Re: [MV] John's comments

From: F. Brian Mead (brian@hardscrabblefarm.com)
Date: Mon Aug 07 2000 - 05:37:07 PDT


Good morning list!
    All this talk reminds me of a conversation my wife & I had while riding down
the road in my 1944 Willys MB. Here's the background to the conversation - My
wife lost a cousin to a motorcycle accident. I don't know if he was wearing a
helmet or not. A car smacked him broadside at an intersection - I don't think
the helmet would have helped one way or the other. SO, my mother in law has a
standing rule. NO ONE in her family is allowed to ride a motorcycle on the
road. Well, since I've never ridden one, & I'm not feeling a burning desire to
start, it doesn't really bother me too much.
    Funny part of the story is that as my wife & I were talking, we decided we
weren't much safer in the MB. Windshield down, no seatbelts, no turn signals(we
both use hand signals, just to be sure), flat OD paintjob and heck at least lots
of bikes have "loud pipes" so the cars can hear them. One thing is for sure, I'm
not going to wear a motorcycle helmet driving my jeep just so someone else feels
that I'm safer.(a while ago, someone on the MVList, in another state than I live
in, had a cop tell them they needed to wear helmets in their jeep) I will
however wear good eye protection. BTW, my mother in law has no problem with us
driving around in the jeep this way. =^)
    Sorry to digress, but just thought it was funny, in a wierd way, how
sometimes the whole safety issue is the perception of safety.

Later,
Brian Mead
Griffin, Ga

PUSkunk@aol.com wrote:

> In a message dated 8/6/00 9:43:39 PM Eastern Daylight Time, tmmchugh@juno.com
> writes:
>
> > Your facts are correct.
> >
> > The first day of the new law, a motorcyclist was killed because he had no
> > helmet.
> >
> > I guess he was a Sinatra Fan. "He did it his way" BUT< HE IS STILL
> > DEAD.
> As a motorcyclist in a state that does not require me to wear a helmet, let
> me say that I know the risks involved when I don't wear one. I also know the
> risks involved with smoking (I subcontract for Philip Morris) and with
> drinking, unsafe sex, not wearing a seatbelt, and bungee jumping with a cord
> that's too long. HOWEVER, having admitted I know all the risks involved,
> isn't it my personal choice to do as I wish as long as it doesn't harm other
> people? I know some will scream "cost to society!" about not wearing a
> helmet, but hey, my insurance is fully paid up, and many studies have shown
> there is a negligible cost anyway, and yes, I am an organ donor. How does
> this relate to MVs? (or HMVs as another thread wants us to say) Our freedoms
> are being eroded away, and no one complains unless it's in their own narrow
> self interest. Let me drive my MV (don't have one yet), ride my bike, and
> enjoy myself and keep Congress from trying to legislate fun out of everyone's
> life!
>
> Pher
> "Everything I ever needed to know I learned from Junkyard Wars"
> www.channel4.com/scrapheap
> Lesson #2 Shade tree mechanics beat the military every time



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