ALT-5 Motorcyclists should always Wear Helmets – Disagree
I believe that laws are important and necessary to maintain quality of life and keep us safe. But those laws should be limited to keeping individuals safe from harm by the actions of others. Seatbelt and helmet laws intrude on our individual rights to decide for ourselves what is good and bad. Wearing a seatbelt or helmet in no way guarantees the safety of anyone but the wearer.
One of the big arguments for helmet laws is the financial burden placed on taxpayers as a result of accidents involving non-helmet riders. Number one: we are not a socialist or communist state, and our freedoms should not be hampered by monetary concerns. Secondly, if the state was so concerned with our safety and financial burdens, what about paralysis resulting from crash survivors who did wear a helmet? (On a side note, shouldn't we get to decide for ourselves which injuries we'd rather sustain?). And how come we are required only to wear a helmet? How often do we see fast bikers racing down the road, doing stupid tricks, wearing a helmet, t-shirt, shorts and sandals? Too often. If we are going to regulate our own ability to judge what is safe, why stop at helmets? If we really care, we ought to ban reckless riding practices altogether and find a way to enforce it.
If it's just an issue of money, maybe it would be beneficial if statistics would show the type of injuries sustained as the result of wearing a helmet. I personally feel that wearing a helmet is the smartest thing to do, but I do not like it forced on me. Yes, riders and their families suffer when death occurs as a result of riding helmetless, but people make so many choices that cause suffering, things we do not regulate. How is this any different?
There are really two issues involved here - our personal freedom, and safety. I have already argued that our personal rights should not be infringed because no one else is physically harmed if a rider smashes his brains against the pavement. Safety issues should then be left up to the rider because they are debatable. As safe as a helmet is, it also cuts you off from the world, muting sound and reducing visibility greatly. I had an old Yamaha and I couldn't hear a thing besides the hum of the motor reverberating up through the frame, my body and the helmet. I could not hear sirens unless I was at a stand still when the RPM's were very low. I do feel that the benefits of wearing a helmet outweigh the negative impact to awareness of one's surroundings. But because I think that, does not make it true for everyone. Many riders feel the opposite - it's a matter of opinion in the end, and I cannot successfully argue that my opinion is the only one that counts.
There is one more argument to be made against helmet regulation, it's a cruel and Darwinian point, but nonetheless carries some validity. Those that are stupid enough to not wear a helmet and do stupid tricks, they should definitely be allowed to do so because they're helping to purify the gene pool.
In all seriousness, I would love it if everyone voluntarily wore DOT approved helmets, but I don't think that we can regulate those kinds of decisions without chipping away at the foundations of Americana. If we keep at it, one day the people that took the Bible out of schools, will say that Christianity is harmful to national and international unity, that religious zealots oppress non-believers, causing severe emotional trauma to those that do not believe, and Americans will no longer be able to worship their chosen deity and practice their chosen religions.
The solution is state funded educational programs that teach the pros and cons of wearing a helmet, in our schools, on television, and in ad campaigns such as posters and billboards and other such propaganda. Then let rational adults decide which way they want to go. Smoking is bad for your health too, how come we haven't banned that? I'm sure it all comes down to money. Helmetless riders are fined by the state and the tobacco companies pay or "contribute" to the right people so we the people have the right to kill ourselves slowly.
In the end, how many laws do we still need regulating our freedoms? It's reckless driving that kills motorcyclists and drivers, not the absence of helmets and seatbelts. In the right hands, cars are deadly weapons, why don't we ban cars too? The threat to others is much higher from a four wheel vehicle than a motorcyclist without a helmet! Let's deal with the cause of accidents rather than take away the rights of adults to make safety decisions on their own.
