Virginia house committee

[tonyy1]

A House of Delegates committee endorsed legislation today allowing motorcyclists 21 and older to ride without a helmet.

The House Militia and Police Committee voted 13 to 7 to send the measure to the House floor, where similar bills have died in the past.

The bill is sponsored by Republican Delegate Bill Janis of Henrico County. He says adults should be allowed to weigh the risk and benefits of riding a motorcycle without a helmet and make the decision on their own.

Opponents have argued that the bill would result in more fatalities and serious injuries requiring long-term care that taxpayers would have to pay for through Medicaid and Medicare.



ok is it just me or is this just plain stupid?

 

[hemroid]

we should be allowed to make the choice this is america wether it is the right choice or not is up to us i think we dont have a helmet law in ohio and i never wore a helmet on my harleys hell didnt own one till i got my busa now i ride geared up because lets face it your not riding a busa like a harley but ive ridden for 15 years with out a lid and im still here but i also wouldnt leave the garage now with out one but as i said it should be up to us

 

[BaybeBusa04]

I think you would be stupid not to wear one in the first place. IMHO

 

[hemroid]

why? isnt the objective not to crash ?? i know stuff happens but you cant ride every moment scared that your gonna crash maybe its just me but i ride very conservitivly always and as i said 15 years with out one and ive never put a scratch on a bike (knock on wood) or me but i always ride now with one because its safer



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[VaBusa]

It's aggravating, but there are those that feel the gov't shouldn't dictate what we have to wear for our own good, my husband included...

I can't imagine riding without a helmet, so the law change will not affect my decisions...it will, however, keep my husband from wearing one and that's something I am not happy about...I can't be his Mom...

 

[adrenaline junkey]

I think it should be by choice

but wouldnt ride without one

 

[EastCoast]

It's aggravating, but there are those that feel the gov't shouldn't dictate what we have to wear for our own good, my husband included...

I can't imagine riding without a helmet, so the law change will not affect my decisions...it will, however, keep my husband from wearing one and that's something I am not happy about...I can't be his Mom...

I hear you on that one Michelle! He has a family to think about. I use to get really angry at a friend of mine that never wore his seat-belt unless his wife was with him in the car... then he had to.

I agree that it's a bummer when government passes a law that takes away a freedom... but in the long run it usually is in our best interest.

 

[EastCoast]

I think it should be by choice

 but wouldnt ride without one

+1

 

[BaybeBusa04]

Im not a big fan of the laws these days...but for most this just pisses people off. You're being told what you can and cant do.

If you are a responsible adult, you wear a helmet when riding. Common sense right?

The one thing that I hear in the back of my head is Pauls dad when we were at the hospital..."its not IF you go down, its WHEN..."

 

[loboboy]

Hey if you don't want to wear a helmet thats ok I call it "Natural Atrition" or "cleaning out the gene pool" eventually your risks of dying are good if you don't wear your helmet and then society will not have the burden watching over you.

so get out there ride to your hearts content w/o your helmet and make the world a better place for the rest of us smart people.

 

[just some guy]

why?                   isnt the objective not to crash ??  i know stuff happens but you cant ride every moment scared that your gonna crash

make up your mind dude...you posted you wear full gear now, because you don't ride a busa like you ride a harley...so you are, in fact, dressing for the crash.... if you have no intention of crashing, then the gear is moot, is it not? this is, according to what you have posted... then you follow it up with this gem:"15 years with out one and ive never put a scratch on a bike (knock on wood) or me but i always ride now with one because its safer "..... it's only "safer" if you do crash... so yes, the objective is to "not crash" however a responsible person prepares for those things *they* don't have total control over. i live in Virginia, and hope they squash this nonsense quickly

 

[HillsRider]

I guess I am on the "freedom of choice" side of this issue. I don't ride without a helmet but I don't believe the government should tell me I have to wear it. When the government starts telling us what to do because it's good for us (like they already have with seatbelts) then what is next? Drinking isn't good for you, better bring back prohibition. Smoking kills, outlaw cigarettes completely. Guns are dangerous, better get rid of them too. Where will it stop? That is what I wonder...

Forgive the rant... it's Monday..

 

[Warputer]

Seat belt laws , helmet laws ......I use both ...all the time ....BUT , at what point does the Gov. stop ? Next step is to ammend the Constitution and take away our Freedom to Bear Arms .

 

[BaybeBusa04]

its a power trip thing i guess. Plus you have to CYA these days.
We all know that the f*ckin coffee is hot, do you have to write it all over the damn cup?
I know that wearing a seat belt can save my life...you dont have to set it in stone.
We know that babies belong in car seats...oh wait some of us know that babies belong in car seats...lol.
But if you dont TELL us to do so...some jack a** trying to get rich will sue someone and win cause it wasnt spelled out for him.

 

[Warputer]

But if you dont TELL us to do so...some jack a** trying to get rich will sue someone and win cause it wasnt spelled out for him.

I can agree with that but it's a good thing we have the lobbyist to watch our back with these law makers . Some day we may have no choices left to make .......with anything .

 

[hemroid]

why?                   isnt the objective not to crash ??  i know stuff happens but you cant ride every moment scared that your gonna crash

make up your mind dude...you posted you wear full gear now, because you don't ride a busa like you ride a harley...so you are, in fact, dressing for the crash.... if you have no intention of crashing, then the gear is moot, is it not? this is, according to what you have posted... then you follow it up with this gem:"15 years with out one and ive never put a scratch on a bike (knock on wood) or me  but i always ride now with one because its safer "..... it's only "safer" if you do crash... so yes, the objective is to "not crash" however a responsible person prepares for those things *they* don't have total control over. i live in Virginia, and hope they squash this nonsense quickly

what part didnt you understand you dont ride a harley like a busa i didnt cruise around at 140 or 50 on the harley so i upped my chances of crashing due to ability and skill thats why i gear up now incase i screw up.cruising down a back country road at 40 or 45 on a harley just doesnt scare me enough but the busa has taught me to respect her and if your going fast enough or crash hard enough the helmet will just leave your face pretty

 

[tonyy1]

I guess it all depends on where you live also. I'm am whole heartedly against this just for the simple fact that living here in VA, so close to the Ocean front and tourist central in the summer (prime riding time), when tourists who have never seen the ocean or this fine state drive like they are the only one's on the road, paying attention to everything but the road.

I've seen many bikers that have had to swerve to get out of the way of a left turning vehicle with out of state tags. Not to mention that large number of military bases here on the coast (nothing against the military, I love you guys to death for what you do for me and my family personally) but so many different driving styles in 1 mixing pot makes it very traumatic for driving conditions even in my cage.

I just think if you're gonna ride, be smart enough to wear a helmet at least.

and loboboy the not being a burden on everyone else. you must have have any idea of how much it costs for hospice care of an individual. Not something I want my money spent on when something as simple as a helmet that I think they give away with all bikes could have possibly saved them from a specific fate.

but that's just my $0.02
just ride safe.



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[BaybeBusa04]

doing 45 on a country road hitting an animal, rock, or whatever wont be pretty no matter what bike you're on.  You're still hitting the ground at 45mph.

The posted speed limit where Paul wrecked last summer was like 25-35 so im guessing he was doing around 45. back tire hit the white line and he high sided...broken thigh and colar bone. There's a titanium rod in his thigh from the ball of his hip almost down to his knee. It doesnt take much to do a lifetime worth of damage.

To each their own.



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[hemroid]

we can argue that into the ground and it wouldnt change it either way i did it for 15 years and here i am maybe i just got skillz or maybe im just lucky but anyway i wear a lid now so thats all that matters

 

[VaBusa]

Well, on the flip side...didn't I hear a while back that FL was looking at re-instating the helmet laws there because of the # of fatalities of riders not wearing helmets? Am I wrong? What happened there?

It's a catch 22 no matter how you look at it...I don't want gov't dictating things to me either, yet I appreciate the seatbelt laws and cringe when I see kids that aren't strapped in.

I suppose since I live in a household where one wears gear and the other wishes he didn't have to, for HIS own good, I like the current laws here in VA...I do hope they don't revoke 'em, but if they do, then Mike's got to decide what's important in life and whether to protect himself or not...