Helmet Law

[Steph]

Maybe that fact that I wear Hi-viz yellow gear will help save my ass!

[WhiteNoise]

Today driving home from the Nursing Home I did a double take (look) of a biker riding his motorcycle Side Saddle What the Hell?! Really? How is this done?
I could have crashed myself looking at him while driving!

Hours later I'm still in awe Not believing what I saw. I was on a two lane parkway heading westbound he was heading eastbound. I think he had a Bucket helmet on and his legs were just dangling on one side. I guess that's what caught my attention...his legs!
No passenger, just him. Sorry, that's all I saw at a glance (or 3).
I ask again, How does one ride a motorcycle Side Saddle and Why the Hell would he?

Hope he got where he was going

Here's a youtube of someone doing the same thing and also a guy texting while riding
CRAZY IDIOTS!

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=QE3XsZaL-zo

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ZTkr1BMm0sg

[Mel46]

Well I took good care of myself, and spent much of my life in the military search and rescue. I am still quite active at 68, but that didn't prevent me from getting leukemia. It also didn't prevent my accident while in the military that ended in 5 back surgeries. We eat healthy and walk every day, as well as ride our scooters on long rides. Yet none of these efforts has endeared me with the insurance companies, which are picking up half of the tab for my $8,000 monthly medication cost for my leukemia. The insurance companies are only doing what any gambler would do. They are betting on the sure thing and don't want anything to do with anything that costs them money. That is their job. Our health is our responsibility, not theirs. What the insurance companies should do is ask the right questions when it comes to motorcycle riders, like they do for drunk drivers. Then they should have the right to turn you down for coverage if you lied on the application, or if you tell them on the application that you don't wear a helmet. For instance, if you answered the questionaire with a YES about whether you wear a helmet while riding, but you have an accident in which it is noted by police that you were not wearing a helmet, the insurance company would have the right to cancel coverage and not cover your accident.

[Valiant]

One day the helmet law will be the law of the land everywhere and guess what? Cyclists everywhere will still be badly injured or killed by the thousands.

Meanwhile tens of millions of fat people and smokers will continue to clog our hospitals with their heart disease related problems. Our health care premiums will skyrocket, but at least we did something about those cyclists!

Hmm? I was under the assumption that premiums would be determined based on your personal health(i.e. the fat guy pays more than you). Are we under a single-payer system already? o.O

[Valiant]

Well I took good care of myself, and spent much of my life in the military search and rescue. I am still quite active at 68, but that didn't prevent me from getting leukemia. It also didn't prevent my accident while in the military that ended in 5 back surgeries. We eat healthy and walk every day, as well as ride our scooters on long rides. Yet none of these efforts has endeared me with the insurance companies, which are picking up half of the tab for my $8,000 monthly medication cost for my leukemia. The insurance companies are only doing what any gambler would do. They are betting on the sure thing and don't want anything to do with anything that costs them money. That is their job. Our health is our responsibility, not theirs. What the insurance companies should do is ask the right questions when it comes to motorcycle riders, like they do for drunk drivers. Then they should have the right to turn you down for coverage if you lied on the application, or if you tell them on the application that you don't wear a helmet. For instance, if you answered the questionaire with a YES about whether you wear a helmet while riding, but you have an accident in which it is noted by police that you were not wearing a helmet, the insurance company would have the right to cancel coverage and not cover your accident.

I'd say the main reason for the jacked up premiums is profits and laziness, plain and simple. Insurance could easily fix this with a question and a couple of phone calls. The question being whether or not you wear a DoT approved helmet. The phone call being to police, EMS, or the hospital to ask if you had a helmet on during the time of your crash. If you don't, and you lied to lower your premiums, you simply won't be covered on anything and will have to pay for repairs/replacement and the hospital bills out of your own pocket.

Wot? o.O

[kramnala58]

... One of the problems with the health system is that there is no disincentive to lead an unhealthy lifestyle, at least directly.

There is sometimes an incentive to change an unhealthy lifestyle in that some insurance companies will deny insurance or increase the premium. I have two friends who were denied insurance because of weight issues that were simply related to lifestyle (not genetics or some other medical reason - one ate too much and the other drank too much). One chose to do something about it and later got insurance at the standard rate, the other chose not to do anything about it because his employer picked up the additional premium ... which is the employers problem for enabling their employee to continue with an unhealthy lifestyle.

... okay, now back to the helmet law...

[SECoda]

The trouble is every time a health insurer tries to deny coverage for a valid reason that is life or death the media gets a hold of it and the lawsuits fly. In the US they just sacrificed the quality of healthcare insurance for 85% to help roughly 8% but it turned out to be many less than that. Providers are now in a reimbursement crunch and healthcare quality will suffer. Hospitals are laying off across the country. Get sick or injured now because it will get worse under OC. As I said I have worked for one of the five big healthcare insurers for 25 years and its coming. I see the impact everyday. The main hit right now is huge increases in premiums and out of pocket maximums but you haven't seen nothing yet. Tier iii drugs are skyrocketing and just becoming unavailable but it is only the tip of the iceberg. Its a real reason to use protective gear but will get much worse.

[Mel46]

Great. Just what I need, more problems with medication coverage. I spent most of my life helping others, and there are many others like me. I understand that things just happen. However, as the population gets older there are going to be quite a few who will need help themselves just because old age takes its toll. The Baby Boomer part of the population makes up a huge portion of it. Many of those are still quite active, and that includes riding. Unfortunately statistics show that the majority of older people will need care eventually, not because they were wreckless in their youth, but simply because their bodies are failing them. It is easy to judge from a distance, but when the chips were down many of these older people were there to help. Soon they will need help, and insurance will not be there to help. Keeping that in mind, you have to wonder if what you do, or refuse to do, will affect them and their coverage. When you fight to get insurance to cover medications for your aging parents, will you even wonder why the insurance company can't see things from your viewpoint? Will you even think about those who made bad choices that influenced your parents' insurance coverage? In society, bad choices of an individual can affect everyone in one way or another because we are all part of the whole.

[dasshreddar]

Why ride side saddle?

easy...

STYLE POINTS!

[Steph]

Will have to see how it goes when socialized medicine is in the full blown stage later on down the road. Got mixed reviews from our Canada neighbors. Some like it, some say getting a needed operation can take a while. And they miss seeing the same doctor. Right now at the age of 52 I don't take any meds thank God!