No helemt; no bike?

[drclark]

Police plan to sieze bikes if you're not wearing a helmet. Good idea or just more of the nanny state? Personally, I never wore a helmet when I was a kid but now I feel pretty naked without one. I don't think I would let my kids ride without a helmet. However, I am against the state telling parents how to raise their kids. Sometimes we need to let Darwin thin the heard....

drc

http://www.boston.com/news/local/art...e_your_wheels/

HOLLISTON (MASS) - If you're young and ride a bicycle through town without a helmet, you may end up walking back home. Police here are looking for scofflaws and will snatch the pedals from your feet if you've been warned numerous times but still forgo headgear.


Holliston police, frustrated in trying to drive home the point that riding without a helmet is dangerous and illegal, are hoping the tactic will finally get the attention of young riders.
"We're not looking to take bikes away from the kids who forget their helmets," School Resource Officer David Gatchell said yesterday. "This isn't something where we're looking to collect a hundred bikes. We don't want to seize bikes, but for the kids who repeatedly ignore the warnings, it will happen."
Riding a bike - or scooter or in-line skates - without a helmet is illegal for anyone younger than 17 in Massachusetts. But Gatchell said he's noticed crowds of youngsters riding in his town without head protection. Bradford Jackson, Holliston school superintendent, said that outside the schools, he's seen an increase in bike riders, given the warm weather.
"Officer Gatchell was standing next to me a couple of weeks ago and we both noticed that too many students were not wearing their helmets," he said.
About two weeks ago, an 8-year-old boy riding a scooter in town was struck by a truck, he said. "The boy was wearing a helmet, which we believe prevented injuries that could have resulted."
Some youths say the law bumps up against their right to be cool, to have the wind breeze through their hair as they zip through town. Yesterday, a teenage boy was spotted pedaling near downtown without a helmet, his blond locks fluttering. But several others were wearing helmets.
Ten-year-old Tyler Varrell unstrapped his maroon-colored helmet as he walked his mountain bike into his yard. "He rides a lot, and has never had a problem wearing his helmet, so that is one less thing to worry about," said his mother, Patty Varrell.
According to the National Transportation Safety Board, head injury is the leading cause of death in bicycle crashes, and helmets are the single most effective way of reducing head injuries and fatalities. Last year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention conducted a national survey of helmet use among high school students, and 67 percent of responders indicated they rode a bike in the previous 12 months. And of that group, 85 percent indicated they never wore a helmet.
Gatchell said no bicycles have been seized yet, and the department isn't likely to start taking away bikes from every youth police see without a helmet.
"We'll start a public campaign, with the hopes that it will let kids and parents know how important it is to wear a helmet."
Gatchell spoke with hundreds of Holliston students earlier this month, at the start of the school year, telling them about the law and how they can get a free helmet from the Police Department if they need one.
The law allows police to hold the bicycles for as long as 15 days, but Gatchell said parents can reclaim them early if they show that their child has a helmet.
Nancy King-Bolger, president of the Holliston Parent Teacher Student Association for the past two years, said she also has noticed that most Holliston kids, especially older teens, ride through the town center without headgear.
"Parents of younger kids have more control because their children aren't riding that far from home. The earlier you get your child to put it on, the more likely the child will continue to wear the helmet when he or she gets older."
King-Bolger said it wasn't easy getting her two boys to wear helmets. "I was the helmet witch. When my kids were younger and riding bikes and skateboarding downtown, I felt strongly that they wore helmets. This is a small village and I had my spies out there, asking other parents if they had seen my boys without helmets."
One of her sons is now 16 and the other has left home for college.
"Yesterday, I saw my younger son leaving out of the driveway with his helmet on. I was kind of impressed."

[onegymrat]

I like it. Just too many stories I've heard about those who could have come out of crashes uninjured just by having a helmet on. Like you, I feel weird without a helmet whenever I get on my bike to test a new component/adjustment. I also do not allow my kids on their bikes without helmets. I know it's harsh and there will be many critics about this, but it's like the seatbelt law, just gotta do it.

[Pickettt]

The law here in California also mandates that children under the age of 18 wear helmets. It is hardly enforced, but it is the law. Unfortunately, these laws have little to do with the state's concern for our safety. Rather, insurance companies lobby to get these laws passed because they're tired of shelling out huge sums of money over claims. None of this is new, seatbelts, motorcycle helmets, etc.

[schleppp]

Originally Posted by Pickettt

Rather, insurance companies lobby to get these laws passed because they're tired of shelling out huge sums of money over claims.

I can hardly blame them on this one though. It seems absurd that they, and the policy holders, pay the cost of someones lack of common sense.

[foofighter]

be it through insurance or the state picks up the tab...we all end up indirectly paying for someone's misjudgement

[bikeadict]

Where does it stop???

What if they said the kids had to wear elbow and knee pads?
How about gloves?
Body Armor?
Full Face helmets?

Oh wait I have an idea how about they make it to where if your under 17 its just too dangerous to ride a bike so you can't....

I'm 100% against laws that are written to protect ourselves from our own ignorance or hard headedness. If the kid (and his or her parents) are too stupid to not enforce wearing a helmet I say F'it let the kid become a vegetable.


I guess I'm just feeling very cynical today...

[Rockinthecasbah]

bs, plenty of us rode bikes without helmets and survived, and some of us didint, let the few of us with thicker skulls and/or smaller brains to bruise evolve damnit

[uzziboy]

Originally Posted by bikeadict

Where does it stop???

What if they said the kids had to wear elbow and knee pads?
How about gloves?
Body Armor?
Full Face helmets?

Oh wait I have an idea how about they make it to where if your under 17 its just too dangerous to ride a bike so you can't....

I'm 100% against laws that are written to protect ourselves from our own ignorance or hard headedness. If the kid (and his or her parents) are too stupid to not enforce wearing a helmet I say F'it let the kid become a vegetable.


I guess I'm just feeling very cynical today...

Right, and then when the stupid kid and stupid parents are too stupid to have insurance. Then its you that are stupid because you are paying taxes for the ER room to be open and fix the stupid kids head because you said EFFF IT.

NICE!!!

[Rockinthecasbah]

Originally Posted by uzziboy

Right, and then when the stupid kid and stupid parents are too stupid to have insurance. Then its you that are stupid because you are paying taxes for the ER room to be open and fix the stupid kids head because you said EFFF IT.

NICE!!!

The goverment cannot write a law for everything at some point it needs to stop. Come on ? Does the cell phone law work?? HEll NO!!!!! now instead of people just picking up there phones when it rings they are grabbing a tiny ear piece, pressing the bluetooth button and trying to get it to sync while driving. Ill take someone just using one hand to grab a phone anyday.

All stupid laws do is distract police from real issues that should be delt with.

[uzziboy]

Originally Posted by Rockinthecasbah

The goverment cannot write a law for everything at some point it needs to stop. Come on ? Does the cell phone law work?? HEll NO!!!!! now instead of people just picking up there phones when it rings they are grabbing a tiny ear piece, pressing the bluetooth button and trying to get it to sync while driving. Ill take someone just using one hand to grab a phone anyday.

All stupid laws do is distract police from real issues that should be delt with.

do you relize that it is because of non insured people we have taxes raised. I agree with bikeaddict but i fu#kin refuse to pay any more taxes for people who are too stupid to take care of themselves or their kids

[Kid A]

i was in and around Boston/Quincy/holbrook/etc over labor day week and never seen so many peeps riding bikes w/o melon protectors.

i guess not much to protect if you're from beantown

the gov't should make them rock these lids

[bikeadict]

Originally Posted by uzziboy

Right, and then when the stupid kid and stupid parents are too stupid to have insurance. Then its you that are stupid because you are paying taxes for the ER room to be open and fix the stupid kids head because you said EFFF IT.

NICE!!!

Sir, but you assume I pay taxes...

Just kidding, I pay taxes but my point is then why not just ban them from riding all together. I mean a helmet doesn't protect from a broken arm???
Thus tax money is still wasted.

But I digress I believe we are getting into the larger issue of nation wide health care.

I would rather talk about the goverment overstepping its bounds.

[Albacore]

When I worked at a bike a shop I had a customer come in to buy a helmet. She was "forced" to buy one for her son. He was ticketed on his way home from school for not wearing one. I showed her a $29.99 helmet (our cheapest). She thought this was too expensive and made sure I knew it. I responded, "Well, how much is your son's head worth?" She hit me a few expletives and stormed out. I guess his head wasn't worth 30 bucks.

[Rockinthecasbah]

Originally Posted by uzziboy

do you relize that it is because of non insured people we have taxes raised. I agree with bikeaddict but i fu#kin refuse to pay any more taxes for people who are too stupid to take care of themselves or their kids

You cant fix un-insured kids by making a bike law, kid hurt there self everywhere like all people do, the medical system is what should be fixed a bike helmet law is not the solution of uninsured visits to hospitals.
The goverment spends way to much money on BS , lets see politicians making way to much money through the goverment/or through loopholes for theyre companies, cough cough oil, WAR IN IRAQ that have no benifit to us. Maybe if there was less bullshit in the goverment and useless people werent being payed alot fo money to pass BS laws we could afford socialized medicine like the higher evolved country's.

[uzziboy]

Originally Posted by bikeadict

Sir, but you assume I pay taxes...

Just kidding, I pay taxes but my point is then why not just ban them from riding all together. I mean a helmet doesn't protect from a broken arm???
Thus tax money is still wasted.

But I digress I believe we are getting into the larger issue of nation wide health care.

I would rather talk about the goverment overstepping its bounds.

All Im saying is that according to this article head injuries are the most common and expensive. So considering that, we being humans and all, we should have more GD common sense. But alas, most people dont and thats when the government has to step in. Once again I agree with you about if they dont want to wear a helmet EFF them. But it is in countrys the best interest, especially in this economy to save as much money as they can. I.E. taxpayers money.

that all im saying

[uzziboy]

Originally Posted by Rockinthecasbah

You cant fix un-insured kids by making a bike law, kid hurt there self everywhere like all people do, the medical system is what should be fixed a bike helmet law is not the solution of uninsured visits to hospitals.
The goverment spends way to much money on BS , lets see politicians making way to much money through the goverment/or through loopholes for theyre companies, cough cough oil, WAR IN IRAQ that have no benifit to us. Maybe if there was less bullshit in the goverment and useless people werent being payed alot fo money to pass BS laws we could afford socialized medicine like the higher evolved country's.

Dude, you are being a bit cynical, look the law is lame I know but it cant hurt. Maybe if we had this law less people would get hurt and we could have a better health care system with the money saved from dumbshit cyclist. I assume you wear your helmet no matter what right? thats because you are smart enough to know better, and some people dont. I think it will save some cash thats it!

[Draheim18]

Originally Posted by bikeadict

Sir, but you assume I pay taxes...

Just kidding, I pay taxes but my point is then why not just ban them from riding all together. I mean a helmet doesn't protect from a broken arm???
Thus tax money is still wasted.

But I digress I believe we are getting into the larger issue of nation wide health care.

I would rather talk about the goverment overstepping its bounds.

I do believe less government is better, but that being said, a broken arm is a lot cheaper to tax payers to fix than brain surgery or anything involving head trauma.