Helmet or not?

[shadowguy]

Another forum I 'm on has a thread with a guy who wiped out when he hit a deer. Luckily, his bike was bent and bloodied (deer blood mostly) but he came out of it reasonably okay (bumps, bruises, contusions, no compound fractures). That is the third person I know of who has survived an encounter with a deer (all were wearing helmets and armor). He related a story tonight of a guy he was talking to whose dad was killed right in front of him when he hit a deer and neither of them were wearing protective gear.

I started out as an ATGATT person (personal choice-no desire to alienate the whole world with safety gear evangelism) but have slowly backed off of that as the weather got warmer and my skill level got higher. I still refuse to ride without a helmet but have traded my full-face screaming yellow jobbie for a more sedate, basic black (matte, of course) with a visor, and don't always wear the heavy leather and boots if the temps are in pass-out territory. Here in Arkansas the summertime temps can easily surpass 100 degrees Fahrenheit with humidity upward of 90 percent so there's a point at which I have to just say screw it, I'm taking the car, but several points before that I have to decide whether or not to shed some clothes (my philosophy is that once you pass out from the heat your reaction time to what's going on around you degrades in a most remarkable fashion).

I'm just curious to know what folks think on this forum. It's probably all over the map, just like all the other forums I've been on, but as no one has posted anything to the safety thread, I figured someone had to be first, if only to get the conversation started.

[Turbojoe]

Arizona is a helmet optional state. Very seldom do I ride without one though, mainly because I hate all the wind in my eyes and ears. As far as the rest of the safety gear I'm not at the income level anymore to be able to spend close to a grand on a full outfitting of leather or armored riding gear. I can hear everybody saying "well how much is your life worth?" Not much really...... I don't have a death wish but if I get run down on the freeway by one of the crazy Phoenix cage drivers I just don't want to live through it. A crushed chest cavity and severed limbs protected from road rash by overpriced leather doesn't make the major injuries any less major. I proudly display the "DONOR" sticker on my drivers license. Whatever they can scrape up and salvage they're welcome to transplant into someone else.

All kidding aside, I only wear a work jacket and gloves when it's cold. During the summer here it regularly gets to 115 degrees and 120+ on rare occasions. I'd ride naked then if I could get away with it. It's so miserable you just wear whatever will allow the wind to "cool" you best.

Not a lot of big critters to worry about running into on the roads here. I've had several encounters with kitty cats and birds though. I emerged the victor in each instance.

Joe

[puckothewilde]

Having hit 2 deer and being hit by a couple of cars I wear full armor. For the hot Texas summers (120 last summer) I have mesh riding pants & a Joe Rocket Phoenix jacket. I use my bike pretty much just for commuting, I know there are lots of hazards out there. I do what I can to reduce as much risk as possible. My helmet is a Fulmer Modus modular.

[Triangles]

Everyone has the their own definition of acceptable risk. For me it's ATG 99% of the time. On the freeway it's ATGATT.

[puckothewilde]

When I was younger I didn't even own a helmet, but as I've gotten older I find I just don't heal like I used to.

[Triangles]

As a kid, seeing the remains of the helmet of one of my friends fathers who most likely wouldn't be with us today had he not been wearing that helmet, is my main motivation to always wear my helmet. Also about 8 years ago my parents witnessed some asshat pull out in front of the motorcycle in front of them. Both riders went head first over the hood and face planted on the asphalt without helmets at about 30-35mph. I'm not sure but I don't think they survived as I noticed a cross on the side of the road a few months later.

[burkbuilds]

When I recently wrecked my bike I was wearing a helmet and even though I didn't "bang" my head on anything it did at least have some scratches on it from where I slid across the asphalt, so it probably saved me from some bad cuts and scrapes on my face and head. Later when I was talking with a lawyer about the wreck he asked it I was wearing a helmet, and said that if I ever had to go to court from being in a motorcycle wreck and I wasn't wearing a helmet, that jurors were much less sympathetic to a MC rider who did not have a helmet on because they kinda think, "well, he got what he deserved because he did not wear a helmet" and "if he didn't have a helmet on, that indicates that he's a reckless biker who might have been driving crazy and caused his own demise". So, the lawyer basically was saying that from a legal standpoint, if you have to go to court and you were not wearing a helmet when you wrecked, the jury was much less likely to rule in your favor whether you did anything wrong or not.

Just thought I'd throw that out there.

[GeorgiaRider]

I wear all the gear or I don't ride and it can get hot in GA. Full-faced helmet all the time too. In the warmer months I wear a Joe Rocket GX-Air mesh jacket (two liners, so versatile) amd I have a thick leather jacket (with vents) for cooler weather. This is the first year I've had a leather jacket and I really like it. I don't have to layer up near as much in the cold weather and the front vents make it easy to adjust the amount of cooling I need, if any.

Last year we bought vests you can put ice packs in for riding when it's real hot. They work for about two hours and make a world of difference.