something that has been mandated by clueless others.


Mandatory helmets for autos?
Why not?
Most injuries are head injuries.

As a motorcyclist, laws like this affect me. As an American laws like this affect me. They remove my choice to decide how to protect myself (not others). Watch carefully what rights you give away to the government. Some of them are not just mine, but yours as well.

i'll always wear one but i believe it should be free choice.
it's mandatory in australia where i live

if you won't wear an helmet or use a seatbelt, then perhaps we should refuse to send out the ambulance when you need it, or make you pay your own medical bills and support yourself the rest of your days. Your bad attitude & those like you are selfishly imposing a greater cost on the whole community with every unprotected accident, and I object to the needless waste of resources proping up peoples lives when they act inainely. Shoot drug traffickers and makers, and penalize stupidity to make ppl think about what's really important. It may not be kind or compassionate, but it is justice.

OH gosh, don't ride your bike without a helmet.... BS, when ya crash and the helmet causes your neck to snap and the only thing you'll be riding with wheels is a chair..... then you'd think..... Helmets can cause more injury than they prevent....

I think it is a good idea, but should not be a law. Ask a cop: more often than not all a helmet does is keeps the head in one peice so the body can be easily identified.

Sure there are plenty of cases where helmets save lives, and I think they are a good idea, but if you want to be dumb more power to ya buddy.

Mandatory helmet laws are an irritating government intrusion. Adult riders can choose for themselves whether to wear a helmet or not. If you want to wear one, wear it. If you don't want to wear one, don't. This is a personal decision that does not need a government, that knows nothing about motorcycles or riding one, imposing the will of insurance companies on riders.

irritating government intrusion is what it is... they've educated us now let us decide what we want.

i have noticed a slight loss in peripheral vision but it may be the helmet. i have also noticed that when you wear a helmet you pick up a lot more of the noise from the bike [e.g. exhaust note]. i don't know if i'm the only one who has this problem but i have noticed a bit of interference.

Its big brother trying to run your life. If it didn't involve money they could care less what u wore. Pa. got rid of helmet laws and fatalities went down, but they are still trying to get the law back.

Most of them probably want to be all tough and look "cool" that is their excuse