There was a time, I didn't think seat belt laws were appropriate.... I have come to realize a seatbelt worn by the driver secures him/her in place enough to better control a vehicle in the event of an accident. The passengers become projectiles also, causing potential harm to other people if he or she is not wearing a seat belt.

I believe helmets should be optional. I interned for a large law firm while in college, and was subjected to the results of many mtorcycle accidents. The ones I saw, the victims were in bad shape regardless whether wearing a helmet. A helmet might add protection for a motorcyclist traveling at low speeds through retirement neighborhoods, but once he/she is driving on the real road.....in the real world...well, flying off a motorcycle at 60 mph with a helmet on will help little.

I ski, and the new safety precaution is wearing a helmet...probably a good idea, but I can't get excited about wearing one skiing. I know wearing one might save my life. I think I will just stop skiing if it is this dangerous, it's not like I'm Picabo Street flying down the mountain at 70 mph + ....

That a helmet won't offer enough protection in so and so situation is another argument used by those who don't wear them. True enough, that if I crash head long at 70 mph into a fully loaded gravel truck also doing 70 mph, I'll probably die on impact and the helmet is just more wreckage. True enough, that there's a fair chance of that happening in that situation even if I'm buckled into an armored car.

Now let's say my crash involves me tumbling head over heels and sliding down the street, at 70 mph. That helmet will probably save my skull from being ground off my neck. That's well worth it.

As 'serves you right' as denying medical treatment to a motorcyclist who was injured worse for not wearing a helmet than he would have been if he were may seem, damn, that's harsh. It would also require a case by case investigation on each crash. I don't want anyone to wait for a scene investigation before they have what's left of their brain sealed back into their head. What if the crash was not even the fault of the motorcyclist? Then what?

Maybe making motorcyclist who shun helmets carry medical insurance to pay for their head trauma is an option. Even that though would be a round about way of making helmets mandatory.

"Helmet" means DOT approved in the USA. DOT and Snell is said to be even better. Check with the manufacturer of a helmet before you buy it. Those DOT and Snell stickers can be mocked up by anyone with a half decent printer.

You can be killed driving a motorcyle and traveling down the road at 30 mph and having a good topple!
Oh, if I were to drive a motorcycle I would be sure to wear a helmet, even if the choice were optional. I believe the government (and I'm one of those Ray liberals ) over regulates our choices. What is next? Forcing people to wear helmets when they drive golf carts? Did you know there are over 13,000 serious golf cart accidents in the US a year? Serious meaning concussions to the head and hemorrhaging... How about horse back riding? When will horseback riders have to, by law, begin wearing a helmet?

You could be killed from a slip and fall in the shower. Wear a helmet.

Motorcycle crashes are on the increase. Motorcycle riding is on the increase. This is not a coincidence. The number of people who successfully operate a motorcycle is also on the increase and that's no coincidence either.

As gas prices continue to climb, we are going to see more and more motorcycles on the road. It's happening already. There will be a greater increase in motorcycle crashes, but in the long run, the roads will become safer for motorcycles. People will become more aware of them and learn to share the road better. Motorcyclists will also learn to operate their machines better.

The number one reason given by cagers (car drivers) who are at fault in car vs motorcycle crashes is "I didn't even see the bike". It's an old saying. Watch for motorcycles. They're everywhere.

I don't know the number one cause of car vs bike where the bike is at fault but, I bet speed and trick riding rank up there pretty high. Lane splitting probably accounts for a good number too.

Lane splitting, aka filtering, is when motorcyclist drives between two lanes of traffic. It is legal in California.