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Helmets are being questioned??

redsky49

New member
"There has been a lot of controversy about the effectiveness of helmets"

Above quote taken directly form the June 11, 2013 Rider Performance University - Spotlight on Training posting, on this very forum. Anyone care to actually defend this statement?
 
Which thread? A piece of 1 post may not really represent the actual goin's on. :scratch
 
"There has been a lot of controversy about the effectiveness of helmets"

Above quote taken directly form the June 11, 2013 Rider Performance University - Spotlight on Training posting, on this very forum. Anyone care to actually defend this statement?


Seriously?! :lurk
 
" There has been a lot of controversy about the effectiveness of helmets; most studies show that helmets save lives."

MOST studies?????? I can not imagine ANY serious study saying that they DON'T save lives.




:dance:dance:dance
 
He left out the punch line: "; most studies show that helmets save lives. A good DOT approved has repeatedly been proved the best protection when you fly off your bike."
 
loud pipes save lives. helmets may not let you hear the loud pipes. hence helmets kill. the logic is flawless
 
Choice? Distrust? Stupidity? Freedom?

I think the fact that government distrust helps feeds the helmet debate. As many studies are government based, people do not believe the results. Many accident reports do not tell if the rider could of been saved if a helmet was worn. As Dale Earnhardt found out a helmet alone is not fool proof and can help cause a more severe injury. I will take my chances and wear a helmet I think most people would agree that if your head scraps the road with a helmet you don't get as bad an injury. It is macho to not wear a helmet, ride in shorts, and sleeveless shirt. Most of the reasons people give for not wearing a helmet are connected to how you look and feel without one. I can see better without one, I hear better, its cooler, and I look so cool. It is kind of funny that the Federal Government will with hold road funds for seat belt use, but don't do the same for helmets. I notice that more the half the scooter riders not only don't wear a helmet but have flip flops on. h

CDC says motorcycle accidents account for only 3 percent of registered vehicle accidents but nearly 14 percent of vehicle related deaths. Of course almost all motorcycle accidents are reported but not all other vehicle accidents are.

If your state is surrounded by non helmet law state your state is at a disadvantage on tourist dollars. I am sure that is why Michigan removed the requirements for helmet wearing. I believe that a helmets has more advantages then disadvantages. Riding gear makes you safer, there are still risks.
 
A helmet may break your neck - a lot depends on how you hit the ground in the crash. In very many wrecks, a helmet was the life-saver. I'll take my chances.

Spent 11 years as an ER tech at Memorial Medical Center (WI). Learned from the orthopedic surgeons in the ER that the amount of blunt force needed to force the cervical spine of a helmeted rider far enough out of alignment to fracture it would easily have killed you anyways if not wearing any cranial protection. Helmets don't break necks.

It's an urban myth that, like most, will never die. :banghead
 
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My concern in starting this thread is that people who should know better are perpetuating this falsehood:

"There has been a lot of controversy about the effectiveness of helmets"

I had hoped that the author of this statement would defend it publicly. With the zealot-like attention to ATGATT among BMW riders, it seems very curious that the foremost safety device would be so described.
 
I believe anyone with ANY exposure to MC training KNOWS that full face or flip-up helmets provide more protection to your brain (and face) than lesser helmets or no helmet. BUT...

A lot of riding is about "image" - and I think that is just as true of BMW riders as all the other groups. Our "image" is a good helmet and full riding gear. Show up at one of local club "breakfast rides" wearing a T-shirt, shorts and a beanie and, probably, nobody would say a thing. But you would be a minority of one. Not comfortable. I can see Harley, Goldwing, and sports bike riders dressing as they do for exactly the same reason - you want to be part of the group. We're very lucky that our "image" fits with gear that enhances both our safety AND COMFORT. (No, I don't believe we are on average any smarter or less sheep-like than the riders whose garb we scorn.)

Maybe another good reason to ride a BMW!
 
"I don't wear a helmet because I don't want to end up some vegetable in the hospital" :brow

I suspect that there are quite a few people who ended up as a "vegetable in a hospital" becausethey didn't wear a good helmet. No broken bones, minor scrapes, but severe brain damage after a low speed crash. A better motto for these folks would be "I don't wear a helmet because I don't want my brain alive and my body completely ruined after a severe crash at a high speed."

Makes more sense to me.
 
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