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resedit wrote:

fizzwinkus wrote:

i don't wear a helmet when i ride, i feel like it interferes with my hearing too much

That's why I use an iPod.
The buds work very well - helmet goes on just fine over them.

Personally, I tend to think riding a bike with an iPod is significantly more dangerous then riding a bike without a helmet.... especially in busy settings. I've seen one too many "iPod Zombies" on bikes harm pedestrians or almost get run over because they couldn't hear what was happening around them.

In many states it's only legal to ride a bike or drive a car with one ear covered. Both ears is a no no. But if you ask me, one earbud is still dangerous if you're navigating through an urban environment.

dvpierce wrote:

A part of me really wishes I thought that would work. But I don't. People are lazy, and some of them are dumb, too. They need consequences.

I know bike safety day at school had a big influence on me.  Heck, I still even use hand signals sometimes.  I grew up in the days before most casual riders wore helmets, but you can bet that if someone had come and told me the about how it could save my life, I would have been sure to wear one. 

Sure, maybe only nerdy kids like me would listen, but hey, some are better than none at all!  And I really don't think the kids who believe that they're "too cool" for helmets or seatbelts or the like are going to care about the possibility of getting a ticket. 

You have to make people understand why it's important and make them want to do it before you're ever going to see any significant change in behavior.

Aqua OS X wrote:

resedit wrote:

fizzwinkus wrote:

i don't wear a helmet when i ride, i feel like it interferes with my hearing too much

That's why I use an iPod.
The buds work very well - helmet goes on just fine over them.

Personally, I tend to think riding a bike with an iPod is significantly more dangerous then riding a bike without a helmet.... especially in busy settings. I've seen one too many "iPod Zombies" on bikes harm pedestrians or almost get run over because they couldn't hear what was happening around them.

Volume control. It does wonders.
Some people might zone out I suppose. I don't. I also turn the volume down when I ride.

fizzwinkus wrote:

Malkin wrote:

Heck, I still even use hand signals sometimes.

thats a truly important thing

Yes - I use them all the time.
I believe it is the law.

Resedit: about 2 years ago, there was a child killed on her bike near here (bay area). She was hit buy a car driven by an inexperienced high school student that fled the scene out of fear or whatever. Any way, she was caught and pretty much publicly persecuted for killing this child and injuring another. I can't say i wouldn't do the same thing had it been my child. The young girl has since been released from jail, and i don't know where her life is going because of this.

The part that would piss me off every time i saw this on the news was the fact that the press and everyone involved overlooked the fact that the girl was on her way to school on her bike with her friend and her father, witout a helmet. The girl died of head injuries. I'm not saying the father is to blame. In my opinion, this was an accident. However, the father should've shared some of the blame with the girl that hit the kids. The law is very clear about kids wearing helmets.

The chance that a child, or anyone for that matter, will get hit by a car while riding a bike is very slim, but the chance is still there. Like the old saying, "an ounce of prevention is worth more than a pound of cure".

justine wrote:

Resedit: about 2 years ago, there was a child killed on her bike near here (bay area). She was hit buy a car driven by an inexperienced high school student that fled the scene out of fear or whatever. Any way, she was caught and pretty much publicly persecuted for killing this child and injuring another. I can't say i wouldn't do the same thing had it been my child. The young girl has since been released from jail, and i don't know where her life is going because of this.

The part that would piss me off every time i saw this on the news was the fact that the press and everyone involved overlooked the fact that the girl was on her way to school on her bike with her friend and her father, witout a helmet. The girl died of head injuries. I'm not saying the father is to blame. In my opinion, this was an accident. However, the father should've shared some of the blame with the girl that hit the kids. The law is very clear about kids wearing helmets.

The chance that a child, or anyone for that matter, will get hit by a car while riding a bike is very slim, but the chance is still there. Like the old saying, "an ounce of prevention is worth more than a pound of cure".

Yes.
I think I'm going to try to do something about this - since my MWF classes are basically review, unless there is a test - I can miss a day a week no sweat.

I'm going to coordinate with a city council member, and with wallmart (much as I dislike them), and maybe with Lions club or Elks lodge (or both) or whatever is needed to raise funds.

Then one day a week, instead of college - visit a local elementry school and give a presentation to two or three classes, and give them a safety hand out for them, a safety handout for their parents, and hopefully a certificate for a free helmet from wallmart.

I am going back to school because I intend on becoming a teacher now - preferably high school, so this kind of thing would look good when it comes time for me to apply for aide positions needed for teaching credential - Wallmart will be all over it, and will probably reduce the price - they get a tax write off, and there is a lot of opposition to them here, so they have been buying gobs of radio time with "feel good" stories. A "feel good" story with the local Wallmart would be great - and hopefully with the help of Lions or Elks, the wallmart discount can be made up so the kids can get a free helmet.

justine wrote:

I'm not saying the father is to blame.

Not entirely but if she were in his car unrestrained he would have been ticketed and  fined. His responcibility is the same here IMO.

Jehannum wrote:

resedit wrote:

Aqua OS X wrote:

Personally, I tend to think riding a bike with an iPod is significantly more dangerous then riding a bike without a helmet.... especially in busy settings. I've seen one too many "iPod Zombies" on bikes harm pedestrians or almost get run over because they couldn't hear what was happening around them.

Volume control. It does wonders.
Some people might zone out I suppose. I don't. I also turn the volume down when I ride.

Sounds like a full dose of the same "can't happen to me" that you're ascribing to people who ride without helmets.

My opinion on the whole matter is, "let the idiots fill their own coffins."  It shouldn't be a matter of legality, as it's not the state's job to protect you from your own idiocy.  Same way with seatbelts.  Let the righteous indignation flow.

exactly.

Jehannum wrote:

My opinion on the whole matter is, "let the idiots fill their own coffins."  It shouldn't be a matter of legality, as it's not the state's job to protect you from your own idiocy.  Same way with seatbelts.  Let the righteous indignation flow.

Unfortunately, it's not just a matter of idiots filling coffins, and this is where social responsibility comes in: like smoking and the use of seatbelts, not using a helmet can mean increased medical needs for victims of accidents, financially harming those not to blame for the idiots' idiocy.

It shouldn't have to be a matter of legality, but there is a rationale for it.

Jehannum wrote:

Sounds like a full dose of the same "can't happen to me" that you're ascribing to people who ride without helmets.

My opinion on the whole matter is, "let the idiots fill their own coffins."  It shouldn't be a matter of legality, as it's not the state's job to protect you from your own idiocy.  Same way with seatbelts.  Let the righteous indignation flow.

How smart are your friends and family? I'm sure some of them act stupid from time to time. If a law that makes them decide to wear their seatbelt or helmet and saves their life in an accident, are you saying that's not preferable to them dying to preserve this particular ideal of freedom of choice? If the government can save lives by enacting laws like this, what's so wrong with that?

benightedbastard wrote:

Jehannum wrote:

Sounds like a full dose of the same "can't happen to me" that you're ascribing to people who ride without helmets.

My opinion on the whole matter is, "let the idiots fill their own coffins."  It shouldn't be a matter of legality, as it's not the state's job to protect you from your own idiocy.  Same way with seatbelts.  Let the righteous indignation flow.

How smart are your friends and family? I'm sure some of them act stupid from time to time. If a law that makes them decide to wear their seatbelt or helmet and saves their life in an accident, are you saying that's not preferable to them dying to preserve this particular ideal of freedom of choice? If the government can save lives by enacting laws like this, what's so wrong with that?

My friends and family are smart enough to know that the state shouldn't peer over their shoulders to make sure that they aren't going to hurt themselves.

Laws to avoid victimless crimes are pointless and beyond the state's purview, that's what's wrong with it.

resedit wrote:

HackerJax wrote:

I think what bugs me more than people not wearing helmets are the people who actually think its their concern or business if someone isn't wearing a helmet.

In all honesty what bothers me most is kids without a helmet.
That's all the law here requires - and a parent who lets their kid ride on the street without one needs to be bitch slapped.

The kid who had her helmet on her handle bar was probably just being disobedient.
She had one.

The other kids - they didn't even have them. My little brothers - if they ride without a helmet, they get the privilege taken away for two weeks. As a result - they always wear one.

I'll admit it gets my attention when I see a kid without a helmet. Only because I remember taking some hard landings as a young lad and busting my brain bucket pretty good on the ground.

I'm not sure if its just the memory of the pain that bothers me or if I really feel anything for the kid I see not wearing a helmet.

Jehannum wrote:

Laws to avoid victimless crimes are pointless and beyond the state's purview, that's what's wrong with it.

So you don't think these laws save lives?