LOL i though of it like that once if no one knows me i can really test the limits out . till i busted up my cool a$$ helmet .

 

I remember my first bad wreck that I had with a helmet on, I remember looking at the visor afterwork thinking "that could have been a smashed head, time for a new helmet". helmets can also help if you do stupid things... like at this cross country horse race there was a guy that went to jump on his horse ( I know not an ATV) but instead went over right on his head [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img](he wasn't hurt), I rode my ATV out to pick up the pieces ( a lot of pieces) of the helmet a few weeks later so he could send them in for his free replacement. I love mine just for the fact that it helps my goggles stay on, I'd probly be blind in one eye w/o them (it was a big bug).

 

In the state of Indiana you are not required by law to wear a helmet riding a street bike but driving a car you are required by law to wear a seatbelt while driving a passenger vehicle.

 

I don't wear my helmet in the yard or around on the property usually (which I probably should), But I do wear my helmet when I am going on a trail ride or racing! I was knocked out before with my helmet on and don't even want to think about what that would have been like if I didn't have it on. As for other people wearing theirs... Its their choice plain and simple, but if there is a kid involved they better have a helmet on!

and YFM660... I've learned along time ago not to try to make sense out of the law it will only (hurt your head) so to speak! [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

 

Well I guess I get some of the blame for starting this!!
First off let me say that I didn't always wear a helmet, I always wore one when riding my crotch rockets (if you can call a 750 Kawi tripple from the 70's a crotch rocket LOL!!) But when I switched to Harleys I stopped wearing them because I was cruising not hot rodding.
When I had my 250R I rarely wore one, then I had a crash that hurt everything but my head, I was bruised from ankle to shoulder after crashing on rocks but I never hit my head. I got lucky!!!

Being a Firefighter I've seen more results of others stupid actions than all of you put together probably will.
People dying when they should have just got road rash, in a permenant coma instead of walking away, etc, etc, etc.
So I probably "preach" about helmets more than most.

There are very few times when I don't wear a helmet, like when I'm in camp at Sahara going to the shower house, I stay in the North camp & hot roding is not tolerated so t's kinda like ChetRacer looking for flowers!!
I don't wear it when loading my quad in the trailer (it's 1' off the ground with a 8' wide ramp) I did wear it when I hauled it in the back of my truck.

Any other time I'm on my quad I wear the helmet.
As Ernies run in with the trailer shows just because your just criusing around not expecting to hot rod it doesn't mean you won't.
I know it's hard not to punch it & feel the power & I also know that I like to feel the power so when I'm somewhere it's possible to punch it I will, so I wear my helmet.

You may be cruising around but what about the other guy?
The guy that rides across the dragstrip at Sahara & you crash in to him WFO in 5th?
The guy who jumps a dune without seeing you sitting on the other side?
The guy who gets drunk or high & goes blasting around?
You have to protect yourself from more than just your actions.

Was the guy who crashed his Shee at speed wearing a helmet??
Either way that & even Jays starting line crash should be an eye opener, those wrecks could have been much worse & how would you feel if someone hurt themselves badly because you listened to your insurance guy & covered your butt while not protecting your guests?
If someone is permantly injured & you are sued you could be forced to suport him & his family for the rest of his life.
Remember how scared you were when Ernie hit that trailer?? Mulitply that by 1000 for a permanant injury & 10,000 times for a death.

Dying, being in a coma or having severe injuries affects more people than just you.
If you have great insurance it may not be a financhal (sp) burden but there is a major emotional toll.

I have no sympathy for the guy who dies riding without a helmet, it's everyone around him that I feel sorry for.
When picking up his body parts I'm pissed at him for doing this to his family.
It may be harsh but I've been doing this for almost 22 years & have been hardened by what I've seen.
I feel for the inocents not the guy that decided to do something stupid & not try to protect himself.
You have no idea what it feels like to be at a scene with a death & the faimly of the victim shows up screaming & wailing, It even effects the Firefighters, Police, Paramedics & the bystanders that never knew the the victim. You can phyisacaly feel their pain.

Crashes can & will happen, no one knows when.
Protect yourself, your family & your friends.

Helmets & seat belts do not protect you from everything, I have cut seatbelts & removed helmets from dead bodies, but they improve your chances.
It is a personal choice, you can not force anyone to do something they don't want to, but I've never heard anyone at Atoka complain they have to wear a helmet.
I have never been to any kind of organized race where helmets weren't required.

Most of the guys I ride with won't wear a helmet, yes I bitch at them but it doesn't do any good.
If I go riding & no one else wants to wear a helmet at least I'll be able to pick up the pieces & go for help.

End of sermon, I'll fold up my soap box now.

 

Well said Moose. I'd consider a Kawi triple an unguided missle. I used to have them too.

 

Yes, well said.

I always wear my helmet...its a habit and I dont feel right without it. Just like I wear my seatbelt. If it can possibly save your life, why not wear it.

I also feel for the family and friends of those who lost the life of a loved one for not wearing a helmet. But I do not feel anything at all for the one not wearing the helmet.

People make decisions for themselves everyday, just do not ask for pitty when you dont make the right one.

 

Nicely put Moose, but for me I even see it as the difference between walking away and being able to continue working to support my family (wife and son) or having to get rushed to the emergency room seriously injured, if there was nothing I could of done/worn to protect my self Oh well but if there was shame on me for being irresponsible, Im too old for that sh*t and that not why I bought quads for ...................besides my son loves all that gear we wear so much I have to put it away or he uses it to play PowerRangers with his friends[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

 

I must confess that sometimes I don't (always) wear my helmet when I load my quad at home, but any place else it gets put on. I am getting better about loading with it on at home.

I see people just jump on their bikes to warm them up or put around the yard. It's these times when something serious can happen. One friend literally crashed into his house while fooling around.

I chuckle inside (and I know it's bad) when I see someone stopped at Pismo by the Rangers when they aren't wearing a helmet. Sometimes it just a quick trip to the bathroom, but I've seen people take off from the bathrooms like it was the finals of a drag race.

As far as insurance paying for you veggie state after an accident, any person who pays for insurance is paying for you. So yes, it does affect nearly all. Look at insurance rates since 9/11/2001. I've changed carriers as rates go up (50% from the last carrier! (And I have a perfect driving record.)). Insurace is just another form of lottery. Except for with insurance, when you win, it's because you've lost.

And when you are to the point that you are disabled, it seriously affects those around you. A coworkers wife became a parapalegic [sic] after a battle with cancer. It's been three years and she is just now getting things back together and return to some normalcy. They were finally able to get a van and she's now "catching up on three years worth of shopping." Her sister moved in to help with her care. Her husband has had to remain working in town (nearly everyone else works out of town.) I know I don't want to be that kind of burdon on someone.

Hopefully this thread will at least make one person start to wear their helmet. I wouldn't want Moose's job. I commend you for doing what you do. I don't think I could handle the accidents and those types of things.

I've had friends injured while riding and luckily they were mostly all able to walk away. Nobody has had head injuries, except for looking like they got jumped.

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Go spend a summer weekend night at the ER and take a look at the difference in people in motorcycle wreck's with and without helmets. I know about the advantages of wearing a helmet and not, you can hear, see better, I know, I ride street bikes. I also know that anything faster than 20 mph on pavement a helmet is not going to do much for you in the case of a impact of the skull. But it wil save you from road rashing your ear off.
Plain and simple its stupid to not wear a helmet on a atv. WHAT IF? Its anybodys choice, and I am not in favor of imposing rules, but think about it:

14mins you say your kid must wear it, so you obviously think its safer, so why not? Its not going to hurt anything to have it on, don't tell me that it will, because on a quad in the open there are no advantages to not having it on. Do you really need those 30 seconds you took to put it on?

Do what ever you want, but I will still continue to question the amount of inteligence non helmet guys have, Maybe thats why they don't wear them, not much to protect?