Federal Government Weighs National Helmet Law | RideApart

Try to attack the topic, not each other please. Personally won't affect me since I always wear a lid. Even when riding around the block to heat the chain before cleaning

 

I'm glad this is being pushed. It's like seatbelts, one of those 'no brainer' (hah) laws that should have been put in years ago. So many people tout 'freedom' as meaning the ability to do whatever the hell they want, but thats not true. The rest of the civilized world has similar laws in place, and we aren't all slaves to the government.

In Canada, there is a huge reason why the government can mandate helmets - socialized healthcare. I.e. if the taxpayer is going to foot your medical bills, they (via politicians) get to decide you are going to wear a lid. In the US, its not like that (yet), so I can see some people taking exception to it.

 

It'll start with a helmet law. And then it'll keep going and going.

Legislators don't make one law, then decide to hang up their pens and stationary and call it a day. They then start on the next law. Stop them and keep your freedom.


If anything, it's a state's job to decide, but please, keep it away from being federal. You want to know why we have nanny state speed laws and ridiculously high speeding fines? It's because of federal incentives. States get paid by the feds to enforce speed limits and other traffic laws. If we keep giving them the power to enforce laws, they'll take as much as they can away from us. You guys give them this, and it won't be a big deal - because most of us here (me included) always ride with a lid. But after that, the next law or laws down the line WILL be something you care about. It's the nature of government. Look at history.

 

Everyone should wear a helmet but it should be your choice. I do agree that if this law gets pushed it wont stop there. It's like pushing the envelope just how much can you do before people say this is enough. But I never thought about the whole obama care and ****. Now we will have stupid squids riding around with coverage and no helmets. I sure as hell don't want to foot the bill for someone riding stupid.

 

I would have thought the the other way, but you make some good points. I remember a couple years ago hearing mention of some politician bringing forth the idea of a national banning all "sportbikes" on public roads. I'm not really into politics, so I couldnt tell you who, or at what level. But what I am pretty sure of, is that given the public spotlight cast on sportbikes these days, I can really see a bill like that passing.

Point being, if allowing a federal helmet to be passed could in fact open up the possibility for more draconian laws, then I agree.

FWIW though, IL is a non-mandatory state, but if I'm on a moving bike, I got a lid on.

 

Which was going to be my original stance before reading Conrice's post.

Maybe make wearing a helmet optional nation-wide, but have a surcharge in place on top your base insurance payments. Have it stamped as such on your insurance card. If you get pulled over, and are helmetless without said stamp, bam, stiff penalty. Now everyone gets to keep their little "freedoms", they just have to pay a little more for 'em. Kind of like it is for everything else in life.

Or if you get into an accident with no helmet, only a certain percentage of the medical cost is covered by your insurance.

 

Helmet laws suck.
It should be my decision to wear gear to protect my own life. All the "spending of tax dollars" logic to legislate is a selective argument. They don't seem to care about wasting tax dollars on anything else. The idiots that don't wear gear and die cost the taxpayer less in the long run.

It's a process of natural selection. Idiots breed more idiots. By protecting idiots from themselves just gets in the way of nature making us a smarter and better species.

 

Another thing the government wants to tell me they know better. Such an entitled sense of being, thinking you know better then someone else to the point you should tell them how to live their life. Your opinion is correct to you because you believe in it. Its wrong to me because I don't. Niether one of us and yet both of us are correct. In the end, nobody gets to direct how I live my life. Laws are just other peoples ideas, not mine.

 

I wear a helmet all the time, think who ever doesn't is stupid and should wear one. But I agree with Conrice, they never stop with one they often will only pass one bill at a time then move to another topic but the agenda is still there and its plodding along. I do however, disagree with paying for my freedom, if we had to pay for our freedoms than only the well to do would be able to really live and America would look like a utopian sci-fi movie. Let people not wear helmets if they choose and if they crash and have government healthcare refuse to fix the brain, or refuse to pay it. That's what they do now, stupidity shouldn't be rewarded but we should be allowed to be stupid; isn't that a major key to child development?

 

Exactly. In one sense, it won't affect me a bit because I don't need a law.

I'm always torn on topics like this, because my general policy is that a law should exist ONLY if it is completely necessary to protect one human from another. But it's certainly frustrating to see other people making bad decisions, and I guess some people can't help but think they need to act on their frustrations. And then, at the bottom of everything, there's always MONEY.

Frankly, there are several other questions that arise from this topic that really make me wonder what is going on in people's minds:
- why are things like mandating motorcycle helmets or limiting the size of soft drinks so critical, while things like cigarette smoking go boldy on?
- why do people get so bent out of shape about the mere mention of a helmet law, but nobody blinks an eye at seatbelt laws?
- why do i get a ticket for 80 in a 65 in the middle of F'ing nowhere with not a car in sight, while everyone does 45 in a 30 through a crowded downtown?

Most of the time I feel like that line from Heath Ledger's Joker about people being accepting of horrors but losing their minds over nothing because things aren't going according to 'the plan'.

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and another thing: It certainly follows the trend for the federal gov't to stick it's fingers into another traditionally state/local matter. It really can't be long before there's no functional meaning for having gov't at the state level.