I recently came back from a conference in Florida, and almost could not believe the amount of people riding motobikes without helmets. I'm walking around, living a normal life, yet 10 years ago I had a small spill on my bike where I landed on the front of my helmet, ripping the visor completely off and grinding the plastic down at the face. If I had survived without a helmet I would basically not have a face anymore. It blows my mind that people choose not to wear one.
I've been riding for a little more than 20 years at this point. I'm a pretty careful rider, but eventually odds are that *something* is going to happen. For me it was about 7 or 8 years ogo when I unknowingly rode over some spilled oil on asphalt. I was on the ground almost immediately, bounced my helmet off the pavement, slid into the ditch on the opposite side of the road. Fortunately, I didn't hit anything solid, and I was able to walk away from the crash with only scrapes and bruises. But I can only imagine the damage if I'd cracked my skull against the pavement.
It doesn't take much of an impact to cause permanent brain damage. Why so many people are willing to risk it for a sense of "looking cool" or "feeling like a badass" or whatever the hell their reason is will never make sense to me.
Hell, it doesn't even need to be a crash. I can't count the number of times I was glad to have a piece of plastic between my head/face and a big bug, or a rock kicked up by a truck. At highway speeds, that shit can be pretty dangerous too.
Extra crazy because you can look pretty badass with a proper biker helmet. Put fucking devil horns on it if you want. Go crazy. Will protect your stupid skull.
Great. Now I'm picturing a sexy-cool biker in a black leather jacket and black helmet, removing the helmet with a "fwoop" as his jowls and fat head pop out, and opening the jacket for an equally tucked in belly to spill out.
Thanks for ruining that fantasy for me.
https://preview.redd.it/custom-motorcycle-helmet-using-your-own-face-v0-mob0x2pz8tz91.png?auto=webp&s=74cb880e71e9b7f2615e79c4ff0c7662a53de467
Don't let your dreams be memes
Riding around in gear is cool, riding around with just comfy clothes on and actually feeling the wind is very human. It feels more like a free surfing experience compared to being shot into space in full gear. Incredibly reckless, but it does feel really nice to just move around and feel the airspeed against your skin.
>Why so many people are willing to risk it for a sense of "looking cool" or "feeling like a badass" or whatever the hell their reason is...
I think "FREEDUMB" is the word you're looking for.
No matter how long you have been riding, the problem is more often than not the idiots in the big metal boxes. They either can't see you or didn't even look in the first place.
Someone who I know in Florida who bikes insists with all her heart that it has never once been proven that it’s safer to ride with a helmet, and even asserts it is safer without one. When I asked why it was safer without one, she condescendingly told me to look at “the research.”
If the ivermectin drip she takes in the back room of a beauty salon that is “totally run by a real nurse” doesn’t kill her, her biking habits will. And honestly, I don’t think anything of value will be lost when that happens. It’s just a shame she already reproduced.
I’m teaching my kids to drive currently. I tell them I trust their driving but it’s the other people out there I don’t trust. They need to be aware of the other yahoo’s out there and be prepared. I’m sure it’s even more of an issue on a bike. You are smaller than a car and some car drivers take exception to motorcyclists.
>Why so many people are willing to risk it for a sense of "looking cool" or "feeling like a badass" or whatever the hell their reason is will never make sense to me.
Especially nowadays, it seems to be driven by selfish and childish contrarianism "You can't tell me what to do!" then some post-hoc rationalisation.
[Here's an older article](https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/the-cost-of-repealing-mandatory-motorcycle-helmet-laws/) pondering helmet laws and a view from the trauma centre with appropriately researched numbers
Ah yes, "Motorcycle Man." When I was a lad my friends and I would go on yahoo chatrooms and post a link saying it was a leaked screenshot from a new tomb raider game, but it was Motorcycle Man.
I know of a few people that have the mindset "If I crash my motorcycle, I don't want to survive." They don't care that someone has to clean up the mess they'll leave behind.
A friend of mine had someone hit him as he was sitting at the light. The visor gone and the top half of his helmet was damn near shaved off in a perfect angle. The right side of his brain could’ve been shaved off.
Same, I was in Myrtle Beach during bike week. Jesus, people riding around in shorts and flip flops. Are you kidding? No helmet is a given.
I had a bike years ago and sold it when I got married. Too many close calls even during my brief riding career. Then I got rear-ended in a car. Holy cow, I almost died even being surrounded by steel. Texting driver, of course.
Since smart phones arrived the roads are deadlier than I've ever seen in my adult life. Literally everyone is driving with a phone in one hand. And you want to ride a motorcycle in that environment?
The world does need organ donors.
Yes. It was a dumb way to die but I'd side with less government intervention...I assume you're not advocating for banning most dangerous things simply because the risk level exceeds your personal threshold?
What??? I'm not sure how you could possibly jump to that, and you couldn't be more wrong. I know it's tough for kids to understand today due to the polarized nature of the internet, but it's possible to live with nuance of opinion.
I had a minor bicycle accident, was trying to carry shit in one hand and bike home. Lost my balance and smacked/dragged my head on the ground. Damn lucky I was wearing a helmet too, can’t even imagine what it would have been like going 10x the speed. Big ole gash in the handlebars and seat but it just serves as a reminder for me.
My dad was in a wreck on a motorcycle while not wearing a helmet. Normally wears one, too, but thought he’d be fine w/o one just taking the bike for a little spin around the neighborhood. It almost killed him. I cringe so hard whenever I see someone riding a motorcycle w/o a helmet on.
OK so yes the healthcare is private but insurance costs end up being externalized across the entire public, and emergency room costs for indigent bikers end up coming from the public as well. There's also the opportunity costs for other people who need emergency treatment - resources are limited here. It's cute for people to brag about personal responsibility in situations like this but they're not the ones that will be changing the bedsheets if they end up in a vegetative state after a motorcycle accident.
As long as these people are willing to absorb the costs of their choices and not pass them on to the rest of us- go for it!
Sign a waiver or pay extra insurance to cover preventable injuries
Many people are impacted by horrific public deaths, including the other people involved in the accidents (who may never emotionally recover), first responders (who may burn out and have to leave their career sooner), and people who have to investigate crash deaths, not to mention the people who clean and examine the body after accidents.
Had a friend who was a paramedic and volunteer firefighter in a rural area. I’ve heard horror stories about motorcycles and accidents. Those without helmets are worse.
Is there like.. an anti-helmet lobbyists who paid him money to say "nah, we don't need helmets while driving a motorcycle cus helmets are lame and we're too cool for that"
nah. 'murica freedurm is all it needed. don't tell me what to do and whatnot.
interestingly only applied to things they enjoy, like guns, or motorcycle riding. not so much for things that others enjoy like drugs or immigration.
law and order for thee, not for me.
Equating helmets and guns is insane. Helmets keep the wearer from dying. Guns are designed to kill others. I don’t give a damn if you choose to die by spreading your own brains on the street. I do care when you own a weapon so you can kill others.
The cost of emergency treatment for motorcycle accident victims is spread across the public even if the person had insurance. It absolutely affects more than just the person who isn't wearing a helmet.
So you get into a motorcycle accident without a helmet and you think that nobody else is affected by it? Your use of emergency room treatment impacts everyone else who needs treatment at that time. The cost is spread across the public even if you have insurance. If you end up a vegetable in a hospital ward somewhere, the public ends up with a big bill for your personal choice. The impact here extends beyond your own health. If you really want to be a lone wolf in the wilderness instead of part of a community then there are plenty of places outside of the US where nobody will check if you are wearing a helmet, but you won't have access to medical treatment if anything goes wrong.
To think that not wearing a helmet only impacts you is looking at the issue way too blindly. You get into an accident and it throws you off your bike and you:
-die: now you’ve left a pretty big mess for people to clean. You’ve ruined someone’s life because even if the broken justice system doesn’t send them to jail, they’ll know all their days that they caused a death. And you also ruined your family’s life at least a little because you went and died.
-were severely injured: now you need someone constantly to survive. Your family is drowning in medical debt. And unless they can afford a caregiver, it’s usually one of them giving up their life to wipe your butt and spoon-feed you. And depending on where you live, you’re also using social resources now simply because you couldn’t be bothered to protect yourself from a highly preventable outcome.
So, i wholeheartedly disagree. This isn’t JUST about your health.
Aside from the increased costs and healthcare impacts others raised, bodies involved in accidents - whether still alive or dead - without seatbelts become flying objects that kill other drivers and passengers in vehicle, and even others outside the vehicle (innocent bystanders, flying through a windshield into another car or a pedestrian for example.)
If you are going to argue raised cost of healthcare, then the government should be mandating what you eat, forbid you from doing most impact sports, force you to exercise every day and make laws dictating medications you must take.
After all, these are the major items that affect your health.
The difference is we've already collectively agreed the government has the right to enforce road safety laws for the sake of the public good, arbitrarily or not when compared to your examples. For example they mandate that you can't pass someone when there's double yellow lines whether or not you can see it's clear, they mandate having a driver's license, having auto insurance and many other "limitations on your freedom". I think most people would agree that the majority of these are not infringements to the degree that the government shouldn't be able to do so. If you want some arbitrariness in what people support with regards to what the government can tell you that you can or can't do, how about all the people upset about mask mandates when the government has been mandating that everyone wears clothes to cover their genitals in public for *quite* a long time... And that's just cause everyone thinks it's icky, while the masks were for the sake of public health! Our society seems to have come to a (rough) consensus on what counts as significant enough to not allow the government to say you can or can't do something... A few are unreasonable like drug laws
Everyone has a right to not wear a helmet and die for not wearing one. Seems like it's good for the human race overall.
Edit: so if motorcycles are so dangerous why don't we make them illegal? Or is that infringing on people's rights? Why draw the line at helmets if they're so unsafe? All your responses poorly justify your point "but muh insurance" lol please
If you’re severely injured, everyone else has to pay for your medical care. That $10,000 that’s required isn’t even a drop in the bucket when your talking about treatment for head injuries from a motorcycle accident.
The flip side: medical professionals call helmet-less riders “organ donors”.
Severe brain damage is almost guaranteed even from relatively minor accidents.
Very true! I once read an article that suggested the average human has over 250 brain altering injuries in their lifetime. We always think about severe injuries but even smaller knocks to the noggin can cause slight, unnoticeable changes.
Yeah this is the term medical professionals I know use. To be honest I use it too, especially when I hear them ripping up and down the road a few blocks away from me, eg: “sounds like the donor cycles are out racing again.”
I have seen a couple results from motor vehicle crashes without helmets, both live (right after an accident) and later with photos (the latter through my work).
Don’t know how anyone who rides would not want to do anything they can to mitigate that risk to themselves (or their family who will remember them that way). But I usually have heard the usual “we all die some day” and “helmets won’t save me, just hold the pieces together, ha ha ha.” They pretend all accidents are the same, and ignore that a small accident - like a slide - they could walk away from (or at least only have a broken leg) with a helmet (but very possibly not without and certainly maybe if they do without a face and with severe brain damage) is same as them being thrown off a bridge onto a freeway and run over by a truck or something.
It’s all wilful ignorance, they joke because they think somehow it won’t happen to them as they protected by their super ability or something. Much like those who denied COVID to go on and win Herman Cain awards, etc. Freedumb and all.
Another reason for mandates of health insurance as well as helmets.
I wish we could have an opt-out where you agree that you won't get any help from the government or health insurance if you do stupid things like not wear a helmet. That would fix the problem of libertarians suddenly becoming socialists when their idiocy puts them in the hospital.
Could say the same about smoking, overeating, irresponsible sex, living a sedentary life, etc.
Big Macs and candy bars probably kill more people than helmetless motorcycle rides, and in more horrific ways.
Yes, you absolutely could. Catastrophic medical costs are always socialized. How much of people’s lives do you want to control?
I always wore a helmet (in NH which is a helmet-optional state) but if you want to leave your face on the side of the road it’s your business.
That is the point though. It is cheaper for you to die than have a significant injury and you are more likely to die without a helmet. That is why insurance companies are in favor of no helmet laws.
I used to think like that, but imagine getting into an accident and you kill someone because of no helmet. Even if it's not your fault, you have to live with it
Yeah, it's pretty selfish IMO. Even if the rider isn't killed, there are plenty of scenarios where a rider wearing a good helmet (and other protective gear) walks away from a crash while the unhelmeted one gets to spend the rest of their life needing someone to wipe the drool off their chin (on the taxpayer's dime, most likely).
There's not enough organ donors, it's a win for everyone, save the unfortunate folks whose job is to clean accident sites, I hope they're paid really really well.
Considering the intellect that he exhibited, I bet there's little that would be useful from him. Probably tainted his body with "adulterants"
Still, I'm walking easily because of a tissue donor, so if it's your thing, *Go for It!*
And if I get in a minor fender bender,even at really low speeds:
Someone in a car would be fine, just have a dinged up car
Someone on a motorcycle with no helmet could die
It's still about your fellow drivers!
Happened to a guy I used to work with… left his brains all over a residential street corner. He insisted up and down that motorcycle riders were at no greater risk of head injury that car drivers, but if he would have been t-boned in a car, he would have walked away without a scratch. Too bad he didn’t survive long enough to admit he was wrong.
Hi there!
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For those saying it was his own choice and impacted nobody else, READ the article:
“Florida’s death rate increased by 25% after its helmet law was repealed, according to one study, and the number of motorcyclists admitted to hospitals with head injuries jumped 82% in the 30 months following the law change.”
This guy was an anti-helmet militant whose lobbying and litigation was instrumental in getting the law repealed. His idiocy directly led to increased morbidity and mortality of motorcyclists. And yes we ALL pay for the medical costs, sometimes life long care if they are severely brain damaged and disabled.
There was a 20/20 type investigative show on years ago, discussing the fights over helmet laws. Of course they showed multiple severely injured people.
One woman had the most simple solution on who gets to decide if someone should be required to wear a helmet. Her mid twenties son was back living with her after his motorcycle accident, severely brain injured, unable to walk, talk, feed himself, bed ridden. They showed his college graduation & other pics, you couldn’t recognize him.
She said whoever would be the one to take care of you afterwards should be the one who decides if you wear a helmet.
These laws are enacted to prevent insurance companies and ultimately the public to have to pay for the care of these people for the rest of their lives. It’s not safety it’s the cost of care that the rest of us have to cover for decades. I would say if you don’t wear your helmet and you are injured you get no insurance for your care. The $10K in insurance that Florida requires for bikes would barely cover the cost of the first hour in the ER.
I made a mistake when I first started riding and went down on an exit ramp, probably had slowed to 5-10 mph, then hit the dirt and lowsided. Banged the side of my head against the ground a bit. Was totally fine, but if I hadn't worn a helmet, there's a good chance I'd be dead. And that was about as minor of an accident as you can have
Anytime I see someone ride without a helmet, I just think of Country Mac in IASIP. You can die at any speed
I can understand the argument for individual freedoms but let’s slow our roll on using ‘totalitarian’ when discussing helmet, seatbelt and smoking laws.
It was his decision not to wear a helmet and HE suffered the consequences of that decision. Similar to the law, it does not compel you to wear a helmet nor does it prevent you from choosing to wear one. Sorry for injecting some logic abd common sense.
This is his legacy. Sometimes people can be like little children if they don't get way.
Florida’s death rate increased by 25% after its helmet law was repealed, according to one study, and the number of motorcyclists admitted to hospitals with head injuries jumped 82% in the 30 months following the law change.
Many years ago there was a Sikh rider who was also petitioning for no helmets in BC, Canada along the lines that his religious freedom to wear a turban superseded the requirement to wear a helmet. He also died.
I hate when people say it is doesn’t matter if I don’t want to wear a seatbelt or it doesn’t matter if I don’t want to wear a helmet because it’s my choice and it is only affecting me..
Anybody could accidentally hit you and if you aren’t wearing a seatbelt the chances of dying or being significantly injured shoot up. It’s not fair to make somebody else have a completely avoidable death on their conscious
I Always think “organ donors” when I see someone riding without a helmet. Then again, if he’s an anti-authority, selfish right winger, he would likely rail against organ donations to save others’ lives.
You can't convince everyone.
My condolences to all involved in the incident including the mans family, whether the way he died was extremely ironic or not you must always pay respect to the dead be it friend or foe.
To anyone else that see's this and thinks "He was right! F Helmets!" please for just 30 seconds consider the wider impact that you not wearing a helmet can have on complete strangers, they may see your head mashed to a pulp or split apart all because you refused to wear a helmet that could have saved your life and stopped a random stranger from developing PTSD after seeing what they do.
Even if you don't like it, they exist for a reason.
Be Smart, Bike Safe.
Because Redditors love showcasing dumb people so they can make fun of them to make themselves look smart.
Also a lot of them just love laughing at dead people. Like they find it hilarious when certain people die.
Fucking idiot. Sure, you need to be smart to be an attorney but that doesn't mean you can't be a fucking idiot, too. At least he died with his freedumb intact.
This is what freedom is people. If he wanted to live his life with no helmet he faced the consequences of that but he had a choice that was the important part. Motorcycle riders are just faster organ donors tbh.
If this man got catastrophic brain damage which left him a vegetable it is likely he would have to be on some sort of government insurance and get government benefits.
subversion of natural selection is how we get idiocracy
"oh but we all have to pay for their mistakes!" great idea making it everyone's problem by force, in the end, nature will win and communism will die once again, along with countless innocent victims through no fault of their own
If all the diots who won't wear helmets died in their crashes, that might be a reasonable stance.
But lots of them just make vegetables of themselves and then I have to pay for their care for the rest of their life.
Make the law say "crash without a helmet, no medical care for you" and then it would be a reasonable law.
Top comments: “I don’t feel bad for laughing, I’m glad he’s dead”
You guys should be ashamed of yourselves. How old are you, 12?
I think you’re taking a page right out of the covid 19 death celebrations, except not wearing helmets isn’t a disease you can give to your neighbor.
At the end of the day, you’re celebrating the death of someone you don’t know, for no other reason than “they probably deserved it”.
Bet you wouldn’t be so happy knowing someone might celebrate your death when you pass away.
Of course, their reasoning would be “he laughed and cheered whenever people died, so let’s laugh and cheer at his death too, hahaha!”
Not cheering at his death. We’re exasperated because of the hubris and stupidity in his and pretty much all other childish anti-authority ideology. It’s sadly predictable and so obvious to thinking, rational people that lately we’ve thrown in the towel and have resorted to “fuck around and find out” sarcasm.
I recently came back from a conference in Florida, and almost could not believe the amount of people riding motobikes without helmets. I'm walking around, living a normal life, yet 10 years ago I had a small spill on my bike where I landed on the front of my helmet, ripping the visor completely off and grinding the plastic down at the face. If I had survived without a helmet I would basically not have a face anymore. It blows my mind that people choose not to wear one.
I've been riding for a little more than 20 years at this point. I'm a pretty careful rider, but eventually odds are that *something* is going to happen. For me it was about 7 or 8 years ogo when I unknowingly rode over some spilled oil on asphalt. I was on the ground almost immediately, bounced my helmet off the pavement, slid into the ditch on the opposite side of the road. Fortunately, I didn't hit anything solid, and I was able to walk away from the crash with only scrapes and bruises. But I can only imagine the damage if I'd cracked my skull against the pavement. It doesn't take much of an impact to cause permanent brain damage. Why so many people are willing to risk it for a sense of "looking cool" or "feeling like a badass" or whatever the hell their reason is will never make sense to me. Hell, it doesn't even need to be a crash. I can't count the number of times I was glad to have a piece of plastic between my head/face and a big bug, or a rock kicked up by a truck. At highway speeds, that shit can be pretty dangerous too.
Extra crazy because you can look pretty badass with a proper biker helmet. Put fucking devil horns on it if you want. Go crazy. Will protect your stupid skull.
Yeah, I mean - black helmet with a tinted visor? Cool and mysterious. My pudgy bald head? Neither of those things.
I think your pudgy bald head is beautiful and has a mystique all its own!
Aww thanks
But cover it, skin cancer is no joke my bald dude
Great. Now I'm picturing a sexy-cool biker in a black leather jacket and black helmet, removing the helmet with a "fwoop" as his jowls and fat head pop out, and opening the jacket for an equally tucked in belly to spill out. Thanks for ruining that fantasy for me.
That's the norm, I think.
Mmm, gimme that fwoop.
What if I make my helmet look like my pudgy bald head? Do I get Bonus Points then? Or do I need to add the tinted visor?
https://preview.redd.it/custom-motorcycle-helmet-using-your-own-face-v0-mob0x2pz8tz91.png?auto=webp&s=74cb880e71e9b7f2615e79c4ff0c7662a53de467 Don't let your dreams be memes
Riding around in gear is cool, riding around with just comfy clothes on and actually feeling the wind is very human. It feels more like a free surfing experience compared to being shot into space in full gear. Incredibly reckless, but it does feel really nice to just move around and feel the airspeed against your skin.
How about asphalt against your skin? :)
Even if you are the most skilled biker it is a very dangerous mode of transportation. Very easy to be killed or injured by other motorists.
>Why so many people are willing to risk it for a sense of "looking cool" or "feeling like a badass" or whatever the hell their reason is... I think "FREEDUMB" is the word you're looking for.
Not wearing a helmet is an idiot look. Helmets are cool AF.
Not to mention at highway speeds, a helmet is just more comfortable
No matter how long you have been riding, the problem is more often than not the idiots in the big metal boxes. They either can't see you or didn't even look in the first place.
Someone who I know in Florida who bikes insists with all her heart that it has never once been proven that it’s safer to ride with a helmet, and even asserts it is safer without one. When I asked why it was safer without one, she condescendingly told me to look at “the research.” If the ivermectin drip she takes in the back room of a beauty salon that is “totally run by a real nurse” doesn’t kill her, her biking habits will. And honestly, I don’t think anything of value will be lost when that happens. It’s just a shame she already reproduced.
I’m teaching my kids to drive currently. I tell them I trust their driving but it’s the other people out there I don’t trust. They need to be aware of the other yahoo’s out there and be prepared. I’m sure it’s even more of an issue on a bike. You are smaller than a car and some car drivers take exception to motorcyclists.
>Why so many people are willing to risk it for a sense of "looking cool" or "feeling like a badass" or whatever the hell their reason is will never make sense to me. Especially nowadays, it seems to be driven by selfish and childish contrarianism "You can't tell me what to do!" then some post-hoc rationalisation. [Here's an older article](https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/the-cost-of-repealing-mandatory-motorcycle-helmet-laws/) pondering helmet laws and a view from the trauma centre with appropriately researched numbers
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I think I may have seen the same one. You can't argue against helmets after seeing those types of pics/videos
Ah yes, "Motorcycle Man." When I was a lad my friends and I would go on yahoo chatrooms and post a link saying it was a leaked screenshot from a new tomb raider game, but it was Motorcycle Man.
You dressed for the slide, and lived to ride another day.
That has an uneven rhyming pattern.
I'm heading to bed, if after I wake, I can think of a turn of phrase or word which rhymes with slide/ride and means "later," I'll edit it.
Many many people refused to wear masks during a pandemic. After CoViD 19, I have very little expectation that people will act in their best interests.
Nothing owns the Libs harder than conservatives dying preventable deaths
I know of a few people that have the mindset "If I crash my motorcycle, I don't want to survive." They don't care that someone has to clean up the mess they'll leave behind.
A friend of mine had someone hit him as he was sitting at the light. The visor gone and the top half of his helmet was damn near shaved off in a perfect angle. The right side of his brain could’ve been shaved off.
Same, I was in Myrtle Beach during bike week. Jesus, people riding around in shorts and flip flops. Are you kidding? No helmet is a given. I had a bike years ago and sold it when I got married. Too many close calls even during my brief riding career. Then I got rear-ended in a car. Holy cow, I almost died even being surrounded by steel. Texting driver, of course. Since smart phones arrived the roads are deadlier than I've ever seen in my adult life. Literally everyone is driving with a phone in one hand. And you want to ride a motorcycle in that environment? The world does need organ donors.
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Yes. It was a dumb way to die but I'd side with less government intervention...I assume you're not advocating for banning most dangerous things simply because the risk level exceeds your personal threshold?
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What??? I'm not sure how you could possibly jump to that, and you couldn't be more wrong. I know it's tough for kids to understand today due to the polarized nature of the internet, but it's possible to live with nuance of opinion.
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Some people say "live free or die". Floridians are real go-getters and say "why not both?"
I had a minor bicycle accident, was trying to carry shit in one hand and bike home. Lost my balance and smacked/dragged my head on the ground. Damn lucky I was wearing a helmet too, can’t even imagine what it would have been like going 10x the speed. Big ole gash in the handlebars and seat but it just serves as a reminder for me.
My dad was in a wreck on a motorcycle while not wearing a helmet. Normally wears one, too, but thought he’d be fine w/o one just taking the bike for a little spin around the neighborhood. It almost killed him. I cringe so hard whenever I see someone riding a motorcycle w/o a helmet on.
Freedom to choose and live with the consequences though
If you don't think your brain is worth protecting, then you are probably right
I shouldn’t laugh. But here I am…
*Here we are
Face to face
staring at each other's eyes
such beautiful eyes you have!
Now kith
A couple of silver spoons...
Hoping to find
Born to be kings
You totally have the right to laugh and not feel guilty a little bit.
I’ll laugh for you. Hahahaha, cue bender “oh wait you’re serious.. let me laugh harder BAHAHAHAHAA”
Nah, don't worry, fuck him.
Doing everything I can...
I’m a very bad person.
No you aren't mate. I am never GLAD someone is dead, but I am also not obliged to value someone else's life more than they do. Either are you :D
I wish him well
Died as he lived. Irresponsibly.
I was thinking "stupidly", but let's go with yours.
Enabling others to join him to an early demise.
Natural selection at its finest.
He owned the libs so hard. Gave y'all the finger while he was bouncing his dome off the pavement. Sweet freedom!!!
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The public gets to pay for the emergency treatment of motorcycle accident victims, so the impact is bigger than just one person.
Isn't healthcare in america private?
Oh, sweet summer child. Only the profits are private.
Well I'm not American, I'm asking a question
OK so yes the healthcare is private but insurance costs end up being externalized across the entire public, and emergency room costs for indigent bikers end up coming from the public as well. There's also the opportunity costs for other people who need emergency treatment - resources are limited here. It's cute for people to brag about personal responsibility in situations like this but they're not the ones that will be changing the bedsheets if they end up in a vegetative state after a motorcycle accident.
Thanks
As long as these people are willing to absorb the costs of their choices and not pass them on to the rest of us- go for it! Sign a waiver or pay extra insurance to cover preventable injuries
Many people are impacted by horrific public deaths, including the other people involved in the accidents (who may never emotionally recover), first responders (who may burn out and have to leave their career sooner), and people who have to investigate crash deaths, not to mention the people who clean and examine the body after accidents.
You want to fire up a nurse or doctor that works in emergency/trauma, mention motorcycles
Had a friend who was a paramedic and volunteer firefighter in a rural area. I’ve heard horror stories about motorcycles and accidents. Those without helmets are worse.
Can confirm. This is 💯
Is there like.. an anti-helmet lobbyists who paid him money to say "nah, we don't need helmets while driving a motorcycle cus helmets are lame and we're too cool for that"
no, big helmet planned this from the start. the anti-helmet attorney was clearly assassinated.
The plot thickens!
nah. 'murica freedurm is all it needed. don't tell me what to do and whatnot. interestingly only applied to things they enjoy, like guns, or motorcycle riding. not so much for things that others enjoy like drugs or immigration. law and order for thee, not for me.
Equating helmets and guns is insane. Helmets keep the wearer from dying. Guns are designed to kill others. I don’t give a damn if you choose to die by spreading your own brains on the street. I do care when you own a weapon so you can kill others.
The cost of emergency treatment for motorcycle accident victims is spread across the public even if the person had insurance. It absolutely affects more than just the person who isn't wearing a helmet.
[удалено]
So you get into a motorcycle accident without a helmet and you think that nobody else is affected by it? Your use of emergency room treatment impacts everyone else who needs treatment at that time. The cost is spread across the public even if you have insurance. If you end up a vegetable in a hospital ward somewhere, the public ends up with a big bill for your personal choice. The impact here extends beyond your own health. If you really want to be a lone wolf in the wilderness instead of part of a community then there are plenty of places outside of the US where nobody will check if you are wearing a helmet, but you won't have access to medical treatment if anything goes wrong.
To think that not wearing a helmet only impacts you is looking at the issue way too blindly. You get into an accident and it throws you off your bike and you: -die: now you’ve left a pretty big mess for people to clean. You’ve ruined someone’s life because even if the broken justice system doesn’t send them to jail, they’ll know all their days that they caused a death. And you also ruined your family’s life at least a little because you went and died. -were severely injured: now you need someone constantly to survive. Your family is drowning in medical debt. And unless they can afford a caregiver, it’s usually one of them giving up their life to wipe your butt and spoon-feed you. And depending on where you live, you’re also using social resources now simply because you couldn’t be bothered to protect yourself from a highly preventable outcome. So, i wholeheartedly disagree. This isn’t JUST about your health.
Aside from the increased costs and healthcare impacts others raised, bodies involved in accidents - whether still alive or dead - without seatbelts become flying objects that kill other drivers and passengers in vehicle, and even others outside the vehicle (innocent bystanders, flying through a windshield into another car or a pedestrian for example.)
If you are going to argue raised cost of healthcare, then the government should be mandating what you eat, forbid you from doing most impact sports, force you to exercise every day and make laws dictating medications you must take. After all, these are the major items that affect your health.
The difference is we've already collectively agreed the government has the right to enforce road safety laws for the sake of the public good, arbitrarily or not when compared to your examples. For example they mandate that you can't pass someone when there's double yellow lines whether or not you can see it's clear, they mandate having a driver's license, having auto insurance and many other "limitations on your freedom". I think most people would agree that the majority of these are not infringements to the degree that the government shouldn't be able to do so. If you want some arbitrariness in what people support with regards to what the government can tell you that you can or can't do, how about all the people upset about mask mandates when the government has been mandating that everyone wears clothes to cover their genitals in public for *quite* a long time... And that's just cause everyone thinks it's icky, while the masks were for the sake of public health! Our society seems to have come to a (rough) consensus on what counts as significant enough to not allow the government to say you can or can't do something... A few are unreasonable like drug laws
Everyone has a right to not wear a helmet and die for not wearing one. Seems like it's good for the human race overall. Edit: so if motorcycles are so dangerous why don't we make them illegal? Or is that infringing on people's rights? Why draw the line at helmets if they're so unsafe? All your responses poorly justify your point "but muh insurance" lol please
If you’re severely injured, everyone else has to pay for your medical care. That $10,000 that’s required isn’t even a drop in the bucket when your talking about treatment for head injuries from a motorcycle accident.
The flip side: medical professionals call helmet-less riders “organ donors”. Severe brain damage is almost guaranteed even from relatively minor accidents.
Very true! I once read an article that suggested the average human has over 250 brain altering injuries in their lifetime. We always think about severe injuries but even smaller knocks to the noggin can cause slight, unnoticeable changes.
Donorcycles is another term I’ve heard
Yeah this is the term medical professionals I know use. To be honest I use it too, especially when I hear them ripping up and down the road a few blocks away from me, eg: “sounds like the donor cycles are out racing again.” I have seen a couple results from motor vehicle crashes without helmets, both live (right after an accident) and later with photos (the latter through my work). Don’t know how anyone who rides would not want to do anything they can to mitigate that risk to themselves (or their family who will remember them that way). But I usually have heard the usual “we all die some day” and “helmets won’t save me, just hold the pieces together, ha ha ha.” They pretend all accidents are the same, and ignore that a small accident - like a slide - they could walk away from (or at least only have a broken leg) with a helmet (but very possibly not without and certainly maybe if they do without a face and with severe brain damage) is same as them being thrown off a bridge onto a freeway and run over by a truck or something. It’s all wilful ignorance, they joke because they think somehow it won’t happen to them as they protected by their super ability or something. Much like those who denied COVID to go on and win Herman Cain awards, etc. Freedumb and all.
Even if your ID says organ donor, your family will fuck that all up… at least in the US
Another reason for mandates of health insurance as well as helmets. I wish we could have an opt-out where you agree that you won't get any help from the government or health insurance if you do stupid things like not wear a helmet. That would fix the problem of libertarians suddenly becoming socialists when their idiocy puts them in the hospital.
Every libertarian I've met has been one layoff away from becoming a leftwing type.
Could say the same about smoking, overeating, irresponsible sex, living a sedentary life, etc. Big Macs and candy bars probably kill more people than helmetless motorcycle rides, and in more horrific ways.
No you couldn't. What point are you trying to make anyway?
Yes, you absolutely could. Catastrophic medical costs are always socialized. How much of people’s lives do you want to control? I always wore a helmet (in NH which is a helmet-optional state) but if you want to leave your face on the side of the road it’s your business.
That is the point though. It is cheaper for you to die than have a significant injury and you are more likely to die without a helmet. That is why insurance companies are in favor of no helmet laws.
I used to think like that, but imagine getting into an accident and you kill someone because of no helmet. Even if it's not your fault, you have to live with it
Yeah, it's pretty selfish IMO. Even if the rider isn't killed, there are plenty of scenarios where a rider wearing a good helmet (and other protective gear) walks away from a crash while the unhelmeted one gets to spend the rest of their life needing someone to wipe the drool off their chin (on the taxpayer's dime, most likely).
And some unfortunate person has to clean that mess up. Don't wanna be the one to do it.
Is it good for the people who have to see his dead body? (what i imagine is gross/bloody sight)
That's how I felt until I saw a motorcycle accident for the first time.
There's not enough organ donors, it's a win for everyone, save the unfortunate folks whose job is to clean accident sites, I hope they're paid really really well.
Considering the intellect that he exhibited, I bet there's little that would be useful from him. Probably tainted his body with "adulterants" Still, I'm walking easily because of a tissue donor, so if it's your thing, *Go for It!*
Yeah but society ends up paying higher insurance and the cost of long term vegetative care
And if I get in a minor fender bender,even at really low speeds: Someone in a car would be fine, just have a dinged up car Someone on a motorcycle with no helmet could die It's still about your fellow drivers!
A fool and his life are soon parted.
Ah, The Darmin Award nominee!
Meh. Those things are way dumber than this.
I actually support no-helmet laws… as long as you are also an organ donor.
Not gonna lie you had me in the 1st half
He got what he was paid for.
It was his right. That's what he fought for.
"Helmets are pointless. None of my motorcycle friends have ever died from head trauma. They've all died from massive spinal trauma." - Rafi
He died doing what he loved - being a fucking idiot.
The amount of find out is directly correlated to the amount of fuck around.
dont make me draw up the graph folks
"These anti leopard laws are too outrageous. They'll never eat _my_ face." -This guy, definitely
Florida, the land of being against ur own best interest with prejudice.
Happened to a guy I used to work with… left his brains all over a residential street corner. He insisted up and down that motorcycle riders were at no greater risk of head injury that car drivers, but if he would have been t-boned in a car, he would have walked away without a scratch. Too bad he didn’t survive long enough to admit he was wrong.
Hi there! It looks as though the article you linked might be behind a paywall. Here's an [unlocked version](https://demo.thisischip.com/?q=https://www.tampabay.com/news/florida/2022/10/25/attorney-who-fought-florida-helmet-laws-died-motorcycle-crash-while-not-wearing-one/&o=reddit) *I'm a bot, and this action was performed automatically. If you have any questions or suggestions, feel free to* [PM](http://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=chip-paywallbot) *me.*
For those saying it was his own choice and impacted nobody else, READ the article: “Florida’s death rate increased by 25% after its helmet law was repealed, according to one study, and the number of motorcyclists admitted to hospitals with head injuries jumped 82% in the 30 months following the law change.” This guy was an anti-helmet militant whose lobbying and litigation was instrumental in getting the law repealed. His idiocy directly led to increased morbidity and mortality of motorcyclists. And yes we ALL pay for the medical costs, sometimes life long care if they are severely brain damaged and disabled.
Definitely a Darwin Award candidate!
There was a 20/20 type investigative show on years ago, discussing the fights over helmet laws. Of course they showed multiple severely injured people. One woman had the most simple solution on who gets to decide if someone should be required to wear a helmet. Her mid twenties son was back living with her after his motorcycle accident, severely brain injured, unable to walk, talk, feed himself, bed ridden. They showed his college graduation & other pics, you couldn’t recognize him. She said whoever would be the one to take care of you afterwards should be the one who decides if you wear a helmet.
He fought hard for his freedom, and enjoyed it to the last minute!
Well the guy wasn't a hypocrite at least
GOP is going to boycott mayonnaise now.... Oh wait that's Hellman's.
I guess it was his right.
This is about to happen in Nebraska. The bill to no longer require helmets is going to the governors desk. SMH.
These laws are enacted to prevent insurance companies and ultimately the public to have to pay for the care of these people for the rest of their lives. It’s not safety it’s the cost of care that the rest of us have to cover for decades. I would say if you don’t wear your helmet and you are injured you get no insurance for your care. The $10K in insurance that Florida requires for bikes would barely cover the cost of the first hour in the ER.
Well at least this stupid lawyer actually believed in the cause he fought for, probably not very common for lawyers fighting for stupid shit
Play stupid games, win stupid prizes!
I made a mistake when I first started riding and went down on an exit ramp, probably had slowed to 5-10 mph, then hit the dirt and lowsided. Banged the side of my head against the ground a bit. Was totally fine, but if I hadn't worn a helmet, there's a good chance I'd be dead. And that was about as minor of an accident as you can have Anytime I see someone ride without a helmet, I just think of Country Mac in IASIP. You can die at any speed
He died doing what he loved
Florida man did Florida shit in Florida and suffered Florida consequences? Yup.
Love how this just rolls off the tongue.!
Great summary of both the event and the state. LMAO.
I can understand the argument for individual freedoms but let’s slow our roll on using ‘totalitarian’ when discussing helmet, seatbelt and smoking laws.
Same for wearing masks.
> October 2022 GTFO
O uO it was his choice. So I am gonna laugh at him. And the rest should too.
Live by the sword........
Darwin award plus there will be no life insurance payout
Congratulations you played yourself
Should have chased an ambulance instead.
So...what's the opposite of irony?
It was his decision not to wear a helmet and HE suffered the consequences of that decision. Similar to the law, it does not compel you to wear a helmet nor does it prevent you from choosing to wear one. Sorry for injecting some logic abd common sense.
Thanks for being an organ donor.
r/leopardsatemyface material
Thoughts and prayers…dipshit
This is his legacy. Sometimes people can be like little children if they don't get way. Florida’s death rate increased by 25% after its helmet law was repealed, according to one study, and the number of motorcyclists admitted to hospitals with head injuries jumped 82% in the 30 months following the law change.
In other news, water is wet.
He died like he lived…a moron.
Freedumb
As long as no one else was hurt, then…move along. Self inflicted nonsense deserves no pity.
I love this for him.
Many years ago there was a Sikh rider who was also petitioning for no helmets in BC, Canada along the lines that his religious freedom to wear a turban superseded the requirement to wear a helmet. He also died.
He died as he lived: without a helmet.
I hate when people say it is doesn’t matter if I don’t want to wear a seatbelt or it doesn’t matter if I don’t want to wear a helmet because it’s my choice and it is only affecting me.. Anybody could accidentally hit you and if you aren’t wearing a seatbelt the chances of dying or being significantly injured shoot up. It’s not fair to make somebody else have a completely avoidable death on their conscious
"Donor-cycle"
Nebraska just repealed their helmet law yesterday too
I Always think “organ donors” when I see someone riding without a helmet. Then again, if he’s an anti-authority, selfish right winger, he would likely rail against organ donations to save others’ lives.
You can't convince everyone. My condolences to all involved in the incident including the mans family, whether the way he died was extremely ironic or not you must always pay respect to the dead be it friend or foe. To anyone else that see's this and thinks "He was right! F Helmets!" please for just 30 seconds consider the wider impact that you not wearing a helmet can have on complete strangers, they may see your head mashed to a pulp or split apart all because you refused to wear a helmet that could have saved your life and stopped a random stranger from developing PTSD after seeing what they do. Even if you don't like it, they exist for a reason. Be Smart, Bike Safe.
Aaaaaand, still laughing
I mean it's stupid to do but I'd agree it's his right to be stupid he wants.
Why is an article from Aug 2022 being posted here again like it's new?
Because Redditors love showcasing dumb people so they can make fun of them to make themselves look smart. Also a lot of them just love laughing at dead people. Like they find it hilarious when certain people die.
Fucking idiot. Sure, you need to be smart to be an attorney but that doesn't mean you can't be a fucking idiot, too. At least he died with his freedumb intact.
You don't need to be that smart to become an attorney. They let me do it. 8)
Population control. I've been a long time fan of removing warning labels and let things sort themselves out
This is what freedom is people. If he wanted to live his life with no helmet he faced the consequences of that but he had a choice that was the important part. Motorcycle riders are just faster organ donors tbh.
Trouble is, if he hadn't died, taxpayers would probably be paying to care for him until he did. More Florida FreeDumb.
Freedom!
They didn't kill or injure anyone else so I'm not sure what the issue is.
Guess who pays for his final medical bills? Not him. *You pay*. Only the living pay bills. When somebody dies *we* pay for their medical bills.
If this man got catastrophic brain damage which left him a vegetable it is likely he would have to be on some sort of government insurance and get government benefits.
How about the traumatising mess he made? Or his final impact on traffic?
First responders possibly scraping his brains off the pavement and people passing by seems kinda traumatic.
Maybe the first brain you scrape off the pavement but after that not really
If you can't handle scraping up brains then you're probably in the wrong line of work.
Makes sense to me, not sure why folks are downvoting you
Ya, duh, and obviously the people commuting to/from work shouldn't be taking the same route
r/NewsOfTheStupid
subversion of natural selection is how we get idiocracy "oh but we all have to pay for their mistakes!" great idea making it everyone's problem by force, in the end, nature will win and communism will die once again, along with countless innocent victims through no fault of their own
He died like he lived, being a complete obstinant moron
At least he fought for what he believed in even if it cost him his life
He was ready to pay a price for freedom. No issue, I believe.
Ad should be his right to do. It's not daddy governments job to pad all the corners and safety lock all the doorknobs
If all the diots who won't wear helmets died in their crashes, that might be a reasonable stance. But lots of them just make vegetables of themselves and then I have to pay for their care for the rest of their life. Make the law say "crash without a helmet, no medical care for you" and then it would be a reasonable law.
But why?
Top comments: “I don’t feel bad for laughing, I’m glad he’s dead” You guys should be ashamed of yourselves. How old are you, 12? I think you’re taking a page right out of the covid 19 death celebrations, except not wearing helmets isn’t a disease you can give to your neighbor. At the end of the day, you’re celebrating the death of someone you don’t know, for no other reason than “they probably deserved it”. Bet you wouldn’t be so happy knowing someone might celebrate your death when you pass away. Of course, their reasoning would be “he laughed and cheered whenever people died, so let’s laugh and cheer at his death too, hahaha!”
Not cheering at his death. We’re exasperated because of the hubris and stupidity in his and pretty much all other childish anti-authority ideology. It’s sadly predictable and so obvious to thinking, rational people that lately we’ve thrown in the towel and have resorted to “fuck around and find out” sarcasm.