Wearing a Helmet and Helmet Laws

[Travis]

Just curious... Do you guys that live in no-helmet states wear a helmet or ride without one? In Wisconsin and Minnesota (where I ride) you don't need a helmet but I wear mine 95% of the time. The only time I don't is when I just need to run across my small town (25 mph) for a quick errand on those hot summer days.

It seems that people who ride sportbikes wear helmets and people on cruisers don't. That's how it is around here anyway.

 

[hardtailed77]

I usually wear mine....but it isn't DOT approved, so I'm not sure it does any good. I have tried the approved half-helmets (which is all I wear), but they are all WAY too wide. I have a "novelty" helmet, sort of like what you see the American Chopper guys wearing.

 

[drewpy]

law in UK since '70

 

[skillzman1]

yep I have to wear one...but I've hit enough turf in my MX days to know how precious my head should be....and my brother wiped out his brand new B-king last summer ....split the frame/bike almost in 2...and you should see the damage his full face helmet absorbed....and how bruised his melon was as well.....he'd likely be dead without having had it on.
I always wear my seatbelt too...saved me more than once.

 

[liam]

Yeah I gotta wear one here in OR. Didn't wear it the other day for a few minutes, super strange.

 

[skillzman1]

I actually got accustomed to wearing earplugs in my helmet as well...now it sweird and uncomfortable to ride without

 

[Travis]

^ actually I do the same thing because I guess my helmet sucks at blocking the wind noise.

 

[firegatejeeyamaha]

Here in Arizona no helmet law I choose not to wear one Just seems more free feels right

 

[jigm400]

i have had my share of crashes in my off road riding to know enough wear a helmet. it might look a little dumb, but i don't ride to make a fashion statement. non DOT or novelty helmets just keep you hair from being scraped off, so you look pretty when they put you in a pine box.

 

[skillzman1]

When I used to ride my sportbike...I noticed that earplugs allowed me to focus better at what I was doing...not sure exactly why...but it made a big difference...the wind noise I think interfered with concentration.
Probably should have tried it off-road as well...maybe fewer crashes!!
I remember doing donuts on the ice when I had a quad...hooked a rut and got slammed on my back on the ice...kinda like a sling shot...my Dad heard it in the house and came running out...little dazed...can only imagine what no helmet wouild have done....gives me a headache thinking about it.
Helmets help in low speed stuff...but on a bike...if you hit something hard enough...its just going to hold the mush in after it breaks your neck,wrists,legs etc,..
last week I stopped and looked at a cb550 behind a shop...looked like a set of ape hanger bent way forward and the front wheel shaped like a crescent moon....helmet did the guy no good in that case...kinda sobering to look at.

 

[HoughMade]

No helmet law for adults in Indiana- and I wear one 100% of the time.

 

[badgertom]

I can't find one good reason why not to wear a helmet. Provided of course that you obtain the right helmet for yourself. Some helmets are awkward and uncomfortable, especially on long rides. I have, for short rides to the store or downtown, not worn a helmet but definitly on longer rides and higher speeds I wear a helmet.

 

[BillP]

When I started riding bikes in California in 68, Cal did not require but the Army did. A lot of folks including me wore them to the gate and took them off. All my riding after that time was in Georgia where helmets are required. I've been around bike road racing and in the seventies saw someone get his face cut badly by a snap on shield. Since then I've worn full-face helmets on and off road. That said, however, I think it's not unreasonable for an EXPERIENCED rider at reasonable speeds (on a cruiser for example) to choose to wear a lower coverage helmet or no helmet at all. The ones that scare me are the squids on sportbikes or the "stuntahs" with no or minimal helment riding at high speeds with a very high likelihood of falling off.

 

[skillzman1]

protective gear is there for a reason...when I got into riding years back it was atv's and dirt bikes...a helmet was the only gear I wore....until I smashed my foot on a rock....then I got MX boots....until I flipped over a bank and landed in a pine tree and broke three ribs...then I bought a chest protector....until I fractured my right knee landing 5 ft short on a double jump with it hyperextended...then I bought knee braces....now I'm 39 and my knees & back are so screwed up I cant ride anymore for fear of being in a wheel chair prematurely( according to Dr.).
I spent 20 years learning the hard way(and I still seem to have the problem) the reminder is there every night and every morning with the arthritis etc,.....I've learned there are no do-overs...and since the bionic man never really materialized... I support riding with protection.