Granted, I only interacted with a small sample of patients during my stay - only a few dozen. But the staff certainly gave the impression this was business as usual for them. I had no idea until I was face to face with it. There really is no substitute for being protected by a metal shell and protective airbags.
First the statistics but then the following op-ed...?
> From a public health perspective, helmets should be required for all motorcyclists...
Personally, I always wear and will always wear a helmet. Legally, however, requiring them is pure nanny state.
Consider: We would certainly save more lives by requiring all vehicle drivers to wear helmets, including cars/trucks/etc in addition to motorcycles. Like, wear a helmet inside your car. Professionals do. But we amateurs do not. I would be laughed for proposing a universal helmet law. So, clearly saving lives isn't the only valued metric
And both seatbelts and airbags are mandated in the US.
Of course saving lives isn't the ONLY metric (perhaps all personal vehicles would be banned if that were the case), but we make reasonable compromises all over the place in the direction of saving lives. I think the discussion is just over what people generally see as "reasonable". And public opinion can change drastically over time [0], due in part to the popularization of studies like this.
[0] https://www.wpr.org/history/surprisingly-controversial-histo...
Motorcycle airbags exist, add safety, and are perfect analogies to car airbags.
Motorcycle seatbelts are possible, are a net loss to safety (because you're strapped to the outside of a giant mass then crushed), and are perfect analogies to car seatbelts.
My point stands: All drivers in all vehicles are safer when wearing a helmet. Yet, for motorized vehicles we only legally impose helmets on motorcycles. It's seen as ludicrous to suggest we mandate helmets for the others though it'd save lives, cut societal costs, etc. It's seen as so ludicrous that people immediately redirect the topic. Like I made a category error or inference mistake in suggesting it.
Maybe we could improve safety by requiring e-bikes to be built like enduros but with the 15 mph thing? (bike pic https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enduro_motorcycle)
russfink•4mo ago
monero-xmr•4mo ago
toastal•4mo ago
rkomorn•4mo ago
Especially the awareness and care that cars, buses, etc, seemed to have.
That said the safety stats still aren't that great for scooter/motorcycle/bike riders there.
tim333•4mo ago
tstrimple•4mo ago