ALT-3 Motorcyclists should always Wear Helmets – Agree
In 1972 (I think) it became a legal requirement in New Zealand for motorcycle and scooter riders and passengers to wear approved helmets. Exemptions were granted, usually for migraine or claustrophobia, subject to a speed limit of 30 mph. In an era when "real men" routinely disregarded safety guidelines, it was not a popular law. Men were expected to be physical wrecks by the age of 45, so why fight it? Men were expected to work on construction or destruction sites, mix toxic chemicals, fell trees and frequent Turkish brothels without using any protective equipment, and deafness, arthritis, neurological dysfunction, reduced lung capacity and odd-shaped fingers were all marks of true manhood. So it was believed.
The argument that had the most immediate impact on me was a line on an industrial safety poster: "People with brains protect them." I'd had one motorcycle accident in which my helmet had absorbed the force of a collision (not caused by me) with the side of a bus, so naturally I appreciated the need for protection of an important and hard-to-repair part of the body.
Having met head injury survivors, and having tried to explain engineering concepts to some of them, who were demonstrably intelligent but had communication and cognitive problems due to trauma, I have no doubt about the efficacy of approved modern helmets in protecting their contents. So naturally, I believe that people on motorcycles should wear helmets. But should they be compelled to?
There are many rules governing motor vehicles and their occupants. Is this not an intolerable violation of individual freedom?
Not in my opinion. Motorcycling is not an automatic right, and experience has established that certain restrictions are necessary for the general good. In this country, vehicles over a year old have to be inspected twice a year as a prerequisite for being registered for use on public roads. I have driven in a country without such a requirement, and I fully appreciate the need for it.
Drivers have to be licensed, and, in this country at least, getting a licence is more difficult, more expensive and more time-consuming than it was in 1968 and 1971, when I got my car and motorcycle licences. Vehicle inspections are much stricter now, and police have greater power than before to remove dangerous vehicles and drivers from the road. Since 1966, new cars have had to be fitted with seatbelts, and since 1976, occupants have had to use them. I've already mentioned helmet use. In 1973, more than 800 people died on New Zealand's roads. In 2005, the total fell to below 400, the lowest since 1963. This happened despite a huge increase in traffic and a large increase in average speed.
Some things do not change. Most serious motorcycle accidents involve a collision with a car, van or light truck. Most of these were not wholly, or at all, the fault of the motorcycle rider. Most of the bike accidents I have seen have resulted in at least superficial damage to the helmet. Some collisions, and some motorcycle-only accidents, are caused by distractions. In recent years, I have butted several careless birds, including a black-backed gull. Without a helmet, I would probably have crashed, and certainly suffered facial injuries. Counting the impacted wasps on my visor gives me further incentive to wear a helmet.
As the days grow longer and warmer, I see more people riding bare-handed, in shorts, T-shirts and sandals. Do you really believe that these fools will protect their alleged brains if they are not compelled to? It is unfortunate that rational behaviour has to be written into law, but it is the folly of a few individuals which leads to authorities making us do what most of us would have the sense to do voluntarily.
