+1 on preferring social coverage of all medical costs, even those caused by an individual's negligence. I reckon that no matter what it costs the rest of us in dollars, the victims are paying the most in every other way, every day.

Apropos wearing a helmet, I like this aphorism: don't bother with a helmet if you've nothing to protect.

Ages ago, I came across a 2-page excerpt from a trial transcript. The case involved a 40yo man, hs grad, responsible job, solid citizen, who was clipped by a car as he was peddling along. Not a big hit, just a brush with the fender, enough to knock him off the bike. But he wasn't wearing a helmet. Despite how minor the accident was in superficial terms, he suffered permanent brain damage to the point he could no longer work and could barely function at any level. The transcript made poignantly clear that the poor soul could hardly string a coherent sentence together, and it was questionable whether he could truly understand much that was said to him. The excerpt closed with him saying (not as clearly as this) "I should have been dead. They tell me I should have been dead".

I wish I still had that excerpt, because it was terrifying to read. I can't imagine anyone reading it and then going out on their bike without a helmet. They'd truly have to have nothing to protect.