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Of all the motorcycle riders on this hyperboard, who wears a helmet and who don't. Also, of those who don't, what is the main reason why you don't. With me it is more of the fact that a helmet is rather heavy and uncomfotable to me and takes away some of the pleasure of riding, not to mention gives me a neck acke if worn for too long. Another reason has to do sadly with image, but hey, what can I say. I prefer the wind blowing in my hair, but I have found that I can't really do this at higher speeds because my hair gets so tangled up that I can't hardly even get my fingers through it without tearing at my scalp. At intown speeds my hair doesn't suffer from the wind near as bad. For those occasions where I will be maintaining 55 to 60 miles an hour, I either wear the helmet or my hat backwards or a doo rag to avoid later consequinces. Just wanted to know the general consensus on this matter. Peace!
I ride a bike and i wear one. I seriously can't think of a reason AGAINST wearing one. I like mine anyway. Though its law here in Canada, I still think of it as a personal choice. And i choose too. :)
The UK has helmet laws, so no option (if you're law-abiding that is). Anyway, I'd rather my hair was attached to a complete skull than a shattered one.
If you were to get into a non-fatal accident and hurt your head in some way, there's a chance they may have to to shave your head to operate on you. YIKES! I'd wear a helmet. Try to find one that's not so heavy, I guess.
Be safe, have fun!
You MUST wear one when on the road...
I don't have a motocycle but...
if I did...
I would...
wear a helmet...
that is...
As already pointed out - it's the law in the UK. Trying to ride without one would mean riding through our abysmal climate with wind and rain stinging your eyes and hair blowing in your face. I wear a helmet for comfort - I also wear ear plugs, decent boots and gloves. For most of the year I'm wearing cordura waterproofs with built in body armour....
One or two days a year I get to ride in leather jacket and jeans...sigh...
It ain't cool - but it is safe and comfortable.
Well i live in the UK and as said already .its the law. And i know what you mean about HEAVY helmets, but it basicaly comes down to -you get what you pay for- I recently bought a new lid which cost me £360 it's a Shoei helmet, and this one is Very v light and comfortable, no disrespect Treyn but the safety of your head should be first and foremost on your list, COOL can come second best, no good looking cool at the side of the road with a fractured skull or worse.!!!!
Unlike you i ride a Sports bike so a full face helmet matches the bike well, an open face helmet would suit your bike more but obviously still leaves part of your face vunerable to impact.
Just remember you will still look cool when you remove your helmet,and i find that being 6 months into growing out my hair, it controls the frizz and it's a great excuse for having mad looking hair.!!! :¬)
Have fun and be safe friend :¬)
Grale.
... for all the kind concern. You guys are true friend's and it is good to know you even if it is in an internet kind of way. I own a Fulmer 2x Large full face helmet because my head is so big and so is my hair. LOL! I seriously do need to get used to wearing it. I cost nearly a hundred US dollars. Thanks again. Peace!
i ride a motorcycle and always wear a (full face) helmet, for the following reasons (aside from the more obvious safety issues):
- it's the law in my state
- reduces wind noise (i also wear earplugs)
- rocks and debris kicked up from the road do a nice number to one's face
if the helmet law were to be repealed today, i'd still wear it.
i do believe that helmets contribute to one's survivability in the event of an accident, but at the same time, i don't think anybody has the right to tell you - an adult - that you MUST wear one. i think that should be a personal choice.
I've worked as an EMT, and IMHO it is a loose loose situation.
If you get into an accidnet without a helmet you may well fractuer
your skull. On the other hand though if you are wearing a helmet,
you may well break your neck.
So when it comes to wearing a helmet, do I want a broken
neck or a fractured skull? I lean towards not wearing a helmet,
the way I look at i would rather be dead than parazlized for life
with a broken neck.
Not that I'm disagreeing with your experience, I'm just reporting what I've read. Here goes. Any of you ever read the hurt report?
in pdf: http://www.dot.state.ct.us/hwysafety/CTDOT_Hurt.pdf
and in html: http://www.magpie.com/nycmoto/hurt.html
good old number 50:
50. Helmeted riders and passengers showed significantly lower head and neck injury for all types of injury, at all levels of injury severity.
From what I've read neck injuries are prity rare, and when they do occur their head injuries from not wearing a helmet would have been much worse than the neck injuries they recieved.
But seriously, before you swear off helmets all together, at least try a half decent one. I would never buy a helmet that cost less than $300 US dollars. You just have to ask yourself "how much is my head worth?". Try a dealer that sells Arai, Shoei, or HJC. All of their helmets are much safer, lighter, and block wind noise better than most other helmets. And make sure you get one that fits right. Helmets should feel a little to tight, they have to break in. You don't want a loose one that could fall off in a crash. And lastly, DON'T EVER BUY A USED HELMET. You don't know where they've been. It dosn't take much for the foam in those things to deteriorate, always buy new.
I don't want to sound like I'm preaching, if you don't want to wear a helmet it's your business. I would just like people to know some of the facts before the go out there in a tank top wearing sandles and no helmet.
Then again I am a safety nut that won't go out in anything less than full leathers reguardless of weather, dosn't want to start on any bike bigger than 250cc's, and refuses to touch a motorcycle before taking the msf course. But anything less in my opinion is just asking to get killed.
My brother told me last night that he would rather be dead than be a vegetable the rest of his life. I am not using this as an excuse though, I agree helmets are a lot safer than an exposed head. Peace!
Following the introduction of the helmet law in the UK in 1973, there was a reduction in death caused by head injuries but a rise in the amount of paraplegics. Take your choice. Protective clothing is all very well, but defensive riding is more effective.
My dad's a neurologist. While I don't ride, if you spent five minutes with him talking about some of the stuff he's seen in the ER, you'd never even consider getting on your bike again without a helmet.
All I have to say is a projectile at 80 miles an hour feels like a bullet. Whether it's a stone or a June Bug. It doens't matter. I just got back from Laconia, NH where all they require is glasses to ride. It's pretty cool at 20 mph, but over that forget it. I can live with out an arm or a leg. It's rather difficult to live without your head. My 2 cents.
I'd like to apologize for my rage outbursts. That's probably why I'm in prison for 1st degree murder. It's really quite funny actually, you see I used to be a cop and pulled over somebody for not wearing a helmet. It turned out that he had the same attitude as you towards not wearing a helmet. I then proceeded to bash his head in! Oh well, easy come easy go.
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Have any of you been in a motorcycle accident?
I've had one, hit a Volkswagen 'head' on but I was wearing
a helmet and came out of it OK.
Didn't ride for awhile after that, but eventually got another bike
and kept riding... with a helmet.
Sorry to hear of that, man. Good to know your all right, though. Never been in a motorcycle crash myself, but I have laid it down in my driveway gravel at 2 MPH. The front tire slid out from under the bike in the gravel and it laid down on my foot. My wife had to lift it so I could get my foot out from under it. This happened about two days ago just prior to this discussion breaking out. Glad to hear you were wearing a helmet. Have there ever been times you haven't worn a helmet?
I used to have a Honda XL185 and I would wear a helmet all of the time. I would mostly ride in the hills and mountains but I would get on the freeway once in a while and the top speed of my motorcycle was about 80mph.
I also used to ride BMX bicycles and when I raced I would wear a helmet (which was required) but when I did freestyle I would not wear it unless I was going to do big jumps.
In my motorcycle and BMX days I was a 'daredevil' and only had crashes where my head was involved only a couple of times. Lucily I was not going very fast and I learned how to fall but you never know when you might hit your head or something might hit your head (especially at very high speeds).
So, I would recommend wearing a helmet 99% of the time.
I've ridden motorcycles and now I ride a bicycle.
The reason for wearing a helmet has nothing to do with the law or safety (although both of those reasons are good enough to wear one)
Insurance companies are always looking of ways not to pay out big sums of money when people have accidents, including motorcycling accidents.
(That is the business they are in.) If the experts on behalf of the insurance company can prove that you would have received few injuries or suffered fewer headaches following an accident, the insurance company would take the posiition that you would have been able to return to your normal life or work sooner and therefore should recieve less money because you weren't wearing a helmet and not wearing a helmet contributed to the delay in your expected recovery. While what I have said may not make sense to you, if you ask your parents or firends, they will probably understand and agree.
Think twice before not wearing a helmet.
No one ever wants to have an accident, but they do happen to us all to varying degrees.