Tell The Truth- Do You Always Wear A Helmet?

[ChiefCass]

Roughly 80% of the time I wear a 1/2 helmet. Temperature is my main decision driver: when it's 90+ degrees I tend to ditch the helmet for the cooling effect. Otherwise, I'm much more comfortable with the helmet on.

[Kretz]

I have three, 1/2 helmet mostly for summer, a 3/4 that can be worn with/ without a flip visor & a full face (convertible) mostly for shoulder/ winter seasons. But I do find the full face claustrophobic & very heavy. I do value my brain so would not ride without some form of protection.

My wife had a nasty accident when she was much younger, broke her cheekbone, jaw & had lip/ mouth trauma & was a bit of a mess. She was wearing a 3/4 with a chin cup (that had deep pavement grooves in it) so it could have been worse! Needless to say when we started riding a few years back she was adamant that she wanted a full face. She made me get one too, that's the convertible.

Here in I believe it's mandatory to wear a lid in all provinces/ territories. Even cyclists are supposed to wear helmets (in BC anyway) but many don't & there are very few tickets handed out. Doesn't take much of a bump on the head to cause serious & lasting problems. No thank you!

[baylensman]

I hate to admit that I omit the brain bucket occasionally. Usually on excessively warm mornings, i'll through it in the trunk. I'd say 98 trips out of a 100 its on my head.

[revks]

I used to only wear it sometimes but now wear it always. I'm not worried about me crashing but you can never tell what the other guy will do. Being on fire and rescue I've seen the results of head contact with pavement and it aint purdy. I also wear long pants and boots and usually my chaps and jacket. I find that the older I get the more I cringe at the thought of peeling of hide with pavement or gravel. Last summer I wiped out in a parking lot without any PPE and was embarrassingly sore for the rest of the trip.(by the way that was from tripping during a foot race and not on the bike)

[revinger]

Once in a great while, I'll ride up to the end of the driveway, 1/4 mile without my helmet.

 

Having hit a dog st 40mph 30 years ago and remembering counting the helmet strikes as I tumbled down the pavement adds to my personal insistence of wearing one on the road

 

Like the other poster, for 12 years I was an EMT-I on the local paid volunteer ambulance service. Saw too much bad stuff to not appreciate seatbelts in cars and safety equipment in general

 

 

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[CaseyJ955]

Once in a great while, I'll ride up to the end of the driveway, 1/4 mile without my helmet.

 

Having hit a dog st 40mph 30 years ago and remembering counting the helmet strikes as I tumbled down the pavement adds to my personal insistence of wearing one on the road

 

Like the other poster, for 12 years I was an EMT-I on the local paid volunteer ambulance service. Saw too much bad stuff to not appreciate seatbelts in cars and safety equipment in general

 

 

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I was a towtruck operator for a few years. I saw first hand what happens when seat belts and helmets are skipped. I quickly went from a never guy to an always, with no exceptions guy on both seat belts and helmets. Even if your a passenger in/on one of my vehicles it's not optional. There is something really sobering about sweeping up teeth and chunks of brain into a debris bucket, luckily the ME usually gets the big chunks, but sometimes the vehicle recovery reveals things that he/she missed. I also believe that insurance companies should be able to refuse payouts to anyone not using available safety equipment.

 

On the flip side I'm dead set against helmet or seat belt laws for adults. It's a waste of resources to enforce laws protecting people from themselves. Less legislation/intrusion and more choice is a good thing.

[camos]

On the flip side I'm dead set against helmet or seat belt laws for adults. It's a waste of resources to enforce laws protecting people from themselves. Less legislation/intrusion and more choice is a good thing.

Good chance you will change your tune on that if you ever get a decent Healthcare bill passed.

[RDawson]

I was a towtruck operator for a few years. I saw first hand what happens when seat belts and helmets are skipped. I quickly went from a never guy to an always, with no exceptions guy on both seat belts and helmets. Even if your a passenger in/on one of my vehicles it's not optional. There is something really sobering about sweeping up teeth and chunks of brain into a debris bucket, luckily the ME usually gets the big chunks, but sometimes the vehicle recovery reveals things that he/she missed. I also believe that insurance companies should be able to refuse payouts to anyone not using available safety equipment.

 

On the flip side I'm dead set against helmet or seat belt laws for adults. It's a waste of resources to enforce laws protecting people from themselves. Less legislation/intrusion and more choice is a good thing.

 

With you a 100% on personal choice. I've been cutting people out of wrecks and picking up bikes for 16 years. Seen em when seat belts could've saved them and some where seat belts could've killed em. I didn't always wear a helmet until I figured out it was more of the "you aren't going to tell me what to do" attitude than comfort. Yes I like riding without it but I've put too many bodies in black bags to not see the truth. With that being said the seatbelt thing is still my choice in my truck, I'll take the ticket if I have to.

[videoarizona]

In the past few years, Arizona courts have recognized that those who wear protective gear by choice, are being proactive in their life care, and will rule more favorably for them in the event of an accident and medical/health/legal claims.

 

Those who don't, do not get the same respect. Insurance companies and opposing lawyers have picked up on this big time. So even if the motorcyclist did no wrong in the accident....he/she loses.

 

In other words, wear the gear or lose the case.

 

Add to that, road rash is just like a 3rd degree burn. The pain and disfigurement is the same. The lifetime care is the same. I've filmed enough of that.

 

No thanks.

[revinger]

I started flying sailplanes when I was 13, soloed at 14 and seat belts are just second nature because of that, though I miss those 4 and 5 point harnesses in the car:)

 

I was 16 driving a big old mercury Montego ,1969 station wagon, going caving in the back country of southern Indiana, took a wring turn and backtracking on a gravel road. I had two friends riding in the front seat who were not belted. We were going down a gravel steep hill and all three of us at the last moment remembered the 90 degree turn up ahead with sheer drop.

I felt the back wheels pendulum back and forth off the road on both sides trying to recover from the skid, and we were barely going 30. They both slammed into me on one iteration of the slide.

 

I've always been convinced if I hadn't had my belt on we probably would have been getting towed out at a minimum. Those slippery vinyl seats were horrible

 

 

 

 

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[Pegasus1300]

I wear mine 99.5% of the time. Have for 50+ years. But if I don't want to I don't.

[Yama Mama]

I was just checking on the sight, and was surprised when I discovered this poll is still active. Moped and I always wear our helmets. In fact, we are on our second sets with this 99 RSV. In the olden days when we rode our little 350 Honda CB, we also wore them. There have been times years ago when we did not think it was that important however. The other night, we were riding on I-275 and we were ready to get off at our exit. A car in the fast lane, decided they wanted to exit too. So they switched lanes and obviously did not see us on the bike. It was a real close call. When Moped uses his horn, you know it was close. The thing that mad him the maddest was after blowing the horn, the clown still came over in our lane. We would have been knocked off the road for sure. And to think I was just worried about running into deer that night. I yelled back at the guy, and said, "You almost got us"! He said, he was so sorry. And I think he really was. Once again we made it home.

Yama Mama

[Stephenj]

I do most of the time unless I am at a park or something of that sort I may not wear one but on the highway interstate riding I always wear one

[camos]

Always wearing a helmet is just a very good idea because one never knows when it will be a necessity that can save your life. During the 6 years I worked on a scooter in parking enforcement I was knocked off 3 times and T-boned a truck that ran a red light. Went down once on my Venture after hitting some ice on the road. My friend MJ caught her foot once while mounting the Venture and landed on the ground. Her helmet had a little damage so possibly it saver her from a minor concussion.

 

No serious injuries any of those times and none of them could have been predicted.

[revks]

I almost always wear my helmet 99% of the time.

Yesterday it paid off crashed the motorcycle and came away with a sprained ankle. I remember seeing grass Sky grass Sky grass and the visor was ripped off of my modular helmet.

[ricksbike]

100%--I always wear it,the best argument I`ve ever seen is,stand in front of a concrete wall about 10 feet away,put your hands behind your back and run as fast as you can at the wall,do it with a helmet on and then without,end of argument--LOL.

 

[Yama Mama]

I cannot believe this poll is still on here. So I had to just right something. We always wear our helmets. It is just standard policy. It would not feel natural to not wear our helmets.

 

Yama Mama

[bpate4home]

I cannot believe this poll is still on here. So I had to just right something. We always wear our helmets. It is just standard policy. It would not feel natural to not wear our helmets.

 

Yama Mama

 

Not always as a kid as I would always give my helmet to my passenger, now she's my wife. I bought her a helmet after a month or 2 of dating and then always carried it with me. Today We always wear ours. I was convinced on this as a kid, a friend and I were riding wheelies through a field (like we always did) but the farmer had plowed crossed the path to drain some water from a low area. When we hit this new little ditch I set my bike down with no issues but he flipped his back. I walked up to him rubbing his head with the helmet in 2 pieces on the ground. His head hit a rock. If weren't for the helmet he would not have survived that.

[Patch]

I ride with 2 helmets. When its very hot riding I switch out my fave for one a touch bigger and a touch louder. I wear full face units ,often with the visor up slightly.

 

A couple of quick ones: When I had the big crash my helmet flew off on the last of many impacts. 2 reasons they were able to rebuild my hand was 1 because I was wearing web gloves and 2nd my hands and arms were very developed from steeple chasing/climbing, my wallet save my right cheek and my jacket kept my upper joints together, my boots ground down the first band of leather which is why I still have a heel;) Of course I could look at this in a more possessive way thinking back about how upset I was at the hydrant being on the outside of the bend; considering I was burning thru my skid shielding lol

My son late at night trying out his new gear before we were to leave on a cross country tour, at night crashed and was propelled like a chopper blade about 8/9 feet off ground. He hit a parking sign with his fancy expensive helmet. The EMR checked the helmet for signs of damage in case of head trauma and nothing was found but, the next morning there was a large chip laying beside it on his dresser!!!!!!

 

Like any sport machine proper gear is a smart choice, IMHO

[ese]

I wear mine on the interstate always and I wear it on roads I'm not familiar with or in a large group ride like Poker Runs.

[frankd]

Now we live in a helmet state (Tennessee) but when I lived in Illinois both my wife and I always wore our helmets. Now when I was young, I hated it when the helmet law passed in Illinois. A couple of years later it was repealed. Then I had a bad accident, and the top of my helmet (I WAS wearing it at the time) hit a fence post. I was unconscious for almost 3 weeks (swollen brain) and I sure I would have died if I hadn't been wearing a helmet. Now I've switched from a 3/4 face helmet to one of those full helmets that open up when you pull the latch. Barb still wears her 3/4 helmet.

[Jthomas]

Being active duty, if you dont wear proper gear (helmet, gloves, long sleeve, pants, closed toed over the ankle shoes) TRICARE isn't obligated to pay for your medical expenses if you end up in a wreck, no matter where you are at. Even the best riders are at the mercy of the other drivers/riders around them.

Even if you are in a state that allows you to ride w/o a helmet, check with your insurance. Either way, why risk it?

[luvmy40]

I've never been an ATGATT (All The Gear, All The Time) guy. I gear up for the occasion.

 

I get it, there is no way to see the future and know for certain that I won't be involved in an accident.

 

I also know how many miles and how many years I have logged on two wheels without a real accident.

 

That is not luck.

 

I have actively avoided major catastrophe on many occasions, several of which I might not have been able to see/hear/anticipate if I had been wearing a full face helmet.

 

So, to answer the question; No, I certainly do NOT always wear a helmet

[Poppa Phill]

I wear mine 100% of time during a 2 cruise. the Interstate is the only exception as I figure at 70+ the helmet aint gunna save much if theres anything left to save. Been kicked back across the deadline 3 times since 1990. none of em were bike accidents.

I wear a DOT for riding up here in Maine. Moose Deer and Bear are large and not prone to running of of your way. I wear a Decor Brain Cap for parades etc slow moving non traffic stuff. My 2 cents.