new texas seat belt law

[kyle4501]

I tend to agree with allowing the government to let me kill myself if I want to.  There is one other aspect to seat belts however, and that is to protect the other driver.

Race car drivers wear seat belts not so much for protection in an accident, but to keep them in control of a violently moving car.  It's hard enough to control a car that is spinning out on the interstate, it's much harder when you are up against the passenger side door.

Before someone can control a violently moving car, they would need to be able to control the car in a normal situation.

I'm not that good of a driver, but from what I've seen, I'm way better than average. That worries me.


I look at the seat belt laws as simply making the first responder's job easier. Usually easier to spot a car than body parts. . .
As for the helmet law . . . I can see why someone might not want to live thru a bad case of asphalt rash . . .

Personally, I don't think it is anything more than some politicians/ lobbyist exercising their power over others. . . 

[JohnEd]

From what I read, the helmet law was all about money.  We were spending a huge amt of insurance and pauper protection money saving the lives of "riders" that dumped at low low speeds and cracked their head on the pavement or a curb as was the case with wifey's first husband.  She supported him for 40 years or so because you can make a guy so weird with Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) that they are unemployable for life even though they may maintain an IQ that is way above the norm.  Statistics were put together that identified the actual cost that caring for the "live free or die" folks with brain injuries represented.  The insurance companies were crying "foul" at have to burden all of "US" with higher rates to cover avoidable injuries.  Funny, the never dropped after the legislation that enacted helmet laws.  Maybe if it had been a Federal Gummint law it would have been different.

In high school my cousin lost a friend to an accident involving a motorcycle.  Sticks in my mind for a number of reasons the first of which is I still have a mind.  The kid that had the accident was named Parela and he was riding a small two stroke bike called a Parella that was Italian,  Blurred memory.  Cous was speaking to Parela from the open window of a car and he was riding alongside at little more than a walking pace.  As they said goodbye his front wheel scraped the curb and the bike abruptly laid down on it right side.  He go a foot down and an arm out before he impacted the light pole in an "all fours" position.  A lot like you would if you stumbled while jogging.  Dead at the scene!  Freak accident that a helmet might have prevented.  We lost all the public funds invested in his 12 years of schooling.

I would be a big fan of riding without a helmet if things were a bit different.  i am large on responsibility.  Like pollution , as an example.  I think those industrial birds should have to clean up their mess at their stockholder's expense and not get to write off the expense from their taxes as EXXON does the fines and costs for their poor judgement.  Now, if those freedom riding Bikers could just get a tattoo or a chip implant that assures that an emergency room and ambulance staff WILL NOT treat them at Gummint(mine) expense, I think we would be well on our way to a solution.  Those guys could buy "Special" insurance policies that reflect their expanded risk so that those costs could not be factored into my rates.  Thinning the herd?    Maybe but definitely creating more responsible and accountable behaviors.  Now that is a conservative position and I am nothing if not a Conservative.

Those liberals call themselves civilized cause they force hospitals to treat all comers.  I got news!  My stepmother had her 20th heart attack while I was visiting.  She had just the day before told me that she had a living will that should have prevented the "zealots" from reviving her the first time.  She was tired of all the problems in her life and shared that her life was not a life and that Dad was always there to tell the responders to do all they could.  I was of a different mind and I thought her wishes should prevail.  They rushed her to the hospital in the ambulance with medics working feverishly on her.  dad, again!  I was the last to get to the hospital and met the ambulance crew as they were leaving.  I asked if the emergency room crew had limited their efforts to simply making her comfortable as she had that Living will on file with the hospital?   They said no, that the docs didn't know about that and she was already restarted and "hooked" up.  They shrugged a "sorry, we didn't know" and they made to leave the driveway.  I answered "what is the protocol for payment for those services cause the insurance company won't reimburse in a case where a Living Will is knowingly violated by medical staff that are billing for unauthorized service".  I made that up.  That ambulance driver's face went from "sorry with a shrug" to absolutely HORRIFIED.  He spun on his heel and ran back into the hospital with a "holy $#!%" hanging in the air as he left.  Humanitarian motives...Ha.  Professional responsibility....what a joke.  Can't pay,,,,they pulled the plug...as she had requested and the family had been demanding.  She still lived, unassisted, for two days with no brain activity whatsoever thanks to their initial efforts.

This is about money folks.  Always has been and always will be so long as we have medical service that is based of fees for service.  How about water for sale....to the highest bidder, now.  What do you think?  "Those water companies should be allowed to...."can't you just hear the water company's spin doctors spiel.  Freedom!!! to the water companies.


Next!

John the conservative

[FloridaCliff]

It's unnatural. Seat belt and helmet laws interfere with our ability to cull the herd...Cable

How true, how true.......

We have a new law in Florida also, they can now stop you for a seat belt violation alone.

Personally on this one, I don't care.

I wear my seat belt and would wear a helmet even if it wasn't mandated(helmets are not required for adults)

These laws tend to affect the under 30 crowd the most anyway, after that the majority have wised/matured up anyway, or the culling starts to take effect, as Cable pointed out.

Cliff

[Dreamscape]

I think it should be a personal choice to wear a helmet.

I will tell you this, I'm sure glad my brother did when he had a terrible accident in the 70's, I was riding my 650 BSA at the time behind him after we had a beautiful ride through the hills around Silver Creek Falls in OR. If it wasn't for his helmet, it would have scraped half of his head off. As it was it did wear a hole in the helmet he was wearing.

I would wear one myself if I get back into it. Here in TX you see about 90% that don't, remainder that do. It's all about personal choice, whether you choose to have a better survial rate, or lay in a hospital bed tied to tubes. Most crashes with bikes, it doesn't really matter, it just increases the odds a bit in your favor.

Whatever happened to "Freedom of Choice"? The insurance companies can be thanked for that. Oh well. I don't care what the reason is, it is always about money!

Paul

[junkman42]

There are as many bike related deaths because of helmets as there are because of the lack of one.  The weight of many helmets are the cause of broken necks and when the head is forced back the base of many helmets cause broken necks also.  I would expect a lot of flame on this but the government produces the numbers not I.  From My time wearing a 7.5 pound flying helmet in the USAF I can tell You that My current neck problems probably are the result of the dam things.  Funny enough after many years the flying folks have a new light weight helmet with a collar to prevent neck injuries.  If I could still ride I would wear a helmet, but regardless of My choice the old myth about all of the people lying in hospitals because of the lack of a helmet is bunk pure and simple.  my take.  Regards John