My mother proved that helmets work when she said: "Two wrongs don't make it right."
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My advice to those riders, who don't wish to wear a helmet, is to be very good to your spouse, because one day soon you're going to need them for a very long time. I rest my case.
This post is about marriage advice. On January 22, 2008 the blog I posted was: Motorcycles, Helmets, Wrecks, Brain Damage and the Freedom to be Stupid. That entry discussed one potential solution to the enormous costs associated with mending and then caring for those who suffer the debilitation of traumatic brain injury. Unfortunately for those who disagreed they have not been able to comment on the IB site due to what I'm being told is a technical glitch with spam issues. But I'm not going to accept this problem and duck. Instead I'll tell you what they are saying and comment further. But first allow me tiime to put on a helmet.
One rider from California referred to me as the "callous nazi pi lawyer blames victim". He asserts that 1/10th of the TBI or head injury cases are from motorcycle accidents and that car and SUV accidents account for 90% of those types of injuries. Well I don't buy that because he's ignoring the TBI's from work place and construction site accidents, those coming about as a result of falling merchandise from store displays, those from farming accidents, boating collisions, skiers without helmets colliding with fixed objects like trees and ski lift supports and other sport collisions causing injury. He then asserts this fictitious right to live free or die type argument and that the American way of life will end if motorcycle riders are forced to wear a helmet or pay for higher insurance coverage. If this argument were about "Live Free of Die" I'd say fine, just carry enough insurance so we can bury you, but that's not the point or the problem. Victims of head injury don't always die and that's where the major costs associated with TBI come into play. Whom do they expect to pay for medical care, rehabilitation, medicines, physical therapy, speech therapy, occupation therapy, surgeries and ongoing living costs, me and you? We require all workers in construction sites and miners to wear hard hats. Many ski resorts are quickly requiring young skiers to wear ski helmets, organized sporting events require helmets, football players have long been required to wear helmets and for a good reason, most states require seat belts to be worn by occupants and manufacturers are installing roll over protection and seat belts in tractors and other farm equipment. So what makes motorcycle riders so special to warrant an exemption?
http://www.ski-injury.com/helmet.htm
It's been a hot topic in the snow-sports safety forum for best part of ten years now - the issue of helmets. High velocity collisions with trees lead to the deaths of Sonny Bono and Michael Kennedy in 1998 and the inevitable mass media hype - rarely a forum for informed debate! Since then, arguments have been put forward that more should be done to encourage the use of helmets on the slopes (particularly children) with some advocating enforcement by law, citing the undoubted success of earlier seat belt campaigns amongst car occupants.
To add fuel to the fire, the US Government got on the bandwagon and commissioned the controversial CPSC study which in January 1999 concluded that more than 7,000 head injuries on the slopes each year in the USA could be prevented or reduced in severity by the use of a helmet. You can read it in PDF format here.
http://www.cpsc.gov/library/skihelm.pdf
History of the Hard Hat -
A hundred years ago, the hard hat didn't exist. And fifty years ago, head protection wasn't widely required for workers. But, thanks to advances in safety, the hard hat has evolved over the decades.
Established in San Francisco in 1898, Bullard sold carbide lamps and mining equipment to gold and copper miners. "The miners used to wear a soft derby, similar to a baseball cap. It had a small, hard-leather and shellac brim," said Edward D. "Jed" Bullard, the company's fourth-generation president and chief executive officer.
In January 1999 the Consumer Product Safety Commission evaluated ski helmets and the potential to reduce the 7,000 head injuries per year. I don't hear the skiers whining about live free or die! But let's get back to the motorcycle.
Back to my reality. Here this kid sets next to me in traffic. We are both first in line at the light. Between his legs is this crotch rocket that will in seconds go 180 mph. The light turns green and he's through the intersection before I can even think of pulling forward an inch. He's up on the rear wheel with his hair flying back like we are in a tornado. He's not attached to the bike by anything except his Levi's and two white knuckled death grips. The Des Moines police don't have a vehicle that can match the speed. Now I'll be the first to say those Harley Davidson commercials are pretty enticing. But that kid next to me makes me think of a shovel, because that is what the accident investigation officer will need to pick him up.
America's first designated "Hard Hat Area" was set up at the San Francisco Golden Gate Bridge construction site. "The project's chief engineer, Joseph B. Strauss, shared a vision with my grandfather that the workplace could be a safer environment for the worker. One problem the bridge project faced was falling rivets, which could cause serious injury," said Bullard. "My grandfather transformed the mining helmet into a durable industrial hard hat."
The Sportster models are sweet to look at and the video on the site is remarkably authentic for digital imagery. There are seven models from which to choose; from the 883 to the 1,200 Roadster with all that chrome makes any American man's heart stop to propose marriage to the open road. But all the marketing doesn't answer our question and for that matter neither has Harley-Davidson USA. I'll bet if we did an overlay of the companies stock price and the medical costs associated with those injured from motorcycle accidents we'd see a mirror image. Add the increasing number of baby-boomers buying Harleys and you now add depth to the chart.
Then the second reader steps up to the plate to say this: "When you can prove to me that a helmet IS in fact a proven piece of safety equipment, then you can request riders wear helmets. Why do you miss the most important piece of the puzzle? Education? Educate riders and non riders before mandating helmets! Who tests them? How are they tested? Who made them safe? Where did manufacturers go to get away from liability law suits?"
Okay, I will prove it to you. I want you to walk to the parking lot where you work or live, look for an SUV, one with a big fender. Did you find one? Okay, now bend at the waist, and start running full force into it with your head? Okay after you wake up now try it with a helmet. What do you think is it a piece of safety equipment?
My advice to those riders, who don't wish to wear a helmet, is to be very good to your spouse, because one day soon you're going to need them and for a very long time. I rest my case.
For more information on this subject, please refer to the section on Car and Motorcycle Accidents