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Bicycle Helmet Laws - should adults be able to choose for themselves?
YourFatAuntSusan
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
I've been having an argument with a co-worker regarding a law stating that you must wear a bicycle helmet in order to be able to legally ride a bike. I've recently moved closer to my place of employment and would like to begin bicycling to work on occasion to offset my vehicle usage (no public transit). However, I refuse to wear a bike helmet and I feel the law is unjust.
In my opinion, I feel that as an adult I should be able make the decision on my own as opposed to having a law forced upon me, or a fine imposed on me in regards to my own personal safety by choosing not to wear a bike helmet. I am fully aware of the risks I take and the potential to do myself serious harm in the chance of an accident but I make this decision knowing the risks.
My co-worker on the other hand feels that "The government knows best" and that "Some people aren't smart enough to protect themselves so the law is designed to do it for them." I strongly disagree with the sentiment that the government should be allowed to protect us from ourselves.
The argument was also raised regarding children and bike helmets. I think that children should be required to wear a helmet until the age of majority just as they're not allowed to drink until the age of majority since they're unable to understand the consequences of their actions. Once they become an adult, they should be able to make the decision themselves.
So D&D, what do you think? Should an adult be allowed to choose whether or not they would like to wear a bike helmet or does Big Brother know best?
In my opinion, I feel that as an adult I should be able make the decision on my own as opposed to having a law forced upon me, or a fine imposed on me in regards to my own personal safety by choosing not to wear a bike helmet. I am fully aware of the risks I take and the potential to do myself serious harm in the chance of an accident but I make this decision knowing the risks.
My co-worker on the other hand feels that "The government knows best" and that "Some people aren't smart enough to protect themselves so the law is designed to do it for them." I strongly disagree with the sentiment that the government should be allowed to protect us from ourselves.
The argument was also raised regarding children and bike helmets. I think that children should be required to wear a helmet until the age of majority just as they're not allowed to drink until the age of majority since they're unable to understand the consequences of their actions. Once they become an adult, they should be able to make the decision themselves.
So D&D, what do you think? Should an adult be allowed to choose whether or not they would like to wear a bike helmet or does Big Brother know best?
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
YourFatAuntSusan on
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And we all know that helmet laws are the product of an unholy union between the military-industrial complex and the helmet lobbyists.
We'll talk when your corpse launching through the front window isn't a danger to anyone.
So does smoking though, and that's not illegal.
I feel about the same honestly.
Why not go the whole way and enforce helmets in cars? I'm sure there are plenty of people killed in car accidents by head trauma that a helmet would have protected them from.
Yeah...the ones that weren't wearing their seatbelts.
Seatbelts are a completely different topic. If you're in control of a very heavy, very fast projectile you need to wear a seatbelt to ensure you are in the driver's seat so you can control it in the event of a sudden turn/maneuver . Seatbelts are a good thing.
But I digress, this is a discussion on helmets, not seatbelts.
It cuts into his periph so he can't scout hot babes?
It makes his head sweaty?
Comfort for the most part. I don't enjoy having a large chunk of foam and plastic strapped to the top of my head. The looks don't bother me.
I also enjoy the "flying" sensation that I get when i'm zipping along at a good pace while my hair is blowing in the wind, as corny as that sounds.
The govment is telling you how to live your life!
I can't stick my dick in a meat grinder?
I'm not anti-seatbelt. I wear mine even if I get in the car to move my parking space. I don't let people drive with me if they're not wearing one. Bodies = projectiles in an accident.
But as an adult who understands the risks associated with not wearing a helmet, why shouldn't I be able to make the decision on my own? As stupid as you may think it is?
It's no different than smoking, really.
That was a good stretch.
Does not wearing a helmet have negative health effects on people next to you while you don't wear a helmet?
I mean yeah, it's just like smoking.
I'll be fine, just give me a minute, a man's got a limit, I can't get a life if my heart's not in it.
As long as they sign waviers that say they agree to pay higher rates for crappier insurance and can never hold anyone liable for any injury they incur in any accident.
Unless they have children, because fuck you be responsible you prick.
If it makes you feel better, you can call your tickets for not wearing a helmet a "tax," too.
Seatbelts however, are fucking necessary. When you take a turn at high speeds you need a seatbelt to hold you down. You need seatbelts to hold you down when you brake hard, etc. Not wearing a seatbelt doesn't make you look cool or smart.
I think properly educating cyclists about actually following road regulations would go a lot farther in making everyone safer than mandatory helmet wear anyway.
Steam | Twitter
most kids are kids and don't ride in the street like adult cyclists
The only dudes I ever see riding their bikes in the street are guys who are wearing skin tight windproof suits with proper helmets that have little rear view mirrors and look like they are training for the olympics.
Sometimes accidents aren't your fault. For instance, the other day I rear-ended someone in stop-and-go traffic, because my normal road was closed and I was distracted by trying to figure out an alternate route. No amount of safe driving on her part would have prevented that from happening to her.
Similarly, if you're a cyclist, then a car that doesn't see you or isn't driving carefully can totally take you out, through no fault of your own.
Like I said, I've never driven on a road busy enough where this sort of situation was a real danger. I can understand helmet laws in cities or similarly busy roadways, but in rural areas and small towns, it just seems unnecessary.
And when comparing it to seat belt use, there is the fact that all cars come equipped with seat belts, but bikes don't come with free helmets. True, they aren't expensive at all, but it's still an additional cost.
Steam | Twitter
Helmets? Seatbelts? Why in my day we didn't have seatbelts and the only people wearing helmets were football players.
What's wrong with kids these days, so damn fragile can't go anywhere without seven layers of padding and a cell phone in case they get kidnapped. Why in my day we didn't even lock our doors at night!
I blame the coloreds.
[/old man rant]
True. It wasn't really meant to be any sort of point, just a thought that I had while reading the discussion.
Steam | Twitter
Steam | Twitter