Man dies protesting helmet law

[Ed130 The Vanguard]

He was stupid; purposefully riding without a helmet was pretty dumb. But I actually agree with him. The problem with both the helmet and seat belt laws is that the only person at risk is the one not wearing one of the aforementioned equipment. American government is intended to allow freedom, essentially meaning that you can do whatever idiotic thing you want as long as it's not going to hurt someone else, which is why things like murder and theft are illegal but licking a spark plug is not. Laws are not supposed to keep us safe from ourselves, they're supposed to keep us safe from others and others safe from us.

Issue being, sometimes we forget to put on a seatbelt. Or perhaps we lost our helmet. And we end up needing to pay a ticket because we had the audacity to put ourselves, and no one else, at risk, probably just because of forgetfulness or something. I don't see that as in line with the constitution or generally okay on principle for a country that was formed specifically with freedom in mind.

That's assuming you get insta-killed by the crash, but with advances in medicine you will most likely end up as a vegetative state or something similar. And guess who has to pay the ongoing medical bill (either through taxes or rising insurance premiums). You would think that not wearing a helmet would only affect you, but in today's interconnected world we all get screwed over by your stubbornness.

 

[kypsilon]

I'm sure this guy will get on that infamous Darwin Award list for this one.

 

[GrizzlerBorno]

The absolute worst/cruelest/funniest bit is that his protest group was called "American Bikers Aiming to Educate".

And Educate he certainly did.....

 

[Aidinthel]

He was stupid; purposefully riding without a helmet was pretty dumb. But I actually agree with him. The problem with both the helmet and seat belt laws is that the only person at risk is the one not wearing one of the aforementioned equipment.

Actually, not wearing a seatbelt can be a danger to other people when you go flying around crashing into them.

 

[Creator002]

Well, I'm pretty sure that the people partcipating in that protest went home shortly after.

 

[2012 Wont Happen]

Man protests a law made to protect dumbasses like himself from dying by breaking said law.
During the process of said protest, said dumbass dies.
Darwin's ghost smiles and I laugh.

The problem with both the helmet and seat belt laws is that the only person at risk is the one not wearing one of the aforementioned equipment

Maybe that's the case with helmet laws, but that is absolute nonsense with seat belt laws. There are instances where passengers in a car are killed by an individual within the car who is not buckled up rag dolls about killing others. A similar occurrence has been observed in head on collisions where somebody who is not wearing a seatbelt can go through the windshield and kill somebody in the other car.

As it is, even by Libertarian ideology (which I don't agree with, but it seems to be sort of where you are coming from), one of the few jobs of the government is to protect life. Helmet laws do precisely that.

 

[Apprentice88]

Reminds me of the guy who died in a car accident protesting seatbelts.
Just Darwin doing what he does best methinks.

 

[2012 Wont Happen]

Darwin's ghost smiles and I laugh.

Just Darwin doing what he does best methinks.

I see we had the same line of thought haha

 

[blind_dead_mcjones]

Even without the law of the land in effect there is one law that is always constant, Darwins Law

Darwin's ghost smiles and I laugh.

Just Darwin doing what he does best methinks.

damn ninjas on motorcycles...

 

[SouthpawFencer]

I support his cause. Unlike DWI laws, the only person that you are endangering by not wearing a helmet while riding a motorcycle is yourself.

That said, if you ride a donorcycle (wow, my Mac OS 10.6.6 spellchecker didn't flag "donorcycle" as a misspelled word) without a helmet, you deserve, in the words of test John Gabriel, whatever comes next [http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2002/12/9/].

I'd be MORE supportive of not having mandatory helmet laws if, in the event that you managed to crash your motorcycle without a helmet, the ambulance crew arriving on the scene was allowed to point at you and laugh, and then proceed to steal your wallet, steal your shoes, and roll you into the nearest gutter, even if you were still alive at that point in time...

(it's statements like this that remind me that I once reacted to a statement by George W. Bush by exclaiming to a (very liberal) coworker "Compassionate conservative? COMPASSIONATE CONSERVATIVE?! WHAT THE @#$%?! IF I WANTED TO BE COMPASSIONATE, I WOULDN'T BE A @#$%ING CONSERVATIVE, NOW WOULD I?!".)

(Incidentally, I know an oddly large number of current and former EMTs and Paramedics, and every single last one of them agrees that the above proposal (the part about kicking idiots into the gutter; many of them are quite liberal otherwise) should be made into law. Keep this in mind the next time that you have to call an ambulance because you got injured while doing something really, really stupid.)

 

[Jinx_Dragon]

Wonder if he had kids, if so then we can't give him a Darwin award for this one.

To be honest, I am against Helmet laws but not because they are stupid, ineffective or anything like that. Helmets work very well to give you a higher chance of survival, just like leather and thick jeans. They should be part of the general outfit if you have a bike, no question about that. If your sensible, you will wear one, but I don't think the government should bother itself with ensuring dumb people are protecting themselves.

My objection against Helmet laws are simple: Let natural selection take it's course.

Actually, that is not it. This all goes back to that whole 'doing whatever you want with your own body' mentality I have. As long as it does not harm another in the process then no one should not be trying to dictate how you can live your life. The fact we have so many people, many gravitating to positions of authority, that believe they have the right to tell you what you can and can not do... that bothers me.

Your choice to protect your life or to be an idiot and loose it quickly... should be your choice.

Caption: Entecomm well... well, going to Anti up your communications?

 

[epialesofaergia]

If you choose not to wear a helmet and you know the risk involved, I can't really say that it isn't fitting if you die while not wearing one. I'm not saying it's deserved since you're not really affecting anyone else by doing it. Well unless someone hits you.

That actually brings up a point. If it does get to the point where it affects someone, say, in a car accident resulting in the death of a motorcyclist who wasn't wearing a helmet, how should the law treat that? What could have been simply a bumped motorcycle ends up in vehicular manslaughter. I think that makes the strongest case for mandatory helmet laws, it would definitely keep some other laws simplified.

 

[Wintermoot]

I think that,s the most ironic death I have ever seen.

 

[Madara XIII]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/43624650/ns/us_news-life/?gt1=43001

Apparently he fell off his motorcycle and died when he struck his head. Having a helmet on would have saved his life. Share your thoughts

.....GAHAHAHAHA That is seriously Ironic...and because I'm evil, I have no choice:

<youtube=WY_amJ0YZrM>


Either way, let this be a lesson to all. It's like sticking a fork in a light socket. If you survive, you sure as hell aren't going to do it again.
Sad, but true that this is how humans have to learn sometimes, but then again I call upon

NATURAL SELECTION!!!

 

[Paradoxrifts]

Even in the US emergency rooms cannot turn away retards that have done their utmost best to naturally de-select themselves from the gene pool by not wearing helmets, seat belts and whatever other safety paraphernalia they should have been using. The hospital has to care for these goons until they are fit enough to be discharged. Now I could be wrong there. Maybe the US health system will wheel a cripple out onto the curb, dump them there on the pavement before wheeling the empty wheelchair back inside the hospital. I don't know.

What I do know is that considering the potential for both brain and spinal damage in these cases, if they can't pay for the care in advance then chances are nobody is going to get paid for the care that these guys receive. If anyone picks up the tab it will probably be the government, so that would mean that if you advocate the freedom for people to choose to wear helmets or seat belts then your paying tax dollars so a total imbecile has the freedom to potentially cause themselves grievous injuries.

 

[Snotnarok]

I say don't make it a law, if you can ride a motorcycle you can make the intelligent decision to wear a helmet for yourself. If you don't, fall off and die horribly, that's your bloody fault.

 

[Lionsfan]

I don't see the big deal about wearing a helmet, it can save you're life in cases like this. What's more important? "Being Free" by not wearing a helmet and possibly dying? Or wearing a helmet that could save your life?

I mean I understand where he's coming from, but I think that position is stupid

 

[justnotcricket]

Just wear a helmet for goodness sake. Is there a reason not to?

Poor silly man.

I mean, on the surface I'd agree with helmets not being *mandatory* (i.e. if you're smart you'll wear one, if you're not smart enough to wear one, then Darwin will sort you out eventually?), but a the same time, it just doesn't seem like something worth fighting over. It's a safety measure. Like seatbelts. And hard hats on construction sites.

I suppose it depends for me on what the legal punishment for being caught without one would be if they were mandatory. I suspect that is where the heart of the problem is...

 

[Bags159]

He was stupid; purposefully riding without a helmet was pretty dumb. But I actually agree with him. The problem with both the helmet and seat belt laws is that the only person at risk is the one not wearing one of the aforementioned equipment. American government is intended to allow freedom, essentially meaning that you can do whatever idiotic thing you want as long as it's not going to hurt someone else, which is why things like murder and theft are illegal but licking a spark plug is not. Laws are not supposed to keep us safe from ourselves, they're supposed to keep us safe from others and others safe from us.

Issue being, sometimes we forget to put on a seatbelt. Or perhaps we lost our helmet. And we end up needing to pay a ticket because we had the audacity to put ourselves, and no one else, at risk, probably just because of forgetfulness or something. I don't see that as in line with the constitution or generally okay on principle for a country that was formed specifically with freedom in mind.

Not wearing a seat belt begins inconveniencing others when they have to scrape your bloody corpse that sailed through the windshield off of the road.

 

[Troublesome Lagomorph]

...and that's why you should wear a helmet.