Helmets For All? Or Just Some?

If it is about safety then I would not mind for it to become mandatory. I am concern about my safety whenever I go out be it inside an automobile, bike or even just doing a brisk walk. This is for our own welfare in the long run

I wonder if drivers of open-top/convertible cars ever think about wearing a helmet when they drive their vehicles?

I always wear a helmet because who wants a brain injury if they can avoid it? I guess what adults do is largely their own problem but children should have to wear a helmet. That way they get the best possible chance to grow up into sensible people who would rather protect their brain than worry about how they look or messing up their hair style.

Speaking of bikers on the road, I guess everyone should wear a helmet. However, I am having second thoughts because there is a store here that is selling a motorbike - bike with engine run by electric power that is rechargeable. The blurb said that the motorbike is exempted from registration because is it considered a bicycle only. And that riders of that motorbike is exempted from wearing helmets since it is not a motorcycle. That is a very unhealthy blurb but it is in their poster.

Yeah I also rode a moped/scooter for a while when I was in Indiana. I was on this little Kymco thing with a leather jacket, gloves and full motorcycle helmet. I would look over at the lights and see a guy on a Harley with no helmet just wearing shorts and flip flops, more than once with beer in his carry-bags. His choice I guess but anything that goes over 30 miles and hour or shares the road with a car, I think that needs a helmet.

I had a friend that died in a bike accident. Guess what? He wasn't wearing his helmet. His front tire slipped out fron under him and his head hit the pavement hard. We recovered the bike later and the helmet was still strapped to his bike. If he took the time to put on the helmet he would of made it out alive.

So if you ask me if we should be required to wear helmet? I say yes. It does and in this case, it would of saved his life.

Helmets are for our safety, not just by law, that is what we usually forget. I do find a helmet to be resisting the free flow of air thereby making me to sweat than when I do not put my helmet on. Sometimes I do not put my helmet resulting from influence from friends. It is when we are involved in an accident that we remember the importance of helmets.

joshposh said:

I had a friend that died in a bike accident. Guess what? He wasn't wearing his helmet. His front tire slipped out fron under him and his head hit the pavement hard. We recovered the bike later and the helmet was still strapped to his bike. If he took the time to put on the helmet he would of made it out alive.

So if you ask me if we should be required to wear helmet? I say yes. It does and in this case, it would of saved his life.

This reminds me of the incident late last year when there was a typhoon. A motorcycle was running too fast in the main road of our village. When it hit a car, the motorcycle went up the air and the riders, there were 2 of them, also went up the air but separated from their motorcycle. When gravity finally got hold of them, they hit the concrete road... head first. They were dead on the spot. And yes, they were not wearing helmets so there is no way they could have survived that fall.

Corzhens said:

This reminds me of the incident late last year when there was a typhoon. A motorcycle was running too fast in the main road of our village. When it hit a car, the motorcycle went up the air and the riders, there were 2 of them, also went up the air but separated from their motorcycle. When gravity finally got hold of them, they hit the concrete road... head first. They were dead on the spot. And yes, they were not wearing helmets so there is no way they could have survived that fall.

You know how much money the government can generate if they actually enforced the helmet law in the Philippines. But they only pull over the foreigners so that the land traffic enforcers can collect the bribe money for letting them go. The worst part is, the LTO and the cops all don't wear helmets when they are riding.

maanderx said:

I wonder if drivers of open-top/convertible cars ever think about wearing a helmet when they drive their vehicles?

Why would they?

I don't know that it is necessary to make helmet use a law, but it is certainly the onl smart thing to do. If you plan on surviving even a minor accident, you better be wearing one, or your chances aren't very good. I see many people ride without one, but they are almost exclusively irresponsible riders, and probably irresponsible people in their daily lives. They are usually the ones doing the stupid stuff that annoys the drivers too. I would not ever, ever bike so much as a block without a helmet, it's like asking for a disaster.

It's important to wear a helmet, and I think that it should be mandatory. When it comes to safety we can't worry about freedom anymore.

I was looking for some pictures online for cyclist that did have an accident and they had massive head injuries. It was a bit gruesome so I decided to post this picture instead. It almost looked the same. I think you get it by now. Wear a helmet because there are factors out of your control regardless of how careful you are.

Here in Ontario if you are a minor, then you are legally obligated to wear a helmet.
Adults are adults and can choose what to do.
Thing about when everyone talking about legislating different things, no one talks about enforcement.
For a law to be valid and effective it has to be enforced. I advocate the police spending time on things that matter, not BS laws like adults having to wear a helmet.

BikeBikeBikeBike said:

Here in Ontario if you are a minor, then you are legally obligated to wear a helmet.
Adults are adults and can choose what to do.
Thing about when everyone talking about legislating different things, no one talks about enforcement.
For a law to be valid and effective it has to be enforced. I advocate the police spending time on things that matter, not BS laws like adults having to wear a helmet.

This is just my opinion based on my observation. Over here, what is needed regarding those safety concerns is public awareness. For me, it is silly to create a law in order to protect people from their negligence. So what if you don't want to wear a helmet? Anyway, with or without a law, when people are aware of the risk and potential danger of riding without a helmet, that would probably make them think otherwise. It is common to see a motorcycle rider (thank God they are not bike riders) with helmets in their hands instead of in the head. Real silly riders.

When I first bought my bike, I wasn't use to cycling and was always excited to get out on the road. In the first month, I left my helmet on accident and thought to myself "it won't happen again". 2 weeks later, I forgot my helmet again......After that, I make sure to strap the helmet to the handlebar whenever i'm not using the bike. Helmets should be mandatory, if you aren't wearing one and get injured or killed, its not just you who is affected.

The "so what" is that you are not just making the choice for yourself. Major head injury is expensive to treat and may leave you dependant on others for life. If you are not a billionaire this will be at the expense of your loved ones or the tax payer or both. All because you wanted to feel the wind in your hair.

If you take out comprehensive insurance to pay for your lifetime care, go for it. Otherwise, be genuinely responsible for yourself rather than expecting others to pick up after you.

I personally see no compelling reason to people the option. I grew up in a country with mandatory and well-enforced helmet laws and did not feel sad at losing the freedom to make a stupid choice.

One thing that sticks with me is the story told to our school assembly by the local policeman who had a friend of his daughter die in his arms after being hit by a car and falling from her bike, she was not wearing a helmet and would otherwise almost certainly have survived.

Helmets for all.

Mandatory helmets for all. I wish to see this strictly enforced in my country. It is one thing to see adults without helmets, but kids? That is really irresponsible of the parents especially those on motorcycles. Bikes are not really a thing that you see commonly in major roads here. They are more for villages or provinces or subdivisions. But why not enforce a helmet policy on roads? If it can save lives, why not? The only problem is with the authorities not being strict in enforcing these laws here.