So apparently it's against the law not to wear a helmet while biking? - General

[QUOTE=s0beit;26140660]Sure everyone should use a helmet, I'm not disputing that but OP is right, it is a fucking stupid law which is coercive in nature. It's immoral to tell some one how to run their personal lives, for the better or [B]worse[/B]. I don't give a fuck if its weed, a helmet, fatty foods or cigarettes, its fucking IMMORAL.[/QUOTE] [highlight]It's not just about you. It's about preventing stupid lawsuits and keeping the taxpayers from having to waste money fixing you up or sending you to the cemetery because you were too stupid to wear a helmet.[/highlight]

[QUOTE=berryman13;26130504]So do people who smoke marijuana. Still, facepunch (and the general population) sympathizes with them. My point isn't that I didn't break the law, the point is that it's an absurd law. We don't need laws telling us what's safe for us.[/QUOTE] Except you do since most kids are too stupid to realise how important a helmet can be when they first use a bike(often around age 4-6). By the time they grow up and start using various drugs(if they get into that), they've matured enough to know the potential risks. Also, what exactly are you doing riding a bike without knowing basic laws like this?

[QUOTE=MegaJohnny;26140632]On a bicycle you're still a squishy human being balancing on a metal frame. It's worth the £30 to minimise your chance of dying when the shit does hit the fan.[/QUOTE] Sure, but forcing people to do it and fining if they don't wear it ? it's too much.

[QUOTE=FuzzyPoop;26144738]Sure, but forcing people to do it and fining if they don't wear it ? it's too much.[/QUOTE] it's the same logic as not wearing a seatbelt being against the law. i've fallen off a bike before and landed pretty hard on my head and had I not been wearing a helmet, I'd probably at the least have some pretty serious head injuries. I've seen kids at work with nasty head injuries. If you're not wearing a helmet when riding you're a bike you're silly. Having a fine for not doing it to provide impetus to people to do it can only be a good thing. Not to mention people shouldn't be riding on the pavement/sidewalk anyway.

Bad cop situation there.

[QUOTE=The Vman;26140429]I'm just gonna repost this because it seems like a lot of people are still in denial: You've got an average of 650 to 700 idiots dying every year because they were too stupid to wear a helmet. [b]Another thing, to all you people saying that the government has no right to force you to protect yourself:[/b] The fact is, it isn't just for you. If you get killed or sent to the hospital, it's taxpayer's dollars that are gonna be fixing you up, cleaning the blood off the street, or throwing you into the morgue. Not to mention the cost on your parents if they want a funeral service. So the government wants to keep you from killing yourself like an idiot so people like me don't have to waste money paying the person who scoops your dead ass from the street.[/QUOTE] Holy shit bro, a whole 653 people in the middle of millions totally worth the harassment of getting fined. [editline]18th November 2010[/editline] [QUOTE=mike;26144788]it's the same logic as not wearing a seatbelt being against the law. [/QUOTE] Nope, wearing a seatbelt can actually stop you from having every bone in your body broken, and save shitload of people, not just a couple.

Cops enforcing the law, Jesus Christ- people doing their jobs!

[QUOTE=The Vman;26142920][highlight]It's not just about you. It's about preventing stupid lawsuits and keeping the taxpayers from having to waste money fixing you up or sending you to the cemetery because you were too stupid to wear a helmet.[/highlight][/QUOTE] The lawsuit argument is absolutely asinine and i hope you realized it while writing it, second, taxpayers shouldn't be paying for any of that shit anyway. If they do opt to support the populace then you can't also restrict activity just to make that come to fruition. The potential for abuse is astounding. Social healthcare: take it or leave it, don't police peoples lives just to keep taxes down. You despicable person.

Stop right there, criminal scum.

What a waste of time and taxpayer money. It'll most likely get thrown out of court to be honest.

[QUOTE=Capn'Underpants;26130545]Hey dumbass, A helmet is the thing that saves your stupid ass like a seatbelt saves your stupid ass in a car. If you don't wear one you deserve to have your brains splattered in the pavement because you are too damn stupid, of course the government decided to help you dumbasses along and give you a law to keep it on.[/QUOTE] Pretty important too, I've seen someone die right before my eyes because they didn't wear a helmet. I was living in an apartment and was on the 6th floor. We had a small little balcony so I would often hang out outside and chill out. Well one day a guy was riding his sports bike or something along that lines of that and he wrecked right in front of my gate. Needless to say he wasn't wearing a helmet, there was a lot of blood, a fairly large line of it too from where his face met the pavement. An ambulance came and got him, he died on the way to the hospital. [QUOTE=R3mix;26146580]What a waste of time and taxpayer money. It'll most likely get thrown out of court to be honest.[/QUOTE] How is it? It is just traffic court, fines like this are free money for the state. Why the hell do you think cops hand out traffic tickets like they're candy? It is all money that goes to the state. Most cases in traffic court are so petty people hardly argue against them and just pay the fine. How is he going to argue his case? he isn't, he wasn't wearing a helmet so he got a fine for this violation. There is nothing to argue or dispute.

Glad i don't live in the "free" country U.S.A.

That's funny, because in my city I biked by 3 cops and they didn't give a shit [editline]18th November 2010[/editline] I live in California btw so yeah helmet laws everywhere

[QUOTE=MR-X;26146727]How is it? It is just traffic court, fines like this are free money for the state. Why the hell do you think cops hand out traffic tickets like they're candy? It is all money that goes to the state. Most cases in traffic court are so petty people hardly argue against them and just pay the fine. How is he going to argue his case? he isn't, he wasn't wearing a helmet so he got a fine for this violation. There is nothing to argue or dispute.[/QUOTE] Who do you think pays taxes which get distributed eventually to the [b]Department of Justice?[/b] This is such a ridiculous case considering the fact that most people don't even wear helmets when riding a BICYCLE For crying out loud. Not even in my state! The fact a cop would even hand out a ticket for this is just complete blasphemy.

You fought the law, but the, law won.

[QUOTE=mrpirate;26146880]Glad i don't live in the "free" country U.S.A.[/QUOTE] We are free. Just not dead.

[QUOTE=s0beit;26146426]The lawsuit argument is absolutely asinine and i hope you realized it while writing it, second, taxpayers shouldn't be paying for any of that shit anyway. If they do opt to support the populace then you can't also restrict activity just to make that come to fruition. The potential for abuse is astounding. Social healthcare: take it or leave it, don't police peoples lives just to keep taxes down. You despicable person.[/QUOTE] You think my argument is stupid? You're the one saying that being forced to wear a helmet is [B]policing your life! [/B][QUOTE=claythepro;26147672]We are free. Just not dead.[/QUOTE] Hey! I want my right to die in as stupid of a way possible! I should be allowed to drink a gallon of vodka, wear a suit made of razor blades, and do a handstand on my motorcycle while riding into a fireworks factory. [QUOTE=FuzzyPoop;26144843]Holy shit bro, a whole 653 people in the middle of millions totally worth the harassment of getting fined.[/QUOTE] Want to know why so few people are killed on bikes? Because the mass majority are smart enough to [B]wear a helmet.[/B] Like I and many other people in this thread mentioned before, we could have gotten killed if we hadn't been wearing helmets. Shit happens when you least expect it, and the helmet is there to save your ass. [QUOTE=Badunkadunk;26144910]Cops enforcing the law, Jesus Christ- people doing their jobs![/QUOTE] For God's sake [B]THIS[/B].

I bike alot with out a helmet. I never got a ticket, and i live across a small street from a police department. [editline]18th November 2010[/editline] Though, trips longer than a block i wear a helmet [editline]18th November 2010[/editline] Though, trips longer than a block i wear a helmet

[QUOTE=berryman13;26130447]So here I am with my friends and I, on a beautiful sunny day just getting out of school on a minimum day (we got out at 1:03 or so) -- biking down the street to get some delicious and nutritious McDonalds. As we go down the street, a motorcycle cop drove by me and looked me dead in the eyes with a stone cold look on his face. I instantly knew something was going to go down, so we just kept going hoping for the best. Sure enough, he turned around and pulls up next to me, instructing us to stop and go to the curb. Obviously we comply, not wanting to cause any trouble. He then goes on with a rant about how we all have to wear a helmet (in the meantime, teens are zooming by left and right without them, making it very apparent this cop doesn't care about our safety, he just wants to give some quick tickets). Apparently biking casually 3 miles per hour down the sidewalk puts us in extreme caution of falling and cracking our skulls. Anyways, he ends up writing us all a ticket, we have to appear to court and pay a fine (Not really sure how much it is, though it probably won't be cheap) The entire 30 minutes he spent writing those tickets (Taking his damn time like he was writing a speeding ticket, though we were going ~3-4 miles per hour, as if we were rushing and he just wanted to make us late for...nothing) -- he was cracking jokes and poking fun at us. Once finished with the first three tickets, he exclaimed: "OHP LOOKS LIKE I'M ALL OUT OF TICKETS! :downs:" We all sighed in relief for the 4th and final person not getting a ticket, and the cop quickly opens his motorcycle, pulls out a new pad, and said: "OH WAIT DERP HERE'S A NEW PAD :smug:" Just gotta love those cops who have nothing to do but pick on teens just trying to enjoy their day. Pics: [img_thumb]http://imgur.com/3EgKw.jpg[/img_thumb] Yay, court date is smack in between Christmas and new years. Should be fun. Discuss, facepunch! tl;dr: Friend got hit by a car and cracked his skull, cop gives him ticket for not wearing helmet.[/QUOTE] You live close to me.

Wearing a helmet throws my balance off, I still wear one when I am downtown or in heavy traffic areas though.

how does a helmet throw your balance off?

big skater helmets

Skater helmets? Theres this specialy rated and tested things but I frogot what they were called. OH RIGHT. MOTORCYCLE HELMETS! Oh and they protect your head? News to me.

No shit.

Helmets are for no-men.

I wear a helmet, although I never fall. Except this morning. And a couple of times last week.

I don't have a bike any more and I didn't wear a helmet when I did, but that's not because I didn't want to. Vman is making critical points and you're just ignoring them because you're too busy living in a world where you're always right. You are in the wrong. It is illegal to ride without a helmet. You were riding without a helmet. The police officer saw that you were riding without a helmet. He fined you. He did his job. You complain. You're an idiot. "OH HUY GOIS, THARS DIS NEW FING CAWLED A HELMUT LOL ETS STOOPID AMIRITE? ILL NEVAR GET HITTED BY A CAR OR NUFFINK." So you'd rather die with your social status intact instead of living with a slight dent in your self esteem.

I never wear a helmet, fuck da police In all seriousness, I don't wear a helmet when I bike. It's a personal choice, I know something could go bad and I could be seriously injured or die. However, the environment I ride through is a college campus... not exactly the world's most dangerous biking route. The pavement is all flat and even, and cars are limited to 10 mph. If I'm going on a long bike along a highway or something, I'll wear a helmet. At that point, there are vehicles travelling at higher speeds near me, and there's no guarantee that the pavement will be conducive to bike riding. [editline]d[/editline] Cops on bikes see me almost every day and don't say anything. I've been warned before, though. "Do you know how dangerous it is to not wear a helmet when you're biking?" "Yes, officer." "Are you over 18?" "Yes, sir, I am." "Alright then. Just be careful and use your common sense." That's how it should be done.

[QUOTE=GhostSonic;26130639]What exactly do you have agaisnt helmets?[/QUOTE] I have the fact there doesn't exist one for sale that fits my head. I haven't worn one since I was 17 because of this.

it's not against the law. the other day at mcdonalds there was this cop on his motorcycle waiting at the road using his futurist looking scaner radar that tracks the speed and info of cars, and bicyclist rode by without helmets and he didn't care.