I have been a long time motorcycle advocate and also a long time advocate against mandated helmet laws. It is my contention that, unlike seatbelts, there is no statistically sound data that validates the belief that helmets save lives and/or serious injury and thus save taxpayer money. To the best of my knowledge, the following is true:
  • In comparisons to states with motorcycle helmet laws vs. states without, there was not a statistically significant difference in fatality rates per 1000 motorcycle accidents.
  • In a similar comparison, states with helmet laws show a signifcantly higher % of serious neck injuries to motorcyclists involved in accidents as compared to states without helmet laws; this difference is presumably because most people do not have necks like Brick and the extra 5 lb helmet contributes to the "whiplash" effect in an accident.
  • The best motorcycle helmets in the world are rated for maximum direct-impact of up to 15 MPH; at speeds greater than 15 MPH the helmet simply makes clean-up easier because the mess stays in the bucket;
  • The single largest cause of fatality motorcycle accidents is that automobile drivers in the US are incompetent and do not thoroughly check their blind spots for motorcyclists.
  • The second largest cause of fatality motorcycle accidents is that the standard required for obtaining a motorcycle licsense is too low and many riders, especially younger riders, lack sufficient experience on the vehicle.
  • Sadly, it is exactly this type of rider (younger, less exeperienced) that gains a false sense of invulnerability when donning a motorcycle helmet. This false sense of invulnerability leads directly to execution of stupid fucking shit (eg - the asshole I saw doing a wheelie at 80 MPH yesterday and running into a center divider).
  • Also, many riders discount the effects of a motorcycle helmet with regards peripheral vision impairment, hearing impairment, and tacticle sense of speed (wind upon face) which contributes towards accidents.
So Murd... I respect your opinions normally, but obviously we are not on the same page here. Care to make an argument?
Moose

[color:"black"]If the Army and the Navy ever gaze on Heaven's scenes,
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