The Down Range Forum
Member Section => Down Range Cafe => Topic started by: twyacht on July 04, 2011, 06:05:28 PM
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http://www.theblaze.com/stories/motorcyclist-dies-on-ride-protesting-helmet-law/
ONONDAGA, N.Y. (AP) — Police say a motorcyclist participating in a protest ride against helmet laws in upstate New York died after he flipped over the bike’s handlebars and hit his head on the pavement.
The accident happened Saturday afternoon in the town of Onondaga, in central New York near Syracuse.
State troopers tell The Post-Standard of Syracuse that 55-year-old Philip A. Contos of Parish, N.Y., was driving a 1983 Harley Davidson with a group of bikers who were protesting helmet laws by not wearing helmets.
Troopers say Contos hit his brakes and the motorcycle fishtailed. The bike spun out of control, and Contos toppled over the handlebars. He was pronounced dead at a hospital.
Troopers say Contos would have likely survived if he had been wearing a helmet.
Not going to add much persuasion to the cause....
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I say let them ride anyway they want so long as they've got insurance for it. They've got little notations on your license for eye glasses and such. So if you have a motorcycle permit, note if your covered for riding without a helmet. That way tax payers aren't picking up the bill, and it's between you and your insurance company how much doing it is worth to you.
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Hey, maybe you can fix stupid. :o
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I'm alive because I was wearing a helmet!
In CT, they have mandatory seat belt laws, no cell phones while driving, etc....an NO helmet law!
Stupid is a relative term....I grew up wearing them in Michigan and wouldn't ride a bicycle without a helmet these days.
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As a former rider, I think one should have the choice to wear one or not. And with that choice comes responsibility.
And though no one has gotten on the "everyone who rides a motorcycle must wear a helmet" soapbox, I would caution anyone who thinks that way to consider the anti's use the same kind of reasoning for concealed carry permits, magazine capacity restrictions, etc. If we want people to respect our rights on how and what we carry, we have to respect their rights too....So now I'm getting off my soapbox....Good night....
-FA
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I don't really care one way or the other if one wears a helmet or not! Just don't expect to sue me or my insurance company if you become a vegetable because of your own "right" to express your ignorance. I do find it a bit of an oxymoron in CT when I am required by law to wear a seat belt and riders can chose to not wear a helmet...that's all I'm saying!
I got run over by an under insured immigrant. My dumb luck he wasn't driving a Mercedes.
BTW, I've been wearing a seat belt since I took driver training in 1972...won't ride in a car without one!
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As a former rider, I think one should have the choice to wear one or not. And with that choice comes responsibility.
And though no one has gotten on the "everyone who rides a motorcycle must wear a helmet" soapbox, I would caution anyone who thinks that way to consider the anti's use the same kind of reasoning for concealed carry permits, magazine capacity restrictions, etc. If we want people to respect our rights on how and what we carry, we have to respect their rights too....So now I'm getting off my soapbox....Good night....
-FA
Amen brother. If you don't wear a helmet you are a jackass. If I try to make you wear one, I am infringing on your rights. In a free society it should be just that simple: your body, your choice, your right to decide, but don't come crying to me if things go south.
FQ13
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So what is the point of this thread ? The irony of it ? Like Gandhi, MLK, and other pacifists who have been shot to death ?
If so, ignore the rest of this post.
If it is that every one should wear a helmet I have one comment.
F*ck you.
People who push for"mandatory" anything laws all suck.
They are no better than the communists who rammed Obama care down our throats.
Any one who thinks you can legislate safety or good sense is an idiot.
Don't believe me ? Go check the actual average speeds on your closest highway Vs. the posted speed limit.
Around here the posted limits are 55 & 65 depending on which road.
Actual speed is 70-75. All other roads the rule of thumb is you won't get stopped less than 10MPH over the posted limit.
Another example, While they threaten everything but castration for drunk driving people still do it in huge numbers and then bitch about it when they get stopped.
I'm wasting my breath.
This is a nation of gutless faggots that let Michel Bloomberg tell them what foods they can eat, and what oils they can cook with.
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If anyone wants to get a Darwin award because they didn't wear a helmet that should be their choice, but they should think about the family they leave behind.
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So what is the point of this thread ? The irony of it ? Like Gandhi, MLK, and other pacifists who have been shot to death ?
If so, ignore the rest of this post.
If it is that every one should wear a helmet I have one comment.
F*ck you.
People who push for"mandatory" anything laws all suck.
They are no better than the communists who rammed Obama care down our throats.
Any one who thinks you can legislate safety or good sense is an idiot.
Don't believe me ? Go check the actual average speeds on your closest highway Vs. the posted speed limit.
Around here the posted limits are 55 & 65 depending on which road.
Actual speed is 70-75. All other roads the rule of thumb is you won't get stopped less than 10MPH over the posted limit.
Another example, While they threaten everything but castration for drunk driving people still do it in huge numbers and then bitch about it when they get stopped.
I'm wasting my breath.
This is a nation of gutless faggots that let Michel Bloomberg tell them what foods they can eat, and what oils they can cook with.
Seriously!! Bunch of big govt. tool ass bitches. While I think you should always wear a helemt. The govt. has no business forcing people to. They just passed a law in King county, here, where they say you have to wear a life jacket to swim in the river or get a $100 ticket.. Good thing this is the land of the free, or is it? Every day it gets less so! It is so pathetic.
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I was just getting out of the service in 1968 just after the front seat belt became standard equipment in 64 and the year they became standard in rear seats also.
Made a promise back then that I'd always wear a seat belt and have never driven without one since.
I like the idea that they are standard equipment as that reduces the cost by not having them go through a special order process on the assembly line.
I do not support any mandatory seat belt laws or helmet laws would work against them.
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Back in the 60's NH had a mandatory helmet law. It said you had to wear a helmet. Guy around Concord put his over his knee, Cops must have stopped him a dozen times.
When he finally did dump the bike he happened to have it on his head.
He broke his knee. He sued the State.
I don't remember if he won but they repealed the helmet law ;D
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My brother rarely wore one. One day he had it on when he crashed and the guy he was with ran over his head. He's been a believer ever since. You should see all the protective gear he makes his kids wear to go trail biking - they look like hockey players.
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I average ride many miles in many areas and settings.
I have two helmets, a full face and a beanie, and I have a thick skull.
I wear the full face when the wife is along, because it has the intercom in it. I also wear it in the rain and very cold weather.
I wear the beanie when I feel like having a helmet, but I don't feel like wearing the full face.
In my opinion, the full face helmet is the most dangerous piece of equipment ever invented for motorcycle riding. The restricted field of vision takes away much of what a rider needs for safe riding in close traffic. The added weight is also a hindrance and adds to fatigue on long rides.
The beanie is a good compromise, but just like an open face helmet gives a buffeting when used at highway speeds or in windy conditions. Once again fatigue becomes a factor, but field of vision is unaffected by this helmet.
I amazed by the number of people posting on here that would not stand for government intruding in other areas of their personal lives or with their guns, but they have no problem calling motorcycle riders idiots and morons for riding without a helmet.
I have insurance on my bike, I have health insurance and I have a lot of life insurance, and if you don't like my riding attire you can just Bite Me >:(
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M58
You need to read more closely. Most of us calling riders idiots for not wearing a helmet aren't calling for helmet laws. Its like the Mexican carry thread. I think you are a dumb ass if you stick a gun in your wasteband, but I'm not calling for a mandatory holster law. Its your head (upper or lower), choose to protect it as you wish. I might have an opinion, but its not my call. 8)
FQ13
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I average ride many miles in many areas and settings.
I have two helmets, a full face and a beanie, and I have a thick skull.
I wear the full face when the wife is along, because it has the intercom in it. I also wear it in the rain and very cold weather.
I wear the beanie when I feel like having a helmet, but I don't feel like wearing the full face.
In my opinion, the full face helmet is the most dangerous piece of equipment ever invented for motorcycle riding. The restricted field of vision takes away much of what a rider needs for safe riding in close traffic. The added weight is also a hindrance and adds to fatigue on long rides.
The beanie is a good compromise, but just like an open face helmet gives a buffeting when used at highway speeds or in windy conditions. Once again fatigue becomes a factor, but field of vision is unaffected by this helmet.
I amazed by the number of people posting on here that would not stand for government intruding in other areas of their personal lives or with their guns, but they have no problem calling motorcycle riders idiots and morons for riding without a helmet.
I have insurance on my bike, I have health insurance and I have a lot of life insurance, and if you don't like my riding attire you can just Bite Me >:(
It's not the suggestion that wearing a helmet is a good safety practice that I have a beef with.
It's the "there needs to be a law" mentality that infuriates me.
The primary argument is that injuries cost the taxpayer, that's bullsh!t. What m58 posted is true of most, if not all Bikers.
Considering that the price of a new Harley will pay for a pretty decent car, or make a darn good down payment on a house requires insuring the investment." Mandatory " anything laws are just another case of nanny state do gooders saying "you are to f*cking stupid to make your own choices".
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M58
You need to read more closely. Most of us calling riders idiots for not wearing a helmet aren't calling for helmet laws. Its like the Mexican carry thread. I think you are a dumb ass if you stick a gun in your wasteband, but I'm not calling for a mandatory holster law. Its your head (upper or lower), choose to protect it as you wish. I might have an opinion, but its not my call. 8)
FQ13
I said what I said, and I meant what I said!
To compare my rides sans helmet to a waistband carry is part of what I was posting about.
Remember that it was a head injury caused by a fall from a ladder that killed Dave Gruber. Maybe he should have worn a helmet that day!
I can post stories, including one of a young lady that lives 3 1/2 miles from us, about people in a vegetative state because their helmets kept them barely alive. As a friend says - "Some things you don't want to live through."
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M58
I worked as a courier in DC on a moped for three years. It payed damn good money (this was pre-email and fax machines were new). I made $750 a week or better. But, riding in city traffic in the rain, with steel plates on the streets to cover underground construction, not to mention cobblestones and trolley tracks that wanted to grab your tires in older neighborhoods? If I didn't wear a full face helmet I'd not be here to annoy you. I might have only gone 35 MPH, but I still layed that bike down twice and had it go out from underneath me more than once. I think I have the right to say you are a fool not to wear a brain bucket. I DO NOT however, have the right to MAKE you wear one. If this offends you, too bad, its just the opinion of a fellow rider with a whole lot of road rash under his belt. Take it or leave it.
FQ13
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Hey FQ, very different circumstances here.
You were in a big city, with all the stuff that means, m58 on the other hand has open highway, and generally can keep some space around himself.
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True, and I'm not picking a fight. I guess my point is that its ok to say "IMHO you should do something for your own safety". It is not ok to say that you must do it. Here I hope we are all in agreement.
FQ14
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I always wore a helmet, especially when the wife was along (intercom, not so I wouldn't have to listen to her bitch). That being said, I have mixed emotions on helmet wear. If it's gonna save me, fine. If it's gonna save me just enough that I spend the rest of my days sitting in a motorized wheelchair in a residential treatment facility, with some stranger mopping up my drool, then I'm really not interested.
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Let me be perfectly clear.
I don't give a flying f..k what anyone else does when they ride a bike! I wore a helmet, gloves, boots, long pants, long sleeve shirt and glasses too and there ain't no law for most of that! I've ridden off and on for 37 years a left skin and blood on the street in five states because of the ass hats that are on the road. My last straw nearly killed me and I survived to live another day BECAUSE I was wearing a helmet that I was NOT required to wear at the time of the accident. I could have easily become a drooling veg sitting in a wheelchair pooping in my diapers...
Feel free to do what ever you want, wherever you want too. I do find it ironic that we carry guns to protect life but some make the decision to ride without a piece of safety equipment that does the same thing, essentially...
Carry on kiddies.....
;D
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Let me be perfectly clear.
I don't give a flying f..k what anyone else does when they ride a bike! I wore a helmet, gloves, boots, long pants, long sleeve shirt and glasses too and there ain't no law for most of that! I've ridden off and on for 37 years a left skin and blood on the street in five states because of the ass hats that are on the road. My last straw nearly killed me and I survived to live another day BECAUSE I was wearing a helmet that I was NOT required to wear at the time of the accident. I could have easily become a drooling veg sitting in a wheelchair pooping in my diapers...
Feel free to do what ever you want, wherever you want too. I do find it ironic that we carry guns to protect life but some make the decision to ride without a piece of safety equipment that does the same thing, essentially...
Carry on kiddies.....
;D
Pretty much sums up my take, Tim (and I believe we have discussed this on several threads before, ;) ).
**The only difference is that helmets are required in GA, but if they were not, I would still have had the same helmet on when I got nailed.
I wore a DOT approves skid-lid that was light enough to prevent fatigue, allowed unlimited vision, and was also light enough to not snap my stalk on impact (which is one argument folks have against heavy helmets).
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Pretty much sums up my take, Tim (and I believe we have discussed this on several threads before, ;) ).
**The only difference is that helmets are required in GA, but if they were not, I would still have had the same helmet on when I got nailed.
I wore a DOT approves skid-lid that was light enough to prevent fatigue, allowed unlimited vision, and was also light enough to not snap my stalk on impact (which is one argument folks have against heavy helmets).
I had a spanky new Kevlar, 3/4....tossed it afterward, too much blood on it...but it stayed together with only a couple of scratches!