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Helmets Save More than Your Life

Your motorcycle is more than a means of transportation. It's a part of your identity. For many, a motorcycle represents a spirit of adventurousness, a sort of defiance. State laws that force motorcycle riders to wear helmets are oppressive - what business does the government have cramping your style when you're on your bike? The fact that you defy death as you roar from point A to point B is part of the thrill; helmets feel like an emasculating cop-out.

While it's true that riding a motorcycle bare-headed adds to the danger and excitement, there is More here than just your personal safety at stake. While "thrill-seeking," "dangerous," "death-defying" and "manly" may be part of your identity as a motorcycle rider, consider another legitimate description of riding your motorcycle without a helmet: "selfish."

You probably know the statistics regarding motorcycle rider deaths with and without a helmet. When you wear a helmet, the likelihood of death or permanent brain injury is a lot lower. This may be part of the point for you as a devil-may-care rebel without a cause, but consider the other motorists who may be involved in the wreck that ends your life or causes you permanent injury.

Should an innocent soccer mom, newly-licensed teenage driver or a kindly grandfather spend the rest of his or her life tormented by guilt because you happened to be in a blind spot? What about small children who may witness the accident, or who may actually be passengers in the car that kills you? You're not just risking your own life when you ride without a helmet; you are potentially risking the psychological and emotional health of everyone who shares the road with you.

If you are addicted to the adrenaline rush of doing something that could kill you, there are plenty of other ways to get your fix. You could bungee jump, ski impossibly steep mountain slopes, or jump out of an airplane. The likelihood of your death damaging the lives of innocent strangers is significantly lower using these methods.

When you're on the road, though, think about the many people who simply use transportation as a way to get to work or to the grocery store. They aren't bargaining to be witnesses to your death. They don't need to see your brains splattered all over the pavement. They don't deserve to be victims of your need for danger. Helmets are for the rest of society as much as they are for motorcycle riders.