This is sort of a stupid question, but the story about the guy who got thrown off his bike and died because he wasn't wearing a helmet during an anti-helmet protest just got me thinking. If it wasn't the law would you wear a helmet? For those of you who live in places that don't have helmet laws, do you wear a helmet when you ride?

For those of you who don't know the news you can read it here.
http://www.ktla.com/news/landing/ktl...0,620294.story

 

Helmets aren't required by law in my state, but I wear one anyway because I don't like getting bugs on my face. I don't care much for safety, I just don't like the bugs. I wear leathers too, but not for safety, I only wear them because when it's raining and I'm cruisin down the freeway while wearing a t-shirt, the rain drops feel like I'm getting sprayed with a fully automatic BB gun, but with leathers it feels like I'm getting hit with a fully automatic airsoft gun. Same goes for boots, I don't care about safety, I just wear them because shifting in flip flops puts a red mark on the top of my foot.

 

^ you make me laugh...

 

i always wear a helmet. its not full proof but there are too many idiot drivers out there. you need some kind of protection.

 

Yes I always wear a helmet. I got made fun of by some of my gf's family once, because we went out on the quads and I brought out my helmet.

GF's sister-in-law: "WE dont wear helmets around here...." (you know how women do the emphesize one word thing and draw it out)

I said, "YOOUU can do what ever you want, I don't care. I'm wearing my helmet." (I threw it right back at her really sarcastically)

Most of the time I get asked, "Why are you wearing a helmet?" and I say "Because I choose to." and that's the end of that.

I wear a helmet autocross racing, offroad racing, and snowboarding. I've had too many close calls in my life and had a concussion snowboarding to know it's better safe than sorry.

 

I don't wear helmets in cars unless it's required by the rules or if there's a roll cage inside. When using proper safety restraints, your head is probably the last thing that'll get injured in an auto accident unless there's a cage in there or you flip over and land hard on your roof. I've been in numerous rollovers and the roof usually ends up caving about 10 inches in front of your face though because the base of the A pillar usually forms a straight line with the peak of the B pillar.

 

no state law in CT, there are only a very few rare occasions i dont wear a helmet, like if im going on a real short trip, like under a mile.

i also wear my leather jacket and gloves 90% of the time. my big vice is i rarely wear boots, usually just sneakers

i do understand where people come from though, it should absolutley be the riders choice weather to wear a helmet or not.

 

Most autocross sanctions require you to wear a helmet. Even in Stock class. And they have to be Snell 2005 approved.

As far as the offroad racing, I just wear a Moto-X helmet.

But yes, everything I do requires a helmet....

 

You wear your helmet while in the shower?

 

Definitely would.

 

my in laws just moved to florida, which has no helmet law. just got done telling them that its stupid to not wear a helmet when riding. luckily they agreed with me, because he bought a motorcycle about a year before they moved to florida.

 

Used to ride with a friend back in Delaware. I believe the law is you need to have the helmet on the bike, but you don't need to wear it. We always wore ours. Not worth the risk, plus bugs.

 

it always cracks me up to see people cruising around on a bike with the helmet strapped to the back. i know in some places it's the law, but why even bother?

 

I always wear my helmet. My 5 mph wreck after a car came into a curve on me probably would have killed me when my head bounced off the pavement if I hadn't been wearing a helmet. I couldn't imagine a bad wreck.

The police around here seem to appreciate and treat those that suit up better than those in flip flops and wife beaters, too.

 

yes always, just like wearing a seatbelt

 

i don't know how people don't wear helmets, i was in lake havasu the other week and saw a bunch of guys on cruisers riding around in tank tops, shorts, and flip flops. i've had too many rocks and bugs hit my helmet giving me that loud ding noise so i know that would be my head getting hit

helmet for me 100% of the time

 

I always wear mine and always will!

 

It's kind of like asking if you would breath air even if it wasn't the law to do so.

 

so is that a yes or no?

 

I would respond, but I'm too busy not breathing because I find life overrated.

Cliffs: Wear a damn helmet.

 

Should wearing a seatbelt be absolutely the choice of someone in a car?

I think the point of requiring helmet wearing by law is that if you crash your bike and smash your head in you have a very high chance of getting injured very badly, an injury you can carry with you for the rest of your life. Much higher than if you were wearing a helmet or driving a car, in both of which cases you can still get hurt very badly, but the chance is much lower. And further, if you end up so badly injured that you can't work, or worse, can't feed yourself, who pays for that? Whether it was your fault or not, someone is picking up the tab, so not wearing a helmet is beyond stupid, but really an astonishingly selfish thing to do. This is why many states require it by law; because requiring you to not be an idiot is cheaper. I wonder, if insurance companies (be they auto, motorcycle, health, or government aide) decided to not pay a red cent for head injuries sustained when crashing a bike with no helmet, if people would change their behavior?

I have an acquaintance who always jokes about going "a buck forty and passing cops hahaha!" and I ask him, "Don't you have a wife and a kid? Isn't it time you grow up?" Some people just don't get it.

 

I don't agree. I am without a helmet 95% of the time when I ride.

 

I will always wear a helmet, regardless of the law.

 

nice.

 

Here in england it's law to wear a helmet (or skid lid as we call them) and i myself would never ride without one even if there wasn't a law here. I also wear full 1 and 2 piece race leathers and race boots 99% of the time mainly because the weather is so crap over here and they offer so much more protection than just a t shirt or plain jacket.

I used to know a guy who always wore motorcycle boots and one day while moving his bike he slipped, the bike fell with him and he snapped his ankle and the doc said that if he wasn't wearing his boots at the time the bone would of gone straight through the skin. Goes to show you don't even need to be riding the bike!!