Helmets, laws, discussions, etc.

Monkey Wrench Cycles said:

Liability covers $26,000 and my bills, when i was hit, were close to $750,000... Other than a long civil suit to sue him, im stuck with what wasnt covered by insurance... What i am advocating is similar to a civil judgement but without the court order. Just send the bill (and creditors to them).

As far as paying the price without gear, the same could be said of riding in general, flying, skiing, etc...

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Hmm, sounds like Texas needs better liability insurance requirements. But yeah, if people can get away with only 26K of liability insurance, I see your point.

As far as flying, skiing, etc., yeah I agree. And I think those people have a responsibility to protect themselves, and not rely on society or other people to do it for them. The difference, though, is that for the most part people engaging in those activities are less likely to be injured because of the actions of another person. Who's responsible if a skier breaks his neck because he goes too fast? Not really the owner of the ski slope.

That seems to be fair. The risk is then on the biker as well. Folks need to understand that is what insurance is: risk management.

BlueStreak said:

Hmm, sounds like Texas needs better liability insurance requirements. But yeah, if people can get away with only 26K of liability insurance, I see your point.

As far as flying, skiing, etc., yeah I agree. And I think those people have a responsibility to protect themselves, and not rely on society or other people to do it for them. The difference, though, is that for the most part people engaging in those activities are less likely to be injured because of the actions of another person. Who's responsible if a skier breaks his neck because he goes too fast? Not really the owner of the ski slope.

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January of this year they raised the limit to $50k. Its a start.

My point about skiing, flying, etc. was that there are risks in everything and if you start regulating safety and helmets for bikers where do you stop...

Thats why I'm on the fence. How many people get head injuries just around the house from falls every year? Get on a ladder, wear a helmet, get on a bicycle, wear a helmet, going outside on an icy day, wear a helmet, getting in and out of the bath tub, wear a helmet. The list goes on and on.

The Big Spank Daddy said:

Thats why I'm on the fence. How many people get head injuries just around the house from falls every year? Get on a ladder, wear a helmet, get on a bicycle, wear a helmet, going outside on an icy day, wear a helmet, getting in and out of the bath tub, wear a helmet. The list goes on and on.

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Exactly. And where does it end...? If you start regulating "dangerous" activities they could essentially just decide its to risky and ban things like riding or regulate them to death until nobody can afford to ride anymore...

Exactly. I've always said if they pass manditory helmet laws for motorcycles, they should extend it to any vehicles, cars, buses, school buses, taxis, whatever. There is a significant risk of head injury in ANY vehicle, even ones with seat belts and air bags. Why just limit the law to motorcycles? Why not require Snell certification on bicycles, ATVs, lawn tractors, farm equipment, whatever? Yep, it can go on forever, this trying to save us from ourselves by passing draconian laws. I'd rather just make the decisions about my own safety and leave the gubment out of it. I wanna leave the gubment out of EVERYTHING as far as telling me how to live my life, personally.

Diderich said:

Traumatic brain injury is a contributing factor in a third of all injury related deaths in the US.

50,000 people die from head trauma every year which is 10 TIMES the TOTAL number of deaths from motorcycles.

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The Big Spank Daddy said:

Thats why I'm on the fence. How many people get head injuries just around the house from falls every year? Get on a ladder, wear a helmet, get on a bicycle, wear a helmet, going outside on an icy day, wear a helmet, getting in and out of the bath tub, wear a helmet. The list goes on and on.

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In case that wasn't just rhetorical....