Listers,
Well, I shied away from the safety issues of mc helmet use because
my main point is having the choice to wear it or not. The people that
want, for some strange reason, to alter my lifestyle and control my
freedoms need an education. Having nothing to stand on in their quest
to offer a sane reason for a mandatory helmet law, they grasp at the
only reason they can think of: Safety. Well, take a look at the facts:
http://home.tampabay.rr.com/ourplace/Biker/contents.htm
Click on Helmet Facts as a beginning when you go to this site. Helmet
laws were enacted by the states due to federal black mailing; the
threat of loss of highway funding if belt and helmet laws were not
mandatory. Thirty states have repealed the law so far and ABATE of NJ
is constantly working with our state government in an attempt to repeal
our mandatory helmet law.
The fact that death brings a horrible tragedy to a family is true, oh so
true. In 1959, my sixteen year old brother died when his head got crushed
in a farm tractor accident. The effect on my family was permanent. Now,
did we beat the tractor into submission or demand tough tractor operation
laws? No, we eventually bought two more tractors and we ride them sans
helmets.
As to the false sense of security one has when riding with a helmet. Ever
notice that the dude puttin' along on his big bike, without a helmet, rides
very much differently than the kid on a "rice rocket" wearing a helmet and
full leather racing gear? You know the ones. In and out of traffic at zero
to sixty mph in less than three seconds. They think they're safe. Ha!
In memory of:
Frenchy
Big Dave
ZZ
Alan
Miss Red Head (when the driver of the bike couldn't hear what she was
saying due to the helmet restricting his hearing, he turned his head
in an attempt to hear her. They looked like rag dolls bouncing from tree
to tree)
Dirt Biker
Snuffles
Couchy (alive, but severely handicapped due to the helmet's chin strap
wreaking havoc on his neck due to an oncoming car left turning in
front of him)
Bikers, except Big Dave, that died on their scoots while wearing a helmet.
None of my associates died as a result of not wearing a helmet. Big Dave
died because an oncoming car left turned in front of him, destroying his
left leg. Even though he had a giant cast on his leg, he trailed the pack
in case of a breakdown when our club, the club my wife, "Better Late
Than Never" Johnson and me, Fall Down, started The POW-MIA Awareness
Motorcycle Club when we ventured to NYC for a POW-MIA "run." When
Big Dave got back home he had a struggle getting out of his pickup due
to his leg cast. Halfway out, the truck rolled forward pinning and killing one
of the finest persons I've ever known. He survived serious combat in 'Nam,
only to be taken out by a tree and truck door because of a cast brought
on by a car driver's carelessness.
My wife, mostly paralyzed as a result of a car wreck involving a kid ignoring
a red light. Yes, she had the seat belt on for what good that did. It saved
her life, a life now filled with constant pain that even prescribed narcotics
can't touch.
I know tragedy...
Joe "Fall Down" Young
Past Pres. POW-MIA MC
Member of Abate (type ABATE into your browser, learn more)
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Sat Sep 02 2000 - 09:32:26 PDT