Apur-phy.169 net.cycle utzoo!decvax!pur-ee!pur-phy!mad Fri Dec 11 14:01:29 1981 Helmets suck? Regarding Brian's short comments on helmets: (``THEY SUCK!'') Every time I climb on my scoot I wear my helmet, for a variety of (what I consider) very good reasons. First the selfish ones: like anything else, riding a cycle is a taking a certain risk. No matter how capable a rider you are, it's pretty likely that someday you and your scoot are going to part in a less than graceful manner. (Lots of moronic auto drivers and a dog or two will be glad to assist if you can't do it on your own.) I'm sure a multitude of studies have shown that in such circumstances, a helmet significantly reduces the likely- hood of head injuries. I consider it advantageous to protect my head from trauma, and consider the `costs' of wearing a helmet (whatever they may be) to be insignificant in comparison to head injury and any subsequent mental or physical impairment. Now, for the societal issues: If you go out and splat your cerebral cortex against the pavement, you cost everyone a lot of bucks. First of all, our insurance rates jump to pay for your hospitalization, and the outrageous lawsuit you filed against the idiot that hit you. Now, I'm not suggesting that helmets will end accidents and the resulting costs, but the costs will certainly be less if your head has not been too badly scrambled by the affair. Should you receive injuries severe enough to lower your productivity, society is out the `contributions' you might have made, and also, probably has to pay to let you drool down you chin in some nursing home somewhere. Now, in reality, I DON'T favor LAWS requiring helmet use. They are ineffective, and lead to the mentality that NOT wearing a helmet is somehow `macho'. I DO think its naive to dismiss helmets with a remark like: THEY SUCK! (Afterburners on!) I can live without the air blowing thru my hair, and I don't ride to go out `profiling' on some pre-fab chopper to show myself to the chicks. I ride because I love the sport. I wear a helmet because I'm realistic about the risks. Mike P.S. I ride a CB900F with a sport control kit, I'd be interested in any comments about the sport fairing that Honda has available for the 900. ----------------------------------------------------------------- gopher://quux.org/ conversion by John Goerzen of http://communication.ucsd.edu/A-News/ This Usenet Oldnews Archive article may be copied and distributed freely, provided: 1. There is no money collected for the text(s) of the articles. 2. The following notice remains appended to each copy: The Usenet Oldnews Archive: Compilation Copyright (C) 1981, 1996 Bruce Jones, Henry Spencer, David Wiseman.