Helmet use strategy

brewmeister · May 19, 2015

I'm looking for ideas out here on how to convince a person that helmet use is wise.
I'm fighting the Harley no helmet syndrome.
My younger bro got into Harleys 7 years ago and all this time with as much family pressure as we could generate. He clearly sees nothing wrong with not wearing a helmet.I don't ride with him much anymore because he doesn't like getting hassled with not wearing a helmet.Please any suggestions I can use to bombard him with? He does have a worthless Hogan's hero's German style helmet but only uses it if a helmet in the state is required.

WalterK75 · May 19, 2015

It sounds like you are trying to fight a fashion statement with logic. If it hasn't worked to date, it probably won't.

jcj78 · May 19, 2015

I'm speechless. I do a lot of stupid gear related stuff. I have a lot of miles on a naked K75 in shorts and a T-shirt and Fallen low-tops. I can't, however, imagine riding without a full-faced helmet. And I almost always wear gloves, even if its just the thin little ICon ones I got for $40. I'll wear a cheap helmet (IV2, GMAX) but I can't fathom riding without one.

akbeemer · May 19, 2015

You are not your brother's keeper and continued pressure is likely to only widen the gap between the two of you.

Friedle · May 19, 2015

helmet use strategy

Maybe you might consider asking him outside, about 30 feet away from the nearest telephone pole. Ask him to lower his head and run full speed into the pole! If that doesn't hurt, maybe he doesn't need a helmet. :dunno

Friedle

pglaves · May 19, 2015

I would try to find a rehabilitation hospital that has a traumatic brain injury unit. See if they can provide a tour. If that doesn't do it there isn't much brain there to protect.

AKsuited · May 19, 2015

I like to point out that a white helmet makes you more visible to other motorists, and helps keeps you out of accidents. So a helmet isn't just to protect in a crash. A study done in Hawaii found that helmeted riders had a lower accident rate.

Harry

greenwald · May 19, 2015

brewmeister said:
I'm looking for ideas out here on how to convince a person that helmet use is wise.
I'm fighting the Harley no helmet syndrome.
My younger bro got into Harleys 7 years ago and all this time with as much family pressure as we could generate. He clearly sees nothing wrong with not wearing a helmet.I don't ride with him much anymore because he doesn't like getting hassled with not wearing a helmet.Please any suggestions I can use to bombard him with? He does have a worthless Hogan's hero's German style helmet but only uses it if a helmet in the state is required.

I wish I had better news. The idiocy of not wearing a motorcycle helmet has been documented beyond reproach - yet too many participants still refrain from the logic of such protection.

I've been in professional motorcycling, either as an LEO Motor Officer or an instructor at both a race track and technical college, for 15 years now, and it's still an uphill climb to convince certain individuals to protect their cranium, the cradle of the very essence of what it means to be human.

H-D has created a sub-culture within motorcycling that exerts enormous peer pressure not to wear a helmet. To deny that is to ignore reality. But I don't have some magic solution or mind-bending commentary that is likely to re-route your brother's thinking. Having also worked extensively in EMS for 18 years, Paul's suggestion of a visit to a brain trauma ward has merit.

Keep trying to gently persuade him, and keep being a good motorcycling example by wearing your own. Perhaps someday, the light bulb will come on inside him - I hope so.

As family, you are your brother's keeper. Good for you for trying to look out for him.

henzilla · May 19, 2015

Hard to accept sometimes that you cannot control anything out of your control.You can speak your peace, however, he makes the choice.

Personal risk is sometimes just that.

Went thru a similar life threatening issue with my older brother a few years back and we "talked"...he was here this past weekend and nothing much has changed...other than his health is kicking his tail. Family can care...often cannot change the behavior however...good luck. ..seriously.

sedanman · May 20, 2015

Google " rock the gear"

mikegalbicka · May 20, 2015

My MSF BRC instructor rode helmet-less, had a serious accident on the slab and lived to tell about it. He still defended his choice and continues to ride that way even after a traumatic brain injury that has seriously impacted his quality of life. That takes the definition of "hard headed" to a whole different level.

STRESS · May 20, 2015

$50 helemt $50 brain....not really , tests say so.

These are some points from the infamous " Hurt Report" and a great write up on helmets.

http://motorcycleinfo.calsci.com/Articles/MotorcyclistHelmets.html

I have studied this topic more than once. This to me really sinks in, keep in mind this was a report on a full face helmet not a skull cap or open face .

"In the case of fatal accidents, there was one more important discovery in the Hurt Report: There were essentially no deaths to helmeted riders from head injuries alone . "

This is not to say that other injuries didn't lead to a cause of death but NO death was caused by a head injury alone when the rider had on a full face helmet.

Hope this helps.

42.Approximately 50% of the motorcycle riders in traffic were using safety helmets but only 40% of the accident-involved motorcycle riders were wearing helmets at the time of the accident.

43.Voluntary safety helmet use by those accident-involved motorcycle riders was lowest for untrained, uneducated, young motorcycle riders on hot days and short trips.

44.The most deadly injuries to the accident victims were injuries to the chest and head.

45.The use of the safety helmet is the single critical factor in the prevention of reduction of head injury; the safety helmet which complies with FMVSS 218 is a significantly effective injury countermeasure.

46.Safety helmet use caused no attenuation of critical traffic sounds, no limitation of precrash visual field, and no fatigue or loss of attention; no element of accident causation was related to helmet use.

47.FMVSS 218 provides a high level of protection in traffic accidents, and needs modification only to increase coverage at the back of the head and demonstrate impact protection of the front of full facial coverage helmets, and insure all adult sizes for traffic use are covered by the standard.

48.Helmeted riders and passengers showed significantly lower head and neck injury for all types of injury, at all levels of injury severity.

49.The increased coverage of the full facial coverage helmet increases protection, and significantly reduces face injuries.

50.There is not liability for neck injury by wearing a safety helmet; helmeted riders had less neck injuries than unhelmeted riders. Only four minor injuries were attributable to helmet use, and in each case the helmet prevented possible critical or fatal head injury.

51.Sixty percent of the motorcyclists were not wearing safety helmets at the time of the accident. Of this group, 26% said they did not wear helmets because they were uncomfortable and inconvenient, and 53% simply had no expectation of accident involvement.

52.Valid motorcycle exposure data can be obtained only from collection at the traffic site. Motor vehicle or driver license data presents information which is completely unrelated to actual use.

53.Less than 10% of the motorcycle riders involved in these accidents had insurance of any kind to provide medical care or replace property.

na1g · May 20, 2015

"Stupid is as stupid does." -Forrest Gump

Also refer to Darwin.

36654 · May 20, 2015

brewmeister said:
I'm looking for ideas out here on how to convince a person that helmet use is wise.
I'm fighting the Harley no helmet syndrome.
My younger bro got into Harleys 7 years ago and all this time with as much family pressure as we could generate. He clearly sees nothing wrong with not wearing a helmet.I don't ride with him much anymore because he doesn't like getting hassled with not wearing a helmet.Please any suggestions I can use to bombard him with? He does have a worthless Hogan's hero's German style helmet but only uses it if a helmet in the state is required.

Preaching probably won't help/work, but humor, might..............

1) Have you asked your other siblings if they've been tested for the stupid gene?

2) Causually ponder aloud if your parent had only one brain damaged child?

3) Contact your local SS administration office and ask if stupid qualifies for a SS Disabiility pension?

4) With a tearful expression, tell your brother that you're sorry for chocking him with the garden hose when he was 4-yo and you understand all his stupid life choices are due to the oxygen deprevation at that young age. This will require a lot of begging for forgiveness and tears to make it look sincere. It might help if you give him a few homebrews before delivering the confession...........

Understanding and relating the physics and statistics of the choice isn't going to do you a darn bit of good relative to siren call of fashion and pre-geriatic peer pressure. Younger Bro's hair (or, skin) in the wind choice is just his version of the little blue pill.

Good luck, but you're just working on getting him to step one of 12.

Rod Sheridan · May 20, 2015

brewmeister said:
I'm looking for ideas out here on how to convince a person that helmet use is wise.
I'm fighting the Harley no helmet syndrome.
My younger bro got into Harleys 7 years ago and all this time with as much family pressure as we could generate. He clearly sees nothing wrong with not wearing a helmet.I don't ride with him much anymore because he doesn't like getting hassled with not wearing a helmet.Please any suggestions I can use to bombard him with? He does have a worthless Hogan's hero's German style helmet but only uses it if a helmet in the state is required.

Hi, I am very sorry to hear that your brother has decided to be the "control group" in the helmet safety study.

Lack of riding gear is a real issue, it like the "loud pipes save lives' approach are extremely resistant to evidence based safety instruction.

Continuing to bombard him with information will probably only drive a wedge between you and your brother.

Regards, Rod.

greenwald · May 20, 2015

mikegalbicka said:
My MSF BRC instructor rode helmet-less, had a serious accident on the slab and lived to tell about it. He still defended his choice and continues to ride that way even after a traumatic brain injury that has seriously impacted his quality of life. That takes the definition of "hard headed" to a whole different level.

Worked for years in the ER at a medical center - thoracic surgeons, who routinely operate on lung cancer patients, smoked like chimneys in their lounge (back in the '70's and '80's - still allowed indoors).

Helmet naysayers, loud pipe affectianados, etc. stumble blindly down a similar path.

I set the bar much higher when it comes to defining personal freedoms. :banghead

Mirider · May 20, 2015

I read this many years ago in a motorcycle mag. "Helmets are for people with brains to protect"

Bud · May 20, 2015

Being an adult means you can make choices.

You've said what needed to be said. You have to accept the fact that you can not make people do what is in their best interest.

pglaves · May 20, 2015

Bud said:
Being an adult means you can make choices.

Only slightly off topic, but in the news of late regarding any number of several criminal activities I hear mothers and lawyers and others repeatedly talk about the perpetrators, accused, and convicted of "making bad choices." I have heard this poor excuse so often lately that I have concluded they must be teaching the lingo in school or something.

rad · May 20, 2015

I would do two things.

First, say what you need to, one time and drop it.

Second, refuse to ride with him. I will not ride with someone who is not wearing what I consider proper gear. I make no excuse about that and say it straight out.

Last comment, you need to figure out how to let it go. It is like having a friend that smokes, that is their choice to risk their health.

Helmet use strategy

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