Jack M Posted December 20, 2004 Report Share Posted December 20, 2004 Someone posted a link to a ski helmet site and they had this poll question there. I was shocked and dismayed to see that "Yes" held the majority. I believe I do not need the government, or a ski area managment, to protect me from myself. If we are really <i>that</i> concerned with safety, skiing and snowboarding should be illegal altogether. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neil Gendzwill Posted December 20, 2004 Report Share Posted December 20, 2004 Do you also oppose mandatory seatbelt and motorcycle helmet legislation? Just curious. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack M Posted December 20, 2004 Author Report Share Posted December 20, 2004 Originally posted by Neil Gendzwill Do you also oppose mandatory seatbelt and motorcycle helmet legislation? Just curious. Absolutely. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zone Posted December 20, 2004 Report Share Posted December 20, 2004 If you live in a State/ Province/ Country that pays for your health care, it should be mandatory 'cause those injuries cost a lot to the system. The problem is that if you have a head injury and get killed that's pretty cheap, but generally you do not get killed. Vegetables are expensive!! On the other hand, if you pay for your health care out of your pocket, I could see you opposing them. That you are a veggie is then no longer anyone concern.... well except we don't like veggie carvers do we? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mellowjonny Posted December 20, 2004 Report Share Posted December 20, 2004 We don't have mandatory seatbelts or a motocycle helmet law here--they figure in a idaho automobile--if the windshield doesn't kill you, then the gun rack in the back window will getcha. How many motocyclist do like the helmet law? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neil Gendzwill Posted December 20, 2004 Report Share Posted December 20, 2004 Yup, here in Canuckoland where your idiocy in not wearing seatbelt or helmet translates directly to dollars out of my pocket, I fully support the laws. But I'd support them even if we didn't have public healthcare - the government has a certain duty to protect it's citizens. Especially with kids - lets make sure that even if kids' parents are dolts, that there are laws which force the use of carseats and seatbelts. As far as ski helmets - that's kind of a grey area to me. Not really enough risk to justify the government intervention, although I think they should be involved in certification. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maciek Posted December 20, 2004 Report Share Posted December 20, 2004 Originally posted by drzone If you live in a State/ Province/ Country that pays for your health care, it should be mandatory 'cause those injuries cost a lot to the system. The problem is that if you have a head injury and get killed that's pretty cheap, but generally you do not get killed. Vegetables are expensive!! On the other hand, if you pay for your health care out of your pocket, I could see you opposing them. That you are a veggie is no longer my concern.... well except we don't like veggie carvers do we? Insurance is for that. You do not pay - you do not get coverage. That does not have anything to do with healthcare system. One person is active - another not. One person is prone to injuries - another not. Go figure the system efficiency rather than finding "public system punishment" as an excuse. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mirror70 Posted December 20, 2004 Report Share Posted December 20, 2004 I am completely in favor of mandatory seatbelt and motorcycle helmet laws, but I am against making helmets mandatory on the slopes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maciek Posted December 20, 2004 Report Share Posted December 20, 2004 Originally posted by Neil Gendzwill Yup, here in Canuckoland where your idiocy in not wearing seatbelt or helmet translates directly to dollars out of my pocket, I fully support the laws. But I'd support them even if we didn't have public healthcare - the government has a certain duty to protect it's citizens. Especially with kids - lets make sure that even if kids' parents are dolts, that there are laws which force the use of carseats and seatbelts. As far as ski helmets - that's kind of a grey area to me. Not really enough risk to justify the government intervention, although I think they should be involved in certification. Sorry but that only proves how bad the system is and not that helmets or seatbelts should be mandatory. You also have to pay because government mismanages money putting them in to different funds than they were rised. This is how state/public (whatever you call it) healthcare system/insurance system etc. works in many countries - not just in Canuckland. Now, I do not mind seatbelts, but if they made helmets mandatory for drivers in covertibles would you like the idea? As far as snowboarding and skiing that may depend. Unfortunatelly, helmet is just a very small protection in those dangerous sports. You should take care of yourself instead of counting on system and political games. By the way, they (those games) may also hurt and there is no protection for that... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philw Posted December 20, 2004 Report Share Posted December 20, 2004 No compulsory helmets please. Or compulsory "intelligent design" either for that matter! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Pushee Posted December 20, 2004 Report Share Posted December 20, 2004 As a citizen of the Live Free or Die state, I am opposed to government mandating things for the "good of the individual". That being said, I always wear my helmet while cycling or snowboarding. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack M Posted December 20, 2004 Author Report Share Posted December 20, 2004 Originally posted by Jack Michaud (Do you oppose moto-helmet/seatbelt laws?) Absolutely. I do wear them though, full-face and full leathers on the bike, and a helmet on the board. I suppose seat belt laws (and therefore helmet laws) for children aren't such a bad thing, but then again I don't like the idea of the state as my kid's nanny. It's all just part of the sickness that takes responsibility off of the individual and places it on the state. Cradle-to-grave indeed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neil Gendzwill Posted December 20, 2004 Report Share Posted December 20, 2004 Originally posted by Maciek You also have to pay because government mismanages money putting them in to different funds than they were rised. This is how state/public (whatever you call it) healthcare system/insurance system etc. works in many countries - not just in Canuckland. I won't get into an argument over the benefits of public health care. I'll only say that I, like the vast majority of Canadians, support it. There are problems, but the system as a whole is a Good Thing - I'll leave it at that. Now, I do not mind seatbelts, but if they made helmets mandatory for drivers in covertibles would you like the idea? You need to balance risk/benefit as always. I'd hazard a guess that the number of people as a percentage who require helmets in a crash in a convertible is considerably lower than those in bikes. And of course seatbelts are useful in even minor crashes with very little inconvenience to the driver. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack M Posted December 20, 2004 Author Report Share Posted December 20, 2004 I guess I don't understand how anything unnecessarily risky can be legal in a country with state supplied healthcare. Snowboarding and skiing should be illegal in Canada. So should McDonald's, and tobacco, and alcohol, and snowmobiles, and skydiving, and motorcycles, and unprotected sex, and.... Also, if you have a crash where a helmet would protect you from serious head injury (not just a no-cost concussion), chances are excellent that you are also going to sustain some other hospitalizing injury. So I suppose air-bag-vests should be manditory? I ask in all seriousness. They've already been invented for motorcyclists. (they just haven't caught on yet) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joecarve Posted December 20, 2004 Report Share Posted December 20, 2004 I think helmets should be required in Maine. :D joe... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobdea Posted December 20, 2004 Report Share Posted December 20, 2004 I would like to see that resorts provide helmets for beginners in first time clinics it just makes sense trying to keep people as safe as possible and get them into the habit of wearing a helmet now mandating with a law I think is going to far if I owned a resort I would come up with some sort of incentive to get people wearing them maybe a discount on a pass with the purchase of a helmet or something Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neil Gendzwill Posted December 20, 2004 Report Share Posted December 20, 2004 It all gets into grey areas. You can't live in a rubber room, but some safety measures make obvious sense. Libertarian types like to argue those extremes but geez, can't you guys wrap your heads around something that is simply not black and white? There really hasn't been much of a protest here about seatbelts and helmets. Drinking and driving laws are stiff too, but nothing compared to say Norway. Probably the best thing we could do for our health care system is to ban smoking, but that ain't gonna fly. So they tax the hell out of cigarettes, and ostensibly plug the money back into healthcare. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gawdzira Posted December 20, 2004 Report Share Posted December 20, 2004 My concerns over the motorcycle helmet laws are that in a slow to medium speed accident there is the possibility of brain damage, and survival. I would not mind if there was some device that retracted the helmet above 60mph so that the rider would almost certainly be gauranteed death. Maybe exploding eyewear that shot a poison dart above 60mph in a crash. Just random thoughts on Darwinism. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack M Posted December 20, 2004 Author Report Share Posted December 20, 2004 Originally posted by Dave Pushee As a citizen of the Live Free or Die state, I am opposed to government mandating things for the "good of the individual". That's funny because in NH, not only is a helmet required, but so is eye protection. Got pulled over once for riding with my faceshield up because it was a hot day and I was in 10mph traffic. I suppose goggles should be manditory on the slopes too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Randy S. Posted December 20, 2004 Report Share Posted December 20, 2004 Being a native of the Live Free or DIE! state, I had to vote "No" in the poll. That said, I've worn a helmet on my bicycle since age 16 (they didn't really have helmets when I was a kid). I've always worn a full-face helmet and leathers on a motorcycle (even when living in NH). The leathers saved my a$$ - literally - this September. And I've worn a helmet snowboarding since just after my first child was born. I started because I wanted to be a role model and not a "do as I say, not as I do" kind of Dad. My biggest challenge with helmets snowboarding is finding ones that re well vented. Fortunately they have evolved dramatically in the 8 years I've been wearing one. I even wrote an Article about my newest helmet. In some ways I think helmets should be mandatory for young children. Although part of me has this nagging thought that its a parent's responsibility to protect their children. On another front, I feel strongly that helmets (with the chin strap buckled) should be absolutely mandatory in the Trauma Park. It blows my mind that anyone would want to launch themselves upside down off an icy ramp without a helmet. I see way too many banged up kids from headslaps in the park. I'm certain that my helmet has prevented a concussion for me at least twice. In addition, it has saved me from getting road rash on my cheek once and bad bruises on the head from gates multiple times. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Houghton Posted December 20, 2004 Report Share Posted December 20, 2004 For someone that picks on grammar errors, I'm surprised that you continue to misspell "mandatory" throughout this thread, even though everyone else gets it right when they post. Are you wishing that we will all change to your spelling of the word? And Canada is limiting the amount of damages based on whether the injured party had taken the appropriate precautions - seat belts, leathers, helmets and so on all fall into that category. So it's not always legislated, but you could lose out if you don't use the available, proven technology to pretect yourself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bschurman Posted December 20, 2004 Report Share Posted December 20, 2004 Originally posted by Jack Michaud That's funny because in NH, not only is a helmet required, but so is eye protection. Got pulled over once for riding with my faceshield up because it was a hot day and I was in 10mph traffic. I suppose goggles should be manditory on the slopes too. That's strange. To the best of my knowledge there is no helmet law in New Hampshire. I see motorcyclists go from the border of Mass to NH and take their helmets off all the time. But I don't ride a motorcycle so I don't really know. If I ran the world, nothing would be illegal as long as it harmed no one but yourself. This is included your children. You harm them and you face the consequences. However, that said I would also have very harsh and enforced laws! I think we already have enough laws. But if they were only enforced. But then most call me crazy! ->Ben Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack M Posted December 20, 2004 Author Report Share Posted December 20, 2004 There are certain words I always misspell. I guess mandatory is one of them! And no, I wasn't the one suggesting we all use Word to write our posts. And I guess I'm not sure about helmets in NH, but I do know first hand that eye protection is mandi... mandi... required. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Art Posted December 20, 2004 Report Share Posted December 20, 2004 No. But do some good and fill an organ donor card and living will. to add fuel to the fire how about a graduated competency rating for ski hills that require testing to advance to more difficult terrain? just a thought....... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mirror70 Posted December 20, 2004 Report Share Posted December 20, 2004 Originally posted by Jack Michaud That's funny because in NH, not only is a helmet required, but so is eye protection. Got pulled over once for riding with my faceshield up because it was a hot day and I was in 10mph traffic. Eye and head protection on a motorcycle are important because, while they obviously are healthy for the rider, they are equally important in preventing accidents due to catching a pebble (or bumblebee) with your face. This makes the rider less of a hazard to everyone else on the road. Now, obviously your 10mph example is a bit extreme. Then again, it happened in NH and you had out of state plates, right? NH has "police" departments solely for the purposes of revenue generation and to give *******s jobs. "Safety" is not a word they know about. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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