Brain Buckets
Multiple news outlets reported in late October that Ron Smith and his girlfriend had died earlier in the year in a motorcycle crash. On its face, this is not really news. Approximately 16 people die in a motorcycle crash everyday based on NHTSA data. However, who Ron Smith was does make it at least discussion-worthy.
Before I read the news reports, I had never heard of Mr. Smith. Ron Smith was an attorney in Florida. He was instrumental in repealing mandatory helmet laws in Florida. Neither he nor his girlfriend were not wearing helmets when they collided with a trailer. They both died of blunt force trauma to the head.
This isn’t going to be an ATGATT discussion. If you’re reading this, you probably ride a motorcycle. We all know it isn’t the safest hobby in the world. There is inherent risk and every time you go for a ride, it might be your last.
Helmets can be a polarizing subject. Based on the current IIHS table, 29 states require helmets below a certain age and 3 don’t require them at all. I live in one of the 19 states (plus Washington D.C.) that requires helmets regardless of age. Even when I used to live in a no-law state, I still wore a helmet.
I cannot imagine riding a motorcycle without a helmet. Without even considering the crash safety aspect, helmets have their benefits. Full-face, modular and 3/4 helmets (with face shields) protect you from the wind, bugs, debris and noise. They protect you from getting sunburn and you can mount comms to them. The only real downsides I see are price, weight, they get hot in Summer and foggy in Winter.
There are people who live in mandatory helmet states who utilize the minimally legal DOT helmet that provide none of the benefits I mentioned above but keep them from getting tickets. Sure, they may provide minimal traumatic injury protection but they aren’t much cheaper than helmets with more benefits. I don’t know if these folks have ever worn a helmet with more coverage before but, if you have to wear one anyway, there are real benefits to that additional coverage.
I am genuinely curious about the motivation for minimal coverage or no helmet at all while riding. Is it the wind in your hair or bugs in your teeth that draws you in? Are you going for a certain look or rebelling against ‘government overreach?’ Have you never ridden through a sandstorm or been stuck behind a flatbed transporting bales of hay? Do only other people wreck?
Look. I don’t always wear armored gear. The one time I wore shorts and sneakers for a quick trip to the post office, my leg made contact with the exhaust and I have a decent sized scar to remember it by. I will forever wear jeans, at minimum. If you want to go squid it up in flipflops, shorts and no helmet with your best girl in a bikini on the back of on your YZF-R1, that’s up to you. I reserve the right to cringe when I see it but you won’t receive a lecture.
