Every once in a while when I'm not planning to go very fast I don't wear my helmet, but never fear...... if some maniac hammers me at 50 mph and I become a quadriplegic veggie I will be a ward of the military and/or the VA...... oh wait, they still use your tax dollars don't they.......
Uh, never mind........
But seriously folks, in FL they don't require helmets for street bikes but they require adults to wear seatbelts..... doesn't make sense to me.
Although I have to say despite the seatbelt law in MO I never wrote a seatbelt ticket to an adult in 13 years on road patrol. Now if their children were un-belted, they went home with a handful of citations!!!!
Statistics show over 50% of injuries and deaths from ATV use are to those under 16, so
they absolutely should be required to have protective gear. The total rate of injury on ATVs according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission (in 2005) was about 1.7 per 100 riders. Adult injury on ATVs is about half that, and over 40% percent of those occurred on paved roads, so as danger goes, the risk is minimal, especially if you ride responsibly out in the boonies. If you're planning to get crazy then by all means put on a helmet!
These kinds of debates have always been very divisive. How one person's behavior affects another is a serious consideration; as is how far should it go before mandates are established........
Even though I was a cop, and maybe
because I was a cop, I really don't want the government in my personal business for the most part!!
Just my
