Originally Posted by
ridelikeaturtle
As a cyclist, do you have a choice about what sort of car vs bike accident you're going to be involved in, or when? No, you do not.
If you're wearing a helmet, and you hit your head, it will reduce the g-forces imparted to your head.
It is a very low cost to you, both from a financial perspective, and a "convenience" perspective.
In exchange (for that low cost), it could avoid a very high cost to society, in a trip to the hospital, hospital expenses, ongoing treatment expenses, increases in insurance premiums, a cost to coworkers and employers for lost work, and emotional costs to friends and family.
But "personal freedom!". That argument wears thin. Your choices impact others. It doesn't fly for smoking (in the workplace, or any enclosed space, where others are subjected to secondhand smoke), not wearing seatbelts, and increasingly, not wearing a bike helmet.
Smoking, drinking, and eating incur greater costs for healthcare 1,200+ fold over the healthcare costs and of bicycling. Probably 5000 fold. So when will we regulate the real issues? Or how about we endorse personal responsibility. How about we allow insurance to not cover your bill if you don't wear a helmet. Your family, and friends? Coworkers? Sorry people accidentally get hurt and die all the time.
(Numbers are based on US numbers. 480,000 deaths due to smoking, 300,000 deaths due to obesity, 88,000 deaths due to drinking. Only 722 due to bicycling and maybe 5% of those were preventable who knows.) Maybe we should address the real issues?
Maybe we should allow personal choices to have personal consequences. That's the real issue. You can't argue that personal choice should be regulated because we have policies in place that make the consequences further reaching then they should. And if we do, then we should address the big bar items. Not go for small bar items that no one will follow and only generate what amounts to a tax.
Government regulation, is ineffective, and most of the time hypocritical BS.