Mandatory Helmet Law

[DeniseGoldberg]

I wear a helmet myself about 95% of the time. If I'm riding around slowly in my low speed, low traffic neighborhood on quiet streets with all the Portland bike facilities that it contains, I don't wear it.

I think there's a small problem with your logic having to do with low speed, low traffic neighborhoods and not needing to wear your helmet. Accidents happen when we least expect them. The fact that you are moving at a low speed on your bike does not protect your head when you fall. A helmet does.

And your willingness to sign a waiver so that your health insurance does not have to pay in the case you you having a head-injury type of accident on your bike while riding without a helmet - well, do you have any idea of what a head injury can cost from a hospitalization standpoint? Are you aware that the insurance companies have negotiated discounts with health care providers, but that as an uninsured consumer you will not be offered a discount. (Yes, that is incredibly stupid, but unfortunately that's the way the system currently works (or doesn't work)).

Helmet law or no helmet law, I feel very strongly that we should all be wearing our helmets whenever we ride our bikes - no excuses.

--- Denise

[uforgot]

Physics teacher "weighing in" here. I always thought that part of the danger was how high your head was off the ground, so after the last few posts I was curious. I did the math using acceleration due to gravity. If we are on road bikes, chances are our feet aren't flat, so I worked it for our heads being 6' above the ground. If we were to fall standing still with no interference, our heads would hit the ground at 13.4mph. Not sure how fast you guys can run, but I certainly can't reach that speed. If I ran as fast as I could and hit a low tree branch at my fastest, I'm sure there would be plenty of damage! Oh, better yet, reach that velocity on your bike and see if you'd want to hit the branch then! (For everyone who has a reasonable math system, I used 1.83 meters and it was 21.6km/hr. I actually used the metric and converted it to miles since metric is so much easier. But that's another debate...)

Since you would be more upright on a leisurely ride, seems the "slow" argument isn't a very good one.

Here are some velocities more for various heights.

5.5' = 12.8mph = 20.6 km/hr
5' = 12.1mph = 19.5km/h

Okay, school doesn't start until tomorrow...This is too much too early. I'm goin' ridin'!

[Kitsune06]

I'm with DeniseGoldburg. Law or not, everyone should wear helmets.

That said, I think America goes nuts trying to protect people from themselves. If one is intent on risking their health, who are we to judge? The little beanie helmets a lot of cruiser riders wear just to pass DOT are called 'Brain buckets' for a reason. Your face hits asphalt, and all the coroner's going to have to pick up is your brain... in that bucket.

My SO insisted I not wear my helmet when I ride with her, as she doesn't have one (yet). After a couple rides, I couldn't take it anymore and said "You're either getting a helmet, or you're not riding anymore. You're off the hook. No begging, no pleading. I'm not riding with you."

It wasn't long until she dropped it in a convo that she'd love to go for a ride, but that I 'wouldn't let her'. Needless to say, she got a helmet for her birthday.

This is the same girl who insisted I wear mine whenever I was out alone, just to 'make sure I was safe'...

Seeing my husband destroy his helmet getting hit by an SUV in Eugene made me a firm believer in them, and I'm not about to entrust my greymatter to Jimmy Redneck cruising down the country roads out here. It's my own a$$.

One thought also on seat belts:
PEFYC. It's an EMT "joke" I came across awhile ago while looking into certification. It means "Pre Extricated For Your Convenience (through the windshield)". I always wear my seat belt. You never know when (as someone here so aptly put it) the sh*t's going to hit the fan. If someone hits me and pre-extricates themselves, in Oregon, it's a no-fault state, so I'm not sure how much of their medical expenses my insurance (or I) might end up paying... just because regardless of who's really at fault, insurance companies can be real good at claiming no fault on the other guy, esp. if there are no witnesses.

What about smokers? Obese people? Drug addicts? Alchoholics? How much are they taking from the pool of money? What about people who choose to have babies, even though they know they will have a high risk pregnancy?

I'm living for the day when people have enough **** common sense to be able to protect themselves. Every day I see someone 17 or 18 (or younger) with a baby on their hip, it drives me nuts. How many have health insurance? How many are leaning on tax dollars? How about all of the folks who weigh more than myself, my gf, and both of our bikes put together, ordering big macs? Do they have health insurance? I HOPE so, because I don't want to pay for that. SadieKate is right on. Americans are always looking for someone else to pay for their **** stupidity. It's oddly the same people who are willing to say darwinism doesn't exist but... um... if you've ever checked out the Darwin awards, it surely does, and I'm not about to put laws in place to protect those who are simply too stupid to live.