why I wear a helmet ALWAYS

[cms]

It only takes surviving one accident to allow you to see the light. Mine was many years ago, but changed my mind forever, ATGATT, ever since. Works for me. cms

[GeorgeSK]

At the risk of being sanctimonious, perhaps people don't wear helmets because they don't have that much upstairs to protect.

[you you]

At the risk of being sanctimonious, perhaps people don't wear helmets because they don't have that much upstairs to protect.

No risk at all. But it's personal choice, just like being sanctimonious.

[Mel46]

I do not care if a rider wants to ride without a helmet and take the chance that he will die, but i do care that EVERYONE pays for that decision if he doesn't die. Everyone's insurance goes up to pay for his medical bills. So, essentially, their bad choices affect everyone. Same goes for no seat belts, and smoking. It is their choices, but those choices affect everyone indirectly. I know those people do not care about what other people think, but we live in a society where everyone affects everyone else in some way.

[WhiteNoise]

Yep, there's some truth in that. Good point Mel

[Bash On!]

I do not care if a rider wants to ride without a helmet and take the chance that he will die, but i do care that EVERYONE pays for that decision if he doesn't die. Everyone's insurance goes up to pay for his medical bills. So, essentially, their bad choices affect everyone. Same goes for no seat belts, and smoking. It is their choices, but those choices affect everyone indirectly. I know those people do not care about what other people think, but we live in a society where everyone affects everyone else in some way.

I agree, Mel, there are externalities to riding a motorcycle without a helmet, and I always wear one myself. However, where do you draw the line? We're much more likely as motorcycle riders to die or suffer serious injury than car drivers so we also impose externalities. Should we be required to take the safest form of transportation everywhere we go? (BTW, everyone pays for that decision even if the rider does die--life insurance, loss of breadwinner, lost productivity, etc.)

[Mel46]

I definitely agree with you on this, however there are certain circumstances in which an individual is almost guaranteed injury or death. Motorcycle accidents in which the rider did not wear a helmet is one of those circumstances, as well as an individual in a car not wearing a seat belt when they have an accident. (I saw this in action recently when a truck flipped in front of a BMW and the BMW passenger went through the windshield. They were the only injury in the accident.) The same applies for smokers. A great majority will end up with expensive medical problems.

First there were suggestions for people to wear helmets, and seat belts, and stop smoking. These fell on deaf ears in some places, so the next step was to make it expensive to not heed these warnings. Still, there were a lot of people who refused to heed the warnings. So then there were laws. People don't like laws. They feel like they are losing certain rights. So the question is, how do you make life safer without infringing on people's rights, and how do you make it safer for the majority without infringing on their rights? Remember that everyone pays for other people's choices. Anyone have any ideas?