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My ChoicePosted Monday, April 20, 2009, at 4:14 PM
This weekend we are expecting highs to be in the 80s, and I can guarantee you that my boyfriend and I will be out on the motorcycle soaking up the sun!
On Saturday night there was an accident at 13th and Ash streets in Terre Haute, two men hit a parked car and they were on motorcycles, one of the victims complained of pains, the other died. Neither was wearing a helmet. I have been a passenger on the back of motorcycles since I was 15 and my boyfriend at the time attained his license, much to the disagreement of my dad I never hesitated to jump on the back. So when Ryan decided he wanted a motorcycle, I had a better idea of how to balance my weight and shift than he did. But I watched him learn and encouraged him to be safe. The first time I went with him on a ride I was terrified, I was used to being with my ex-boyfriend who was always cautious and safe. Ryan was still learning and it took us a while to get the hang of it. There was one incident where I was petrified. It was a warm day about a month ago and we were cruising through town. A girl in a bright orange Escape pulled out in front of us. Ryan said a few derogatory words and I rolled my eyes. We came to a complete stop at a stoplight with the Escape still in front of us. Ryan was still angry and I told him to let it go, it wasn't a big deal and we were safe. When the light turned green the Escape moved forward, just as we were about to follow a white truck decided to run the red light and hit the Escape. The Escape did a complete 360 and hit the pole. Both vehicles were totaled. Ryan and I sat there in shock...if we had been in front of the Escape we would both be dead, with or without helmets and jackets. If we had been in our little cars we would be dead (a truck that size would've taken us out!) I believe that if you are old enough to vote as well as fight and possibly die defending your country then you should be allowed to decide if you want to wear a helmet or not. I choose not to wear a helmet. My family doesn't like it, but they realize it is my choice and it is something they accept. I realize every time I get on the back of a bike accidents can and do happen, but it is my choice and mine alone. Comments Showing comments in chronological order [Show most recent comments first] |
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Nice point Kimberly but EMT's call your head "road pudding" after an accident. What is cooler? Alive or Dead? We all know a temporary inconvenience can oft times save our lives. There are some who would LOVE to go back to the days of no seat belt laws. However, after being the one in the car behind my good friends and her hubby's bike after I watched them get hit and saw her skull crack open and her brains spilling out when I ran up to help...I am a HUGE proponent of LIFE and LIFE could have been her's had she cared more about the future instead of the present "feeling" she was having.
i ride without a helmet cause it's my choice (one of those freedom things we all enjoy). and if people could pay more attention to the road and not their ipod, stereo, or cell phone, there wouldn't be any accidents. but that's just my opinion.
There will always be accidents, BUT the cost of those accidents is a lot higher when safety practices that are available are not chosen. It's possible that soon that using cell phone may be illegal while driving. so should putting one's makeup while driving. Seat belt use has proven to prevent damage to the occupants of cars and helmets are known to keep people from cracking their heads open. These are all choices that DON'T just affect those who choose not to practice them. They affect family members and all those whose health insurance rates are determined by the severity of accidents on the road. Let's face it, our premiums are going to cover what insurance companies have to pay out so they are counting on those non seatbelt or helmet wearers to have more damage to themselves. We ALL share the cost so yes Kimberly your decision does effect all of us who pay car insurance and healthcare premiums. That's on top of the heartbreak it would cause your parents and other loved ones should they see you in a coma. I have a daughter who rides horses. Her helmet has saved her life at least once already. I have a daughter who rides motorcycles. She wears hers as well.
Kimberly: You are such a nice young woman...but I have to add in the name of motherhood, that every choice one makes effects others. It's like the alcoholic or smoker that says it's their choice and doesn't think about how it effects their family members. Granted riding without a helmet is not an addiction but none the less each thing we do has a ripple effect. Please don't think that we are all free to do whatever we like in life just effects ourselves. It is all connected. Everything you do effects things and people around you. We have to think of those others we live on this earth with and our responsibility to them as well as ourselves. In this country we have many freedoms and have been given many choices. That does not mean that there are not consequences when we use them. Only the freedom to make them. We still must realize that the consequences are there. Next time you are getting ready to ride, think about how your decision to not wear a helmet effects others and if your freedom to do so is really worth the trade of the ripple effect it causes; for yes each time someone doesn't wear a helmet, it costs stress and worry to a parent, a higher insurance premium cost, and potentially a lot more if an accident should occur.
There was a young college student who last December decided not to put on his seat belt. Two others in the same car did. There was a wreck. He got thrown out of the car and died from internal injuries. His two friends walked away from the accident. Think of what this did to his parents, his friends in and out of the car, his teachers, the police officer, the paramedics. The people in the other car. Those who had to tell his family that he was dead. One of the other passengers did not return to school after the holidays. She was just too emotionally effected by the death. No one thought that that was the day they were going to wreck. No one ever does. His decision effected so many. Not just himself.
I'll turn off my "mom" speech now. Have a good day.
Most people who own motorcycles also own cars so the "we pay more for insurance than you do" theory doesn't work, sorry. I have been riding for twenty years and have worn and not worn helmets. I was also been in the medical field for sixteen years and have seen first hand the devastation that accidents can cause, but I have seen that with and without helmets. Our society was established on choices, why are we trying to take all our choices away? I'm sorry I don't want to walk in a line and baaa like a sheep. Again this is just my opinion and thank God I am still entitled to that!
God bless and have a safe day!
You seem like an intelligent and informed person. I support you in making your own choice. I'm sure some people that are trying to change mind truly care about you, others just like to see their words in print regardless of what they are saying. Riding without a helmet, smoking a cigarette, taking a drink of alcohol are all personal choices in this state (at this time) and everyone has an opinion about doing or not doing anyone of these things.
Your dad say's put a helmet on or stay off of it. He says and I know he is not ready to see your badly hurt or worse. Please, Kimberly, listen to your dad. Love ya!
Sorry about the typo. Let me try this again...your dad says, and I know, he is not ready to see YOU badly hurt or worse. So please just listen to him, make him happy and wear your helmet.
Okay, someone brought up one of the biggest rip-offs in history, the insurance racket. In this day and age, legalized and forced gambling is called "insurance". When you buy a policy, you are making a bet that something covered is going to happen and the insurance company is betting that it doesn't. If you are right and something covered does happen, you win the bet and, unless the insurance company can find a legal way out of the "bet", you collect. If nothing happens, the insurance company chalks up a profit.
Insurance is "big", "big", "big" business, both nationally and globally, but it is not needed and actually detrimental to the economy. If you don't believe that, call your nearest hospital and ask the billing office for the difference between the cash price and what the insurance company would be billed of a common procedure. This is one of the reasons that two aspirins in a hospital can cost you more than a whole bottle at the drug store. You can do the same comparison with auto body repairs, too. By the insurance company being able to pay more for something than an average person would, the insurance industry has actually caused the price of things such as medical treatment to increase until the average person cannot afford NOT to have insurance.
What happens to all of the money from the "bets" the policyholders lose by not having a covered claim? The company invests that money, keeping a reserve to pay out claims. However, a bank that you deposited the same money into a savings account into would also invest it by making loans. The bank doesn't really care if the account is in the insurance company's name or yours.
Kimberly, I used to ride motorcycles and I still ride ATV's. Sometimes, I chose to wear a helmet; other times, not. I've seen accidents where helmets saved people, ones where they were not a factor at all, and ones where wearing the helmet actually was the cause of the accident due to cutting down the rider's field of view.
Safety equipment, of any kind, is never a guarantee of your safety. When God calls you home, you will be going.
Excessive medical costs are a result of our litigious society. Higher medical malpractice premiums are passed along to the customers (the patients and health insurance companies). high medical costs can also be attributed to many patients that are indigent....hospitals and doctors do not work for free....they pass the cost along. Saying insurance is not needed and by placing your money in a savings account you can cover your costs is not responsible. Do you really think the few hundred dollars you pay for auto liability premiums (even over many years) would cover your exposure if, heaven forbid, you ran over someone and severly injured that person?
Madman36 -- You and I joined the game a long time after it started so, as you say, it would be irresponsible not to be insured at this point in time. However, it is not a legal requirement to have automobile insurance in this state IF you can post a large enough bond. You do not NEED to carry life insurance IF you are rich or do not care who pays your bills after your demise. You do not NEED to carry medical insurance if you are rich or do not care that a lack of medical attention will probably shorten your lifespan.
You are indeed correct that fact and history of litigation has raised the cost of INSURANCE. That cost has been passed on to the insured and; therefore, on to the consumer. However, in reading history, you will find that many doctors worked for almost nothing about a century ago. They didn't do it for money, they became doctors to help people; not that many of them do not today. However, as insurance companies can and do pay at a higher rate than a person paying on a cash basis, who gets the most business, those with insurance or those paying cash? This also increases the price of insured items even if you do not have insurance.
The point I was making is that the game should never have been started. You and I are forced to play the game as it exists today, whether we like it or not and many play without even realizing that it doesn't have to be this way at all.