Do you wear a helmet even tho you don't have to?

[FryeVRCCDS0067]

Helmets are optional here in Indiana.

I wear one 85-95% of the time. Rarely do I wear one to protect me in the event of a crash. Mostly it's because a helmet makes me more comfortable in the rain and in the sun. As long as I'm on the highway it seems cooler than not wearing one most of the time, if it doesn't and I'm not riding hard, I take it off. I have an open face and a flip-up/convertible type. I decide which to wear based on the conditions.

If I'm just taken a short, low speed ride and there's no chance of rain I'll frequently leave it at home. In particular if I'm wanting to enjoy the sunshine. Riding home from work I usually leave it on the backrest unless it's cold or raining. If I'm really dirty from work I'll leave it on the backrest even if it's cold, but never if it's raining. Riding to work along the country roads before dawn, I always wear one. My chances of wearing a deer on my handlebars are just too great then.

If I'm riding with a passenger who doesn't want to wear a helmet then I usually leave mine at home too.

I love living in a state that trusts me to make my own decisions about it. A lot of times in the winter, even if it's close to freezing or a little below I'll still ride, partly because our seat-belt law pisses me off so much it's not worth the stress of driving a cage.

[Valkahuna]

I'm in south Georgia. To the north is South Carolina, a no helmet state. To the south is Florida, a no helmet state. In Georgia, wearing a helmet is mandatory but I do quite a bit of riding in SC and Florida. I always wear a helmet whether the law requires it or not because the logic for doing so is rock solid. But I was wondering what others do, especially those who live, and ride predominantly in a no helmet state.
 

I live in Florida and Connecticut, both of which are "No Helmet" states. I have an extensive history of riding through the fields and woods, back when I still bounced when I hit stuff. I wouldn't be here any more if it were not for helmets. So... I always wear one.

However, I am not in favor of mandatory helmet laws. It should be an individual choice!

[Al in Arkansas]

Always!  Narrowly missed a dump truck that pulled out in front of me a few years ago.  Among other things, I ended up with a minor concussion and a gap in my memory and that was with a 3/4 helmet.  It's about time to replace my current 3/4 helmet and pretty sure I'll go with a modular or full face this time. 
A police chief from a town just south of us died from head injuries this week after a wreck on his Harley in Florida.  There's no way to know for sure, but all indications are that he would have survived with a helmet.  As is the case too many times, it was the fault of the cage driver that pulled in front of him. 
For me it's just not worth the risk.  I would like to keep what few brains I have, if I have the misfortune to smack the pavement again. 
Al in Arkansas

[blastedbugler]

In Australia helmets are mandatory.
No if's or but's.
The next most important piece of safety apparel is a good set of gloves.
When you come off a bike it is only instinct to put your hands out to try & stop the fall.
With both hands bandaged or worse, that is when you find out who your friends are.
Who are you going to get to wipe your a??? for you.
Don ( Aussie )

[Michvalk]

Living in Michigan, I have had to wear a helmet most of my riding time. Now that we have dropped the requirement for helmet wearing, I have to decide if the new law affects me. I have ridden without the helmet, and feel uncomfortable. The new law requires an additional 20,000 dollars health insurance, and for me would add 197. to my Progressive insurance policy. Not sure at this point. I wear a half helmet most of the time, and have the minimum protection on as it is. I have a three quarter helmet that I never wear anymore. I guess there will be times that no helmet will happen, but, I doubt very often

[MP]

Always wear one.

I do not believe in mandatory helmet laws either.

MP

[solo1]

I always wear one, full face modular 90% of the time.   Short rides or hot I sometimes wear a open face.
Also armored mesh or regular armored  jacket, kevlar jeans, deerskin golves, 9 inch boots.

[MacDragon]

Mass. has a helmet law, but Conn., Maine and N.H. around me do not.  I wear a half helmet regardless and have a Modular for the colder or wetter days.  I just figure if some cager were to make the big mistake... I'd rather the helmet hits first.  That's just me though.  A few years ago, I took a few rides without in Conn., and I enjoyed the freedom.  In the back of my mind though... I was still thinking ... " THIS COULD GET BAD"  
No judging here if you do or don't...

Ride safe and often>

[sidecarrick]

Absolutely always!!

[Jess Tolbirt]

always

[wiggydotcom]

Oh, and one more thing...my helmet protects me from----my WIFE! The first time I was riding along
and felt a big THUD against the back of my helmet, I thought "What the heck?" But now I'm used to my wife falling asleep on my Interstate and becoming a human "Bobble Head".  

[xman]

Here in PA no helmet is required, NY and NJ you need one. I ride in PA most of the time, and wear a half helmet all the time. Use a full face when I ride far.

Tom

[SANDMAN5]

Helmet law in TN, but looks like it might be changing. Don't matter to
me, I ALWAYS wear a helmet and so will my passenger!!

[flsix]

Years back I rode a lot more of the time off road, and always wore a helmet. I don't bounce as well as I did so had to stop the dirt riding. Now it's just road work and if it's a long ride or an interstate ride I'll have a full face on but have to admit around town it's usually just a ball cap.
Wife isn't to happy that I don't ware one all the time . When she rides with me she always has a full face on. Smart women.

[Chiefy]

Florida is not a "no helmet state."  You must wear a helmet unless:

"You need to be at least 21 years of age and have at least $10,000.00 worth of medical coverage insurance to be able to operate or ride upon a motorcycle without a helmet."

When I was young occasionally I went with no helmet.  I wouldn't dream of it now.  I live in Fl.

[alph]

i wear a helmet about 99% of the time.  the 1% is when it's above 90*'s out, and yes on those days i'll wear shorts and sandles and a T shirt.  actually, if it's in the 80's i'll wear a T shirt and sandles along with a helmet.  i figure i can live without an arm or leg, can't live without a head......

[BradValk48237]

Always...

And the helmet has dents to prove it.........

Damn Barstools are pretty tricky......

 

Brad

[pBrain]

Would you wear a condom, even if she said you didn't have to?

You cannot control anything anyone else can do, but you can control what YOU can do.   


I always wear a helmet.  I have two 3/4 helmets with visors, a shorty and a full face and I will always wear at least one  and always carry a spare for any "would be passengers". 

I was riding with a group one time and the second we rode into PA, they stopped.... half of them took off their helmets.  I was like, "WTF?!?!,  is this a ride or a protest?!?!" 

[0leman]

I have ridden mostly in the Western states.  All of them have been "helmet" states.  BUT I will not ride without one.   I wear the FF helmet, even in the warmest temps.   Though do flip up the face shield when I am forced to ride under 40 mph.  I do wear all the gear all the time; kevlar jeans, boots, Mesh jacket, gloves.

I don't agree with the Helmet laws though.   Think a person should be able to decide their own fate.  Don't by the concept that we taxpayers will have to pay those who don't wear a helmet and crash. 

[~ Timbrwolf]

. . ......... nope ..  


. .....1978




. .....2010

[Paxton]

YES, yes, PLEASE, ware one. You'll get used to it. It'll become second nature just like seat belts did. Now, I can't drive w/o a seat belt! 

If your face is butt ugly, a full face helmet will hide your squalid looks!

[Paxton]

QUOTE: "Don't by the concept that we taxpayers will have to pay those who don't wear a helmet and crash."

=========================================================

Check the limits on your insurance policy. Exceptions could be found in the small print. Most insurance policies do have a "stop-loss" clause.  
Mine is one million. With the cost of health care in California, one Mill might get me through one surgery and some band aids ($5 @)!

If you are disabled  for life, I doubt that any insurance company will take care of your sorry ass until you croak, but you might never know about it.  

[Garland]

I have been riding in Florida since the 70s. I couldn't wait for the helmet law to become optional 12 years ago and I did ride that way for a while- before I went back to wearing a helmet again! I think the main thing is to find a comfortable one, because you won't want to wear it otherwise. If I am wearing a the right helmet, I am more comfortable than with no helmet at all. Wrong helmet is hell on wheels.

[Kep]

Always !...Had a girlfriend 30 years ago and her brother was a cop. He was an avid rider and non-helmet-wearer...until...he was called to an accident late at night in which a motorcyclist failed to negotiate a curve in a residential area with a house right on the curb at the outside of that curve. The biker was NOT wearing a helmet. My girlfriends brother had been to many , many other accident scenes as well as murder scenes and handled them fine...he said when he arrived at this one and saw brains and blood sprayed  in a 10 foot fan on the side of the house , he promptly went to the curb to empty the contents of his stomach into the street ! Never saw him without a helmet on while riding after that day.I didn't even see the gruesome sight myself , but after his vivid description of the aftermath...well it made a full-time helmet wearer out of me !

[fudgie]

QUOTE: "Don't by the concept that we taxpayers will have to pay those who don't wear a helmet and crash."

=========================================================

Check the limits on your insurance policy. Exceptions could be found in the small print. Most insurance policies do have a "stop-loss clause.   
Mine is one million. With the cost of health care in California, one Mill might get me through one surgery and some band aids ($5 @)!

If you are disabled  for life, I doubt that any insurance company will take care of your sorry ass until you croak, but you might never know about it. 

Once your vehicle insurance is at its limits, you can apply for medicade.

[fudgie]

No. But.... I will if I have to. I do when we travel if it rains for comfort, unless I'm out west when the rain is warmer. I wore our Novies once last year. I avoid helmet States like I do no-gun States.
I use to most of the time before I met Kit. She was anti-helmet when I met her. Coming home from Sturgis with her in 07 we took them off. It was freakin awesome! 120 deg with a 3/4 on sucked.
If I go down I dont want to remember what is about to come. I'd rather be knocked out from the start instead of asking them to put me out.
I've seen my share of parts and inerds sprawled out on the road. It does make me think but I would rather go out riding.

[Chiefy]

QUOTE: "Don't by the concept that we taxpayers will have to pay those who don't wear a helmet and crash."

=========================================================

Check the limits on your insurance policy. Exceptions could be found in the small print. Most insurance policies do have a "stop-loss" clause.  
Mine is one million. With the cost of health care in California, one Mill might get me through one surgery and some band aids ($5 @)!

If you are disabled  for life, I doubt that any insurance company will take care of your sorry ass until you croak, but you might never know about it.  

But life happens.  What's next?  You can't work on your roof because you may fall off and don't have enough insurance for every possible calamity?

[MarkT]

No. Don't have a hard rule I follow.  I'll decide at the moment I saddle up.  Keep a Bell half helmet with the bikes and wear it usually if I wear one.  Don't keep other helmets in the bike barn because there are wasps looking for nests.  If weather is forecast, I'll ride another day - here on the Front Range we have clear weather about 320 days a year.  Most rain is just a local squall and more often than not, virga. On a road trip, I'll wear the Bell and bring a modular for weather.  And another smaller modular if I anticipate smaller-head passengers.  (Have lots of storage space on the wing - also bring a laptop, a sub-set of my office and usually several sets of DVD product for orders that come in when I'm gone. I don't shut the business down usually, when taking a road trip since I can support it while travelling. With a T-bag and the wing's luggage, my storage surprises non-bikers.)

I don't buy the ATGATT rule preferred by those who came up with the acronym.  Works for them, fine. Just don't foist that rule on me.  It's a personal decision.  I know of one woman in a club I used to ride with, is a klutz.  Constantly dropping her bikes.  Rookie mistakes all the time - though she's been riding for many years.  Can't seem to learn.  Not just bad balance - puts herself in bad biker situations then handles it wrong - like stopping on a steep off-camber road with gravel for her feet.  She goes on about ATGATT.  No wonder - she better stay protected, she has had innumerable 1-vehicle incidents - never mind if she has to handle incompetent cagers.  Not true in my case - I haven't dropped any bike in over 10 years with about 200k miles.  And yes - prior to that, I've been down hard twice - both at over 70 per, first time a left-turning bimbo in 1970 in WI, helmet saved me.  Second time - 2001 on the Valk, T-shirt & blue jeans and sneakers, killed two mule bucks, got road rash, ACL and rotator cuff damage & broken leg, held my head off the pavement. Hot day.  I still dress the same if it's hot.  But of course watch much closer for deer.  Use other rules - might let a car run interference for me, watch the edges religiously, light up rural roads with incredible lighting (aircraft lights, 130/90 headlight).  When I see deer which is frequent, give them the fire truck horn.  For incompetent texting cagers - bike is much more visible with those lights than nearly all others, but I also have a modulator which I flip on with the A/C lights for every cage I see about to cross my path. And assume they are trying to kill me.  Use other rules too - cross intersections with traffic when I can on 4-lanes; stop behind cars to the side, leave it in gear and watch the mirrors - etc.

Other safety gear - not often.  Have armored jackets I'll wear if I need either their electric liners, or their rain repellent feature.  Same for gloves - if I need warmth.  Boots - NO except on road trips for the added traction of the sole and the waterproofing.  I have a pair of high biker boots that broke both of the bones in my right ankle - gave me a new ankle point when their stiffness and height decided my ankle needed to be 2 inches higher when I simply fell over while standing next to the bike, mounting it.  No I wasn't drinking.  Kicked my left leg over, but bike was higher than usual because of 2X4 under the stand on soft dirt; left foot hit the seat, couldn't grab the Wing or it would fall on me, so fell on the ground with all the safety gear on, and CRUNCH - new ankle.  This was on a road trip in N WI, big PITA to get the bike home - had to find a biker qualified to load the 900lb bike in a truck, and rent the truck and fly in the wife to drive it back to CO.  Never mind getting medical care in Green Bay which was INCOMPETENT - and imposing on relatives for a week.

I'll wear safety gear if it also improves comfort, or I'm going into heavy traffic.  Or I don't want to deal with tangled hair - don't bother with do-rags, tried them repeatedly but gave up; the vacuum above my head from the windshield sucks them off no matter how tight I tie them. Clean conditioned long hair is pretty slippery - same problem getting my welding helmet to stay on, even with the headband really tight.  Maybe do-rag users have to not use good conditioner, or just not so often.  Hmmm, Harley riders with dirty hair?  Naaaa.  

[fudgie]

Boots do keep feet in them when they get amputated. I hate tring to find a lost foot. Even worse when I have to peel it off the side of a bike in a t-bone accident. 

[Jack]

Arkansas is a "right-to-choose" state but I always wear a helmet and a jacket.  I know for a fact I would be dead if I had not been wearing 5 yrs ago.  Most in Arkansas do not wear.  I believe in the right to choose.

[Tundra]

No

[Rowdy]

Yep Half Helmet all the time 

[bigguy]

The bike don"t move without the brain bucket in place.

[Stanley Steamer]

Always.......and no more half helmets for me.....I OWE it to the Ladies to protect my gorgeous face!!!........

[thumper]

Yes.  However, in the summer that's the only piece of protective gear I wear.

[J.Mencalice]

I'm writing you from the desk at my job at a hospital in Western Colorado.
About 2 hours ago, a gentleman was brought in DOA from a wreck on his Harley nearby our town.
His head was basically crushed beyond recognition.
You guessed it...wear one, please.  Put your ego aside and don't succumb to "stylin'".
Your friends and family won't be outside the E.R. grieving like I'm seeing Right Now....

[GreenLantern57]

A few years ago PA repealed the Helmet mandate law, and I did go without a helmet on more occasions that with.  That grew old and I now wear a helmet, except for a rare few occasions.

 I really like to ride without, some days. Not an option when riding into work. I work in North Carolina and it is a helmet state.  I like to wear without on the lazy rides or the quick rides to the store.

[X Ring]

Always.......and no more half helmets for me.....I OWE it to the Ladies to protect my gorgeous face!!!........

No, you owe it to the world to hide your face to prevent scaring oncoming drivers and making them wreck.   

Marty

[Michael K (Az.)]

Yep! While living in Fl. all the time. Now in Az. All the time. I'll say it again, if I thought with my knees, I'd be wearing knee pads.

[X Ring]

I always wear a helmet.  Don't feel right without one.  I used to wear half helmets until one of my riding buddies had a car pull out in front of him.  When his bike hit the driver's door he was launched off the bike and landed on his chin.  Luckily, he didn't break his jaw but his chin needed to be stitched up.  After talking with him about the wreck, I bought my first flip face helmet and chucked the two half helmets I had in the garbage.   I handle the heat issues in South Mississippi by having the top of the windshield below the level of my chin so all the ventilation ports get air and riding with the visor flipped up.  I wear motorcycle safety glasses to protect my eyes.

Marty