I constantly push my limits, this may a risky or stupid way to ride, but I think it makes me learn from my mistakes and become much of a better rider. For my riding style, I always wear a helmet.........and now am getting a nice chest protector. If it wasn't for helmets, I would've died twice, and I've only crashed twice, that can tell you what kind of accidents I get in. Although I always wear my helmet, I don't preach to people that I ride with. It's a free country, If they want to not wear a helmet for whatever reason, they have the right to.

Patrick

 

14mins.

So you admit that a $250,000 med bill won't raise everyones premium much. What about a hundred accidents? A thousand? Ten Thousand? Damn right we pay too much for insurance in this country because far too many Americans are dimwits.
Example: No Helmet accident, medical bill/aftercare/therapy = $500,000. Insurance covers $250,000, my rates go up to pay for dimwit. Dimwit still owes $250,000, goes bankrupt, stiffs hospital. Hospital raises rates for service to combat dimwits, I pay more everytime my kid gets a runny nose. With higher Hospital rates, insurance raises rates again to cover higher costs. I pay more again.
Now dimwit feels like he should be compensated by the property owner where he was riding. He hires himself one of those liberal NYU lawyers who believes the masses should pay for the STUPIDITY of the few and he takes the landowner to court. He wins $10 million from the wealth redistribution foundation [read - lower class, average American jury who has been indoctrinated to dole out the "rich people's" hard earned savings by news reporting and Hollywood. Remember, It's alot easier to sue someone than it is to earn it or even win it in the lottery.] The first $5 million comes from his umbrella policy, the next $ 2.5 mil out of his pocket. Now mister rich man goes BK and defaults on $2 mil in loans. Guess who pays that, we do.

I hope this does not happen to you.

I think a no helmet - no insurance payout is fair, just as a no seatbelt no insurance payout is fair.

This is one area where I disagree with the AMA which I have been a member of since 79. Stop fighting the no helmet laws. Not only will it prevent injuries iwith REAL cyclists but it will deter bar hopping custom Harley posers from buying a bike in the first place. You can't put a helmet over all that mousse and gel and they gotta let the ladies see their faces to show how tough and alternative they are. Those are the squids I see under an SUV, round here weekly. RIP

Remember, your actions have consequences. Often times ones that effect other people. No man is an island unto himself.


BTW, Repos have zero to do with retail cost of vehicles. Interest is not only and additional revenue stream but an insurance policy. Interest is a function of risk. If auto retailers set prices like hospitals a 2004 Ford Focus would cost $30,000.

 

If iam messing around in the yard I dont but , when I trail ride on rode ride I do.

 

The only problem with using that to justify people not wearing helmets and racking up huge medical bills that the public has to shoulder is this - people shouldn't steal gas, write bad checks, not pay for their credit cards, shoplift food or clothes, or not pay for quads that they buy. Everything listed is wrong and punishable - so we can compare that to not wearing a helmet? Fine - if you rack up huge bills for the reason of not wearing a helmet, you are in one way or another affecting how much my insurance costs, my medical bills cost, and how much taxes I pay. Do you think it is fair to take it upon yourself to take money out of the pockets of innocent bystanders because you, oh so intelligent, cracked your melon when it was fully preventable? I don't think that's fair. In fact, I'd go as far to say that when you do something like that, maybe they shouldn't treat you at the hospital. If people knew that if they did something stupid without a helmet on and got hurt the hospital was going to let them die rather than raising the costs of healthcare for the rest of the world, maybe people would think twice about riding without helmets. If not, they are Darwin's best friend. Natural selection at work.

Attempting to justify a wrong by pointing to several other wrongs does not make your actions any better - they are still wrong in a good societal view of things. The bottom line is, I don't want to nor think I should have to pay a single fraction of a dime in my lifetime because of you cracking your melon when it could have been prevented. Fair enough?

 

Kind of "debunks" some theories I've heard tooooo many times.

I guess I'd like to ask this question:

When a youth of any age, sees an "adult" riding around without a helmet........does anybody really think these kids distinguish actually "where" that role model is riding that machine and don't we all have a responsibility to show each and every one of them that it really makes no difference? (Do you all run into more impressionable kids out in the woods.........or in your yard?).

I think one of the reasons our society has so much trouble today is that (again) "adults" aren't making the effort to teach our young people very darn much (putting a helmet on for the sake of a child is just plain inconvenient.........).

One more 'rant' before I go......for all of you out there who just "have" to wear "half" helmets.....how about if we pay "half" of your major casualty insurance costs....sounds fair to me! [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img]


Again......"but wearing that 'hot' and 'stuffy' full-face......is an inconvenience"......) [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-sad.gif[/img]

John

 

It's about 50-50 with me...Ky has no helmet law for street bikes but does for atvs.. I think its a matter of personal preference and resposibility for your own actions...Everyone thinks a helmet is a guarenteed lifesaver...I have been a biker and atver for over 30 years, and can honestly say that it's not. A helmet might save you from a impact to the head...But what about when the helmet or chin bar hits and rotates the strap to hang you?? This injury is just like a hangmans noose.IMO a helmet can give you a false sense of security. KYs death rate on motorcycles has dropped after the repeal of the helmet law. All you "100% helmet wearing I'm an idiot if I don't" people explain that one to me. The last time I checked this was a fairly free country. That should apply to alot more things than it does. All this bs about helmetless riders costing the government $$$ on health costs is a drop in the bucket compared to their other boo boos. Ky has the right idea..If you want to ride helmetless you got to get a sticker that shows that you have health coverage. That way they can't blame rising health care costs on helmetless riders.

 

I personally wear a helmet when ever I ride so I can live to ride another day.

I think everyone should but I dont preach it to them I just think its alot more safe ...my 02 !

 

How much coverage do you have to carry and how many of those rider's premiums are ate up by just one head injury? Last I checked, catastrophic insurance that covered EVERYTHING was pretty darn expensive.

Do the residents of KY. just call the insurance company up and ask them 'how much' to cover a nurse coming in to feed, bathe, clothe them for the rest of their lives as a helmetless "accident" victim? (and please quote me coverage for a surrogate 'Dad' to come in here and raise my kids; service my wife...........).

It is just hard for me to imagine any insurance company not just charging the heck out of a helmet-less customer when the rates for everything else we do are dependent on everything under the sun within (and beyond) our control.

John

By the way, if anybody wants to see the utter contrast in what all this means to our sport and why we are continually spinning our wheels to get anything positive done..........look at the two of the most popular riding areas on the east coast; Windrock and Hatfield/McCoy.

At one extreme you have a pretty large organized club doing all they can to promote helmet-less and even DOUBLE riding on single use machines........while at the other end you have ('evil') business and (unholy) government getting ABSOLUTELY NO HELP from local private riding clubs in that area; because why?........... you actually have to (God forbid) follow "rules" when you receive the privelege to ride there!.

This is (by far) the biggest dirty secret that nobody in the off-road community wants to talk about.

Everybody remember the latest CPSC hearings in WV.? What if somebody had brought this discrepancy up to that board and asked the ATVA or AMA exactly why they haven't been speaking out on all this after portraying themselves as representing "us"?(which, from what all I can gather. is one heck of a split community on one heck of an important issue).

I'm sorry, people; but if some of you don't start having the guts to speak out on some of these issues.........please don't expect your grandchildren to look at our efforts in continuing the off-road legacy that was handed down to us.........as anything but a dismal failure.

 

Blackballed,

Exactly.

 

IM always wearing a helmet