Few things are debated in the motorcycle culture as hotly and intensely as whether or not bikers should wear DOT helmets. Of course every biker I know thinks that at most, it should be left up to the individual rider. But once you leave the confines of the freedom loving state of Texas or the biker community in general, opinions begin to change and quickly. This is plain to see for anyone who participates on the various motorcycle related forums (my favorites are www.v-twinforum.com and www.harleytechtalk.org) or who keep up with the news on legislative action that affects bikers. On what I like to call the “left” side of the argument are some motorcycle enthusiasts (I refuse to call them “bikers”) and seemingly most people who do not ride anything at all who espouse the life saving and supposed injury prevention virtues of helmets which of course they believe translates to lower insurance premiums and fewer medically related taxes in their state. They also argue that wearing a helmet is the right thing to do by your family and have no qualms forcing you to do so. The “right” side of the argument is often “it’s my head and I should be able to do whatever I damn well please with it”.
To me, both sides of the argument have valid points but I’m obviously going to have to go with the “right” side of the argument. My reasoning for those who care, is based not just upon freedom of choice but more on that of the role of lobbyists and government in our lives combined with deductive reasoning. First, let’s look at the deductive reasoning part of the argument; riding a motorcycle is dangerous compared to driving a vehicle no matter how long you’ve ridden or how talented you may be. Motorcycles will lose in pretty much any type of collision or accident bar none. Wearing a helmet may prevent some types of injuries but certainly not most and it is no guarantee of survival as we all know. Will this result in lower insurance premiums? Honestly I do not give a rat’s flea bitten posterior. Why? Because if we solicited our government to take action to prevent us from doing anything remotely dangerous that would cost insurance companies more money we’d have to outlaw most power tools, all guns, fireworks, ladders, cars, anything sharp or mobile, electrical sockets, etc. Following this line of logic to extremes…well you get my point. Granted they’ve won the seatbelt law thing for decades but you have to pick your battles.
Which brings me to the whole “freedom” thing. The government has never had any qualms about telling people what they can, cannot and must do with their bodies. The “it’s my head” argument is likely one of the weakest arguments we can raise in this debate and resounds exceedingly hollow with the voting public at large. The government already tells you that you have to vaccinate your kids despite sometimes dangerous side effects; you must also refrain from illegal drug use, despite the fact that some legal pharmaceuticals are far more dangerous. The government may also draft your body and send you to war to get shot and blown to pieces if it deems necessary (assuming of course you are a male). So why should the government suddenly balk in fear of forcing people to wear a helmet when riding a motorcycle? The answer is because of organized efforts by responsible bikers that make it politically and financially prohibitive to do otherwise.
Personally I wear a helmet, a DOT certified helmet that probably makes me look like a character out of Spaceballs. I do it anyway though because if I ever go down, I need every advantage I can get. I wear the helmet for my wife, my two children and for myself, not because the government wants to play surrogate parent. I am a reasonably intelligent, productive member of society capable of determining the repercussions of my actions on my own and because of this I will use my resources, financial and otherwise to make sure this freedom is preserved even if I myself do not partake of it. But you bikers out there who are insisting upon riding without a helmet who are not part of the ABATE, AMA, TMRA2 or like motorcycle rights organizations and who do not participate in legislative calls to action by such organizations should be ashamed of yourselves for piggy backing upon the efforts of your fellow bikers/activists. Just because your God given freedoms shouldn’t be taken does not mean that they will not. Your freedom to ride without a helmet only exist as long as the efforts of your fellow bikers exceed that of well financed and organized insurance lobby groups who will never quit. These lobbyists will do everything in their power to sway popular and political opinion and guess what? In some states they’re winning. We are the extreme minority where every effort or lack thereof impacts the final outcome, think about that.
Join the TMRA2, AMA, ABATE or a like organization and make sure to pay attention to calls for support and action from these organizations and organizations like the U.S. Defenders. If you are an independent, unaffiliated rider get involved by supporting the AMA, ABATE and the Coalition of Independent Riders. Ride free, not freeloading.
Think I’m full of hot air? Just within the last three days 2 new news articles have surfaced…
Michigan voters oppose helmetless riders because of insurance premium concerns for non-motorcyclists:
Delaware debating on making wearing of a helmet mandatory:
Worthwhile Organizations
TMRA
TMRA2
ABATE
U.S. Defenders
AMA
Finally got a chance to catch up on my blog reading. WELL SAID on all of it, brother. By the way, we're kindred spirits. I wear a helmet, too. I think everybody ought to. I think they should also have the freedom not to. Nice article; especially with the MRO links. And let's be honest - the helmet thing is just the tip of the iceberg as far as rights go...
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