Motorcycle Helmet Laws

[I cant think of a name]

I do not understand why we have laws requiring motorcycle riders to wear a helmet. While riding a motorcycle without a helmet is dangerous, doing so doesn't put anyone at risk except the rider, so why does he deserve a ticket for not being safe?

 

[alakazam_1]

So if you were a parent, would you tell your children, "Wear a seatbelt if you want, but if you don't, it's only you who'll get hurt"? The law reflects the fact that some people in the country do give a damn about others and that the government wants motorcyclists to be safe. It works like this:

Motorcyclist doesn't wear helmet, endangering self
Motorcyclist receives ticket which he doesn't want
Motorcyclist, wanting no more tickets, starts wearing a helmet
Through this law, this person has become more likely to survive in a crash - a desirable outcome, no?

 

[Ethan]

Because if you're too stupid to protect your own life, then its the governments job to do it for you.

 

[ironknight42]

Just finished a class about this kind of stuff...

It is because most fatal injuries from a motorcycle accident will occur in the head.
The government wants to protect you because people have things and things are taxable so the more people that are alive the more money you get the more money they get the less they need to take from an individual thus making individual happier, this is of based on the assumption that you are not a parasite on you nations side then you just cost more money hence you are bad.

 

[darkjigglypuff]

Just let them.
If they're too stupid to wear the helmet, then we have good odds of ridding ourselves of another idiot.

Everyone wins.

 

[Zenotwapal]

Just let them.
If they're too stupid to wear the helmet, then we have good odds of ridding ourselves of another idiot.

Everyone wins.

Yes, no matter how true this is, lets just make a motorcycle helmet law to make evdryone happy.

 

[I cant think of a name]

Yes, no matter how true this is, lets just make a motorcycle helmet law to make evdryone happy.

Everyone isn't happy, if everyone was this thread wouldn't exist. Why should the government give people tickets so they are scared into being safe?

 

[Zenotwapal]

Everyone isn't happy, if everyone was this thread wouldn't exist. Why should the government give people tickets so they are scared into being safe?

Isn't it common sense to stay safe?

Its like the government has to force the people that have no common sense into having it.

 

[I cant think of a name]

Isn't it common sense to stay safe?

Its like the government has to force the people that have no common sense into having it.

No, the government does not have to force people into having common sense. People can ride motorcycles, which are dangerous and have no benefit, so why can't they ride without a helmet if laws obviously show it's legal to endanger yourself without a good reason?

 

[Ipwnyou]

Because if they are involved in an accident then other people might end up being held responsible for their injuries.

 

[pocketmunster]

Because if they are involved in an accident then other people might end up being held responsible for their injuries.

This, and so cops can have another reason to get money from you.

 

[I cant think of a name]

Because if they are involved in an accident then other people might end up being held responsible for their injuries.

Then have a law preventing people from being held responsible for injuries to motorcyclists without helmets.

 

[The_Panda]

What harm is there though in having laws that tell people to wear seat-belts, helmets, et cetera? There's hardly such thing as "a right to drive around on a bike without a helmet" anyway. Besides, for all you can talk about who is responsible for what, blah blah blah, really that is not the question here. Of course it's the motorcyclist's fault if he doesn't wear a helmet, and nobody really wants to deny that (and those who are are more likely scrounging for arguments more than anything else). However that can take nothing away from the fact that, regardless of whose fault it is, someone is being killed in a horrific way; it is simple human decency that something should be done about it. Given that the only thing that is hurt through this are the pockets of a few stupid bikeys, weighing this up objectively against what happens in emergency departments the justification for this law is thus apparent.

 

[I cant think of a name]

What harm is there though in having laws that tell people to wear seat-belts, helmets, et cetera? There's hardly such thing as "a right to drive around on a bike without a helmet" anyway. Besides, for all you can talk about who is responsible for what, blah blah blah, really that is not the question here. Of course it's the motorcyclist's fault if he doesn't wear a helmet, and nobody really wants to deny that (and those who are are more likely scrounging for arguments more than anything else). However that can take nothing away from the fact that, regardless of whose fault it is, someone is being killed in a horrific way; it is simple human decency that something should be done about it. Given that the only thing that is hurt through this are the pockets of a few stupid bikeys, weighing this up objectively against what happens in emergency departments the justification for this law is thus apparent.

But do we really have the right to tell someone to be safe, and take their money if they don't listen? The motorcyclists choose to risk their lives for the sake of their culture, which I agree is stupid, but we don't have the right to punish them for that decision.

 

[The_Panda]

But do we really have the right to tell someone to be safe, and take their money if they don't listen? The motorcyclists choose to risk their lives for the sake of their culture, which I agree is stupid, but we don't have the right to punish them for that decision.

The government has a vast array of rights and responsibilities granted by convention and constitution, and among them include both the choice and the mandate to punish and outlaw dangerous behaviour, whether the danger posed be towards the individual or others. Besides, you can't forget that it's the government letting these people drive in the first place, so it's within the rights of the government to attach conditions, such as the necessity of wearing a helmet.

 

[I cant think of a name]

The government has a vast array of rights and responsibilities granted by convention and constitution, and among them include both the choice and the mandate to punish and outlaw dangerous behaviour, whether the danger posed be towards the individual or others. Besides, you can't forget that it's the government letting these people drive in the first place, so it's within the rights of the government to attach conditions, such as the necessity of wearing a helmet.

Either way, I do not see any sense in punishing someone for threatening their own life. The motorcyclist makes the choice, understanding there is a significant chance he will get killed, to not wear a helmet. Yes, it is true that a higher amount of motorcyclists would die because of this, but they understood they could die from the start and decided they wanted to take that risk.

 

[pocketmunster]

The government has a vast array of rights and responsibilities granted by convention and constitution,

The govenment should stay out of our personal affairs weather it be saftey or drug use or what ever. If its a public saftey hazzard its one thing but let people live theri lives the way they want. It might seem trivial but its called life, liberty and the persuit of happiness.

Cops just want money, they dont care about your saftey, they just justify their taking your money with things like forced saftey.

 

[I cant think of a name]

^I agree with the first part of your post, we are entitled to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, whether it means taking a huge risk for fun or not.

But I don't think the cops just want our money, they want us to be safe to the point of taking away our rights, which isn't a whole lot better.

 

[Ipwnyou]

Then have a law preventing people from being held responsible for injuries to motorcyclists without helmets.

well this depends on where you live.
The laws differ from place to place.

 

[PsychedelicJellyfish]

Not forcing people to wear helmets when riding motorcycles seems to me to be bordering on social Darwinism, weeding out the people stupid enough to not wear one.

We need the laws because blood and spattered brains are very hard to clean off the road. And because it's a government's job to protect the citizens of its country.