People are dying, legislation is needed: bring back helmet laws now!

March 28, 2:38 PMDC Motorcycle Travel ExaminerMark Poesch

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Motorcyclists are out of control, and it's our job to make sure they're safe on the roads.  First, lets make sure they're all wearing helmets!  Next, let's limit the allowable horsepower on the bikes.  And, if that doesn't make them safe, we'll limit their top speed.  Or, maybe we should just outlaw motorcycles altogether.  They're just dangerous, and people shouldn't be able to ride those things.

Is this the country you see when you look out at the United States?  Is this the "faith" in our people that you want for our future generations?

Whatever happened to individual choice?  Personal responsibility?  Freedom?

For the last decade, there has been an increasingly shrill cry for government intervention in our lives "to protect us" -- whether it's banks giving us loans that we can't afford, or those same banks foreclosing on us because we're no longer able to make the payments, in the media today there is a chorus of multitudes about what the government should be doing to "ensure the welfare of our fellow man," but too little said about personal responsibility and the freedom to make our own choices.

As an adult motorcyclist, I have always worn a helmet, and have been safer as a result -- my first crash left the scrapes to prove it, and I still have the hair (and scalp) on that side of my head to prove it.  Unfortunately, although while my riding jacket took a lot of the scuffing and may have saved some of my skin, it wasn't enough to stop the Grade 3 separation of my AC.

Do we need new laws regarding jackets?  Do we need to just stop riding altogether because it's risky?

Or do we need to recognize that life is filled with risk, and that as free individuals living in the United States we are blessed with the right to chose what level of risk we feel is appropriate, what level of risk we're willing to tolerate.

Yes, riding motorcycles is dangerous.  Yes, riding without a helmet makes an already dangerous sport more dangerous, and the statistics prove it: Motorcycle deaths spike as helmet laws loosen!

You know what?  I don't care!  Because the question for future generations is: as a nation do we become stronger by legislating how people should be safe, or are we stronger and safer by expecting the people of our country to take responsibility for their choices?

For additional perspectives, check out these articles from other Motorcycle Examiners:

• Motorcycle Safety Foundation's recommendation for protective gear
• Washington threatens to kill motorcycle safety training
• Should motorcycle helmets be mandatory?
• Motorcycle safety is the responsibility of the rider, not the nanny state
• Video: 'Helemts- Get your head into it'
• Legislating the motorcycle industry out of existance