Only morans ride motorcyles without helmets

[ForrestGump]

This is true.

Smart people wear one of these:

http://www.ironhorsehelmets.com/Afro%20Man.htm

....and look like Weird Al.

[Deja Q]

1. Holy Village People, Batman!

I love it!

[ForrestGump]

2. And there's always this one, for added protection....

Of course, these half-helmets are next-to-useless, so perhaps a bit of trust in divine influence wouldn't go astray.

[1a2b3c]

3. I wouldnt wear a helmet

but if i still lived in a state that required it, i would wear the afro helmet. Is it available in red hair?

[ForrestGump]

4. There's always Lady Clairol

[Feanorcurufinwe]

5. It almost makes me want to take up motorcycling

[wtmusic]

6. Coming soon...the Combover Edition

When they get that going, count me in!!

[ForrestGump]

7. Wilco!

In the meantime, perhaps you could consider this:

[amber dog democrat]

8. Bikers who won't wear helmuts are

organ donars.

Had a 20 mph accident on a mountain bike crossing diagonal RR tracks on a wet morning once and my helmut took a big dent from a curb - that would have fractured my cranium instead.

Can only imagine what an impact on a motor bike woutd be like.

Its is optional here, I think.

[ForrestGump]

9. I'd be dead at leastonce, and potentially three times over

had I not been wearing a helmet. Full-faced is the only way to go, too.

I'll be happy when they come out with the dreadlocked full-face helmet, approved by the Snell Foundation.


EDIT: typo

[Karenina]

10. Here's what I wonder about

a HELMET

a) protects the rider from potentially fatal injury
b) protects anyone else involved in an accident from emotional trauma
c) protects the EMP (on site to hospital) from yet another nasty scene and increases their chances for a successful outcome
d) protects bystanders from witnessing a bloody horror

WHAT'S not to like here?

[ForrestGump]

13. Karenina, you're just being too LOGICAL, dammit

Proponents of helmetless riding argue that:

(a) they're Americans and can do whatever they want
(b) there's nothing like the feel of the wind in your face and hair (and insects, gravel, sand, etc)

The answer to both, of course, is 'wrong.' Anyone who's crashed on a 'bike should be pro-helmet - someone who's walked away from a crash with a head injury and still argues against helmet use....well, maybe they impacted harder than they thought.

The US has seatbelt laws - I think that both they and helmet use whould be mandated on a Federal level, across the board, for all ages. Sometimes people do need to be protected from themselves.

On the other hand, if we let the helmetless ones go about their business, eventually Darwin will take care of the problem. But that's hardly fair on everyone else.

[short bus president]

12. the "cousin it"

could be done in full face. But it'd be hard to see out of.

[ForrestGump]

14. Darn. I've seen a great picture of a helmet

that pretty-much fit that bill.


In the meantime, check out this helmet!

[short bus president]

17. YES - the helmullet!

[ForrestGump]

19. Shouldn't that be

Hell- mullet?

With the right hairspray and gel, it's DOT-approved.

[Dude_CalmDown]

11. That is one awesome helmet. n/t

*

[WannaJumpMyScooter]

15. Well, there is some evidence that certain helmets

cause more injury than they prevent... ie.

There are waaay more spinal cord injuries at C5/C6 with people who wear heavy full-faced sport-type helmets than head injuries.

Some of this is the population who ride that type of bike... young, drunk, drugged and testosterone laden.

Still, what good is a safety device which causes injury?

There needs to be some serious study on this. But, there is not. The most recent scholarly study on motorcycle morbidity/mortality was in the 70's.

[ForrestGump]

16. Potentially, a heavy helmet COULD mess up or break a neck,

and they certainly have done so, but I'd hazard a guess that you're way more likely to die or otherwise spoil your day with even light impact on an unprotected head. Besides, full-faced helmets tend to be pretty light these days.

My worst crash, like the others under 30 mph (hit by a car), utterly destroyed my helmet. The fiberglass shell was turned to mush by the shock it received - I could poke my finger through it - and the polysturene inner was shattered. I rolled 150 feet, in a series of fast forward rolls, and my helmet protected my head just fine. No neck strain. There's no question that I would have died without that helmet. Even with protective gear, I sustained severe injuries to the rest of my body.

People who seek to reverse existing helmet laws, or to prevent their enactment, bring up the bogeyman of neck injuries as a result of helmet use. It's crap. It happens, but it's a straw man. It is more likely to happen in racing CARS, when helmeted drivers are srapepd into a position from which they do not get launched upon impact. Check out motorcycle racers who come off their 'bikes at speeds from that equivalent to around-town riding to 160 mph or so - they don't snap their necks when they bite the pavement.

The f***witted campaign against helmet law is one reason I'd never support the American Motorcycle Association or these other clowns who allegedly speak for two-wheelers. Bandanas just make it easier to wipe up bits of brain...

[Karenina]

18. Forrest, you'll be proud of me

I've been allergic to motorcycles since my teenage buddy got fucked up on one (no helmet). My sister is an emergency room type- I, while living in L.A. have seen more than I wish to tell, ONE WRONG MOVE CAN BRING ON SOME SERIOUS NASSY SHIT MAN! HOWEVER, a veterinary student, Josef, invited me to go dancing one night. Josef I trusted implicitly. He's so vier ecke Deutsch. He made certain I was properly clothed and helmeted and we did the autobahn thing. IT WAS GREAT! I understood that "freedom" deal while riding as a passenger. The best thing was the confidence that we were both prepared as possible for the "worst case scenario." THAT allowed me to enjoy it. On the way back I was so relaxed and into the "lean" on the country road leading to our village.

[ForrestGump]

20. Cool!

You're right - I'm proud! *highfive* I'm glad you enjoyed it, especially with you having seen the flipside.

Good on Josef for getting you kitted out right, too. Sounds like a great ride - limitless autobahn and winding country roads.