I appreciate your position on wearing a helmet.  I wear a full face helmet with no apology to anyone.

After reading some of the replys regarding why a person should not wear a helmet I feel that I am living in a world of idiots. I understand the argument of freedom of choice and totally support it. I feel the decision of whether or not to where a helmet while riding a motorcycle is a wonderful variable in natural selection (Darwinism) and should be left to the individual to decide. If these people are to stupid to wear a helmet so be it! The process of natural selection will prevent these morons from spreading their genes in society. Through evolution these people with little common sense will become extinct! I think it's great! I have been riding some form of motorcycle since I was five and have been down enough times in the dirt and on the street to know that helmets WORK! It is common sense that when a soft fleshy object such as your head comes in contact with the road or hard packed dirt something has to give. I know the ones that don't wear helmets are pretty hard headed but the laws of physics and chemical composition will prevail. As far as first guy on the list who has never been down in over half a million miles he either has a deal with GOD or rides in the Yukon or someplace where you might see a car every few days or so.. If you ride long enough you are going to to go down, period. Some of the times I went down were my fault but two of them on the road were completely unavoidable( Caused by blind drivers ) Helmets save lives and I don't need statistics to tell me that, it is common sense. Those of you who don't wear a helmet please continue doing so, I would just assume to let nature run it's course.

That said, I have to say that your article was, at the least, poorly written. At the begining you stated that you believe that helmet laws are a safety issue and not a civil rights issue. Then at the end you stated that your article was not a dicussion of the civil rights aspects of the helmet laws. You contridicted yourself.

Furthermore, if you believe that helmet laws are not a civil rights issue, you are extremely misled. The issue, in my opinion, is not whether or not you should wear a helmet but rather should the government have the right to take that decision away from the individual. Recent history has shown that our elected officials will take away our freedom for the sake of protecting us. Mandatory speed limits save lives. Seat belt laws save lives. Helmet laws save lives. But at what cost? If the 55mph speed limit works, why not lower it to 25mph to save even more lives? If the seat belt law works, why not require everyone to wear helmets and nomex suits when they drive to save more lives? If helmet laws work, why not require all riders to wear $1500 leathers when they ride? Better yet, why not just outlaw motorcycles altogether? Then no one whould die on a bike. Do you see where I'm going with this? If you give them an inch, they WILL take a mile. You can bank money on it. I appreciate the job that law enforcement does to protect me from criminals but I draw the line when they try to protect me from myself.

One more thing, how in the world can you condone breaking the law? You wrote that just because it was a law, that doesn't mean that you have to wear a helmet. I'm sorry, but according to every law enforcement agency in the country, that's exactly what it means. Don't wear a helmet? You will get a ticket. Eventually they will take away your right to ride a motorcyle. If you still ride one without a helmet, they will throw your butt in jail, and THAT is definitly a question of freedom.

This may be true, however what Randy is not taking into account is the very large increase in a rider's chances of sustaining serious head injuries/ brain damage from not wearing a helmet. Many people would consider serious injuries of this type to be as serious as a fatal injury. Once this factor is taken into account, it becomes clear that helmets are in fact much safer than riding with your hair in the breeze.

Thank you for your many excellent articles on motorcycle safety, riding, and related issues. I've recently been referred to your web site by a fellow rider and I thoroughly enjoy your work. I'm learning a lot from your writings.

I wanted to tell you I especially appreciate your advice that people wear full-face helmets while riding motorcycles. I am a veteran paramedic with 26 years experience and I have responded to many motorcycle accidents. I have cared for many riders whose helmets saved their brains, their faces, and their lives. I have never encountered an example of a helmet causing an injury to a rider. Never.

It seems to me that the issue of laws which mandate helmet use is an emotional one, complicated by the fact that people (especially motorcyclists) don't like being told what to do, especially by the government, and especially if they are concerned it may harm them. I understand these emotions and I share them. However, it is unfortunate that some riders who oppose helmet laws for legitimate reasons of personal choice, getting the government out of our lives, etc., fall victim to some of the misinformation about helmets, and are tricked into believing that helmets harm riders. After 26 years of working as a paramedic, I think I would have seen at least one case of this if it were true, but I have not. Neither have any of my paramedic colleagues. Helmets do not harm riders. Quite the contrary, helmets are excellent protective gear which greatly reduce injuries to motorcycle riders.

Paramedics see a lot of death and disability. We know what works, and what doesn't work. Helmets work.

Riders should wear helmets to protect themselves from the worst thing that could happen to them, the loss of their ability to think, talk, enjoy Life, and Ride!

Sincerely,

Here in New York there is a helmet law but any old "shorty" helmet seems to get around that. How anyone could ever ride without a full face helmet is mystifying. What do these people think would happen to their face if they went down. The guy who works at the shop where I bought my Shoei helmet had walked away from a crash at 40mph (wearing full leathers and helmet) in which he slid a whole city block face down. His face shield melted and the outer lining split, but he was fine.

If people want to make this into a political issue that's fine, and it is after all their own head, but I don't see anyone clamoring for the right to drive cars without a license or ride motorcycles without mirrors, lights and turn signals. Why are helmets different?

CAUTION -- CONTAINS GRAPHIC CONTENT

I subscribed to this list nearly two years ago and have been lurking ever since as I continued to read with interest your safety related posts. I have used this list to bolster the finer points of motorcycle safety that I have gleaned from the MSF book and other riding literature on the market -- i.e., Keith Code's books and other instructional materials. My wife and I already purchased our helmets (Shoei RF800), upper leathers and gloves in anticipation of our purchasing our first bike (early '50s BMW R50) sometime this year.

Since I have not yet located a rider safety course here in Croatia, do not yet own a bike nor ridden more times than I can count on one hand, I felt that I had nothing to offer that the rest of you do not already know. I thought that until this afternoon.

We were riding out to the Zagreb airport to meet some newly arriving employees (to the US Embassy where I work). Half way there, at an intersection and entry ramp just before an overpass, we noticed a traffic jam beginning to form. As we inched our way closer to the sight, I could make out a motorcycle and what appeared from that distance to be a heap of clothing -- all this lying in the middle of the intersection. As we got closer, I noticed more broken pieces of plastic and metal lying around including the twisted remains of the fork and bent front tire that had torn off the motorcycle from the impact. At that distance, I could make out that the bike was a larger cafe style bike with the twisted remains of the fork still attached to the bike. Also lying near these items were two heaps of clothing -- one male and one female. The male was wearing a t-shirt and jeans with deck shoes and the female was wearing jeans and what looked like a tank top. One of her shoes had been thrown from her and laid about 4 meters away. He was lying face down and she on her left side with her legs contorted in various abnormal directions.

A crowd was gathering on the sidewalk and one man seemed to be walking among this wreckage and bending over and reaching out/touching each person. He walked to a vehicle and took a piece of plastic with which he tried to cover the female's body. We were about 12 meters away by this time (still no police or ambulance) and since this wreckage was strewn across both lanes going our direction, the cars going in our direction had to use the intersection to go around the site. Our driver followed suit.

As we neared the wreckage, I noticed that the male's head was in an unnatural shape and laid on the asphalt in a fashion similar to a half deflated basketball. Since he was lying on his stomach and his right ear faced me, it was obvious that he was face down to the asphalt. However, half of his face also faced me -- it had been rubbed off from being dragged on the asphalt. Even though he was face down, his ear was close to the pavement as was his neck. Except for the piece of face pointing in my direction, the rest seemed to have been gone completely. There was surprisingly little blood, but there was what appeared to be four walnut-sized clumps of whitish-pink brain matter not far from where he was lying. His? The female's? Even though her head appeared to be intact, it too had an unnatural "deflated" shape.

It was nice today -- about 92' F, sunny and breezy with no clouds in the sky. It was 2PM this Friday afternoon when we drove by to the airport. We met the new arrivals and had to head back the same road (the only road). Even though my wife and I (and the driver) were shaken by the sight of the aftermath of that accident, we didn't want to mention to the new arrivals since they had a long flight and were nervous as they arrived to the country where they will be living for the next three years.

Funny thing, though.... As we approached the other side of the overpass where we still could not see the accident, the wife of the new employee suddenly remarked how she does not want to drive at all in Croatia due to the crazy way that they drive here. We then came over the overpass where her eyes fell on the wreckage and the bodies that had not yet been moved even though the police and ambulance arrived and an hour had passed since we first saw that carnage.

Since today was such a beautiful day and because it was a Friday during vacation season, I did not contemplate whether it was a good day to die or a good one to live. I wondered if those thoughts crossed the minds of the poor souls whose contorted and faceless bodies laid in that intersection under the hot sun. I wondered if they were riding that "carefree, summery Friday afternoon" high as the warm wind rippled through their hair. I wondered if they reached over their helmets to grab the bike keys.

I wondered what their families were going to think.

Maybe it was a good day to die after all.

They can bombard me with as many facts and figures as they want, it is still down to an individuals freedom of choice.

The compulsory wearing of helmets has been forced upon us with the Government's argument that the small loss of individual freedom is outweighed by the lives saved.

For this argument to be valid why is tobacco and alcohol freely available?. Surely motorcyclists are victims of active discrimination, as well as unconstitutional laws.

Several friends of mine around the country have contacted and directed me to your Web site. I enjoyed most of the offerings and appreciated the safety tips and Slider Gilmore's accident scene advice. Upon reading your beliefs about helmets in the Lethal or life saving-A cause or Extremism article, I decided to respond since that's what you asked for at the closing.

I agree with you about the A.I.M. attorneys not representing everyone. They certainly do not represent me either. And I don't know of that much charitable pro bono work by them, nor would I want any of them to represent me even for free, since I do know firsthand of their record. You go on to mention an introduction I wrote for a publication entitled Helmet Laws-an opposing viewpoint. Please allow my own observations here. I assume you did not read the entire publication, or possibly do not have a copy in your possession. It's true, from my recollection, that ABATE was anti-helmet. That was an historical commentary which was quite evident if the entire introduction had been read. It is common knowledge that today, ABATE stands for freedom of choice in the helmet issue, and most chapters are adamant about stating they are not anti-helmet, just anti-helmet law. I still refuse to wear one and believe I am right in my assessment of their utility. I do not try and influence others to choose as I do, but rather to exercise their right to choose. This IS a personal choice issue. The sooner citizens recognize the fact that government is intruding further into our lives as a protectionist body, the sooner we will gain back some of the rights we are losing every day. You ask that readers point out to you any untrue statements in your article. I would rather clarify some blatant mistakes. Helmet laws in general were never really a safety issue but rather a monetary issue. When states are blackmailed by the fed, our safety is paramount. When the ability to force states to succumb to its will is removed, along with monetary sanctions, helmet laws go away. If you would have read the entire opposing viewpoint book, if you have one, you would have noticed that the General Motors Technical Research Team conducted studies with Hybrid II test dummies strapped in Indy race cars. Their findings were positive for most safety aspects in crashes except one.

They found that without a padded dash and surrounding compartment, the loads to the neck in a crash with a full helmet on would be unacceptable. In fact, fatal. It seems the padded environment reduces to energy loads to the neck in a crash. Of course, we don't have that luxury on a motorcycle. God help us if that is the next design concept from NHTSA. They tried to build a safer motorcycle once before, at a cost exceeding $400,000.00 taxpayer dollars. Hell of a looking thing, and they couldn't steer it.

As far as your analogy about someone falling off their saddle and striking their head let me say this actually happened, almost like in your example. The difference being the person was standing on the sidewalk, stepped wrong and fell into the street, suffering a fractured neck which was fatal. Oh yeah, he was wearing a helmet at the time. If you want to take the time to read some negative news about helmets, I'll send you an abstract of the case, or at least the cite, and Ms. Anthony can look it up for you.

Your other comparison about a minor child riding without a helmet is interesting also. You tend to enjoy mixing apples and oranges a lot in your analogies. A minor is just that, and can be forced by the state on matters of personal protection. An adult should not be sheltered in the same way. This is why I oppose helmet law modifications allowing for those over 21 years of age to decide whether or not to wear a helmet. I believe that choice should come at 18. Spare me the arguments about drinking age requirements, because that again is a different legal issue and removes us further from the case in point. You call the argument about helmets causing injury extreme and binary logic. The fact of the matter is that they DO cause injury. They are tested in a static position (hardly representative of a true crash) by dropping a weight which attains a speed of slightly over 13mph. They use only a size C head form in these tests, not a full human form articulating test dummy. Is that because no helmet would pass a test addressing energy loads to the cervical spine?

Our argument on this matter is not to ban helmets, only helmet mandates, the reason being if they cause the many injuries attributed to them, and there are many more than NHTSA would have you believe, then why is government mandating their use? Our belief is that helmet use in voluntary states varies from 47 to 52 %. Not everybody is going to throw out their helmets if the law is repealed. Our state has spoken out loudly about this issue. Again, referring you to the opposing viewpoint book, our governor, Secretary of Transportation and Department of Transportation have all stated that Wisconsin does not need a mandatory helmet law. We post one of the best records in the nation, along with an award winning safety program. We took matters into our own hands and promoted safety and awareness as the true way to reduce injury and deaths. Helmets do not prevent accidents, which should be our goal.

I hope this helps to clarify some things about ABATE and what we stand for today, not 22 years ago. Thank you for acknowledging some of the charitable work we do. We are not today an anti-helmet organization. We are, and always have been a motorcyclist's rights organization.

Very truly yours,

Tony Pan Sanfelipo

Founder, ABATE of Wisconsin
Founder, B.O.L.T.
Member: ABATE of Wisconsin Board of Directors
ABATE of California
ABATE of Illinois, Brothers of Grundy Chapter
Helmet Law Defense League Director, Wisconsin
B.R.A.G. of Michigan
I.M.P.A.C.T. on Legislation
Motorcycle Riders Foundation
National Motorists Association
Former six year member, Wisconsin Motorcycle Safety Advisory Board
Currently, Accident Investigator, Motorcycle Case Specialist

And proud to wear my patches showing affiliations to the above, all the time, everywhere I go!!

Little side note: In 1969, the Illinois Supreme Court declared the mandatory helmet law UNCONSTITUTIONAL. That's why we're a helmet law free state... And will remain so...What was that you said about NOT being a freedom issue??

Thanks again for the information. Together, we can make a difference!