Why dont YOU wear a helmet??

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Specializes in Cardiac Telemetry, Emergency, SAFE.

I have a serious question for any motorcycle lovers that ride and dont wear helmets... WHY?? I have today, for what seems like the millionth time, had to watch someone die and a familys life destroyed b/c this person chose not to wear a helmet on his bike and flew headfirst into a wind shield. The Pt's brain was soooo swollen they couldnt even get the bone flap back on, or stich the dura back together....there was brain everywhere! Out the nose and Ears.. And then the pt's off the OR table only to die in PACU with a waiting room FULL of screaming crying family members..

I am not judging anyone, but rather trying to understand why someone would make the choice to not wear a helmet. Is it the feeling of freedom, or does the helmet restrict your head that much as to the point of discomfort?

Someone please try to help me understand this...:o

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I have a serious question for any motorcycle lovers that ride and dont wear helmets... WHY?? I have today, for what seems like the millionth time, had to watch someone die and a familys life destroyed b/c this person chose not to wear a helmet on his bike and flew headfirst into a wind shield. The Pt's brain was soooo swollen they couldnt even get the bone flap back on, or stich the dura back together....there was brain everywhere! Out the nose and Ears.. And then the pt's off the OR table only to die in PACU with a waiting room FULL of screaming crying family members..

I am not judging anyone, but rather trying to understand why someone would make the choice to not wear a helmet. Is it the feeling of freedom, or does the helmet restrict your head that much as to the point of discomfort?

Someone please try to help me understand this...:o

It is the same reason some men will not wear a condom they like the way it feels. I know that sounds simple but it is true.

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It is the same reason some men will not wear a condom they like the way it feels. I know that sounds simple but it is true.

Don't forget, it takes two lady!

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fiver

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I ride but there is no way in you know who's green earth that I would ride without a helmet.

A friend of mine went to sturgis last week. I asked him to wear a helmet and his response was "Ill take it under advisement" which meant no. I was really frustrated as I had given him the "I don't want to visit someone in neuro rehab plea..."

What really frosted me when he got back was when I heard that they almost clipped a deer in the first 10 miles of their trip.

I really wish that mandatory adult helmet laws were a nationwide standard....

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My dh never, ever wears a helmet when he rides his bike as a commuter (we are talking bicycles here, not motorcycles; but he can still get flattened by a car). When he used to train and race competitively, he would.

Frankly, I think it comes down to comfort. He is bald and has a big head. He cannot find a helmet that he feels is comfortable.

We have gone rounds about this; ultimately I have washed my hands of it. He's a big boy, he can do what he wants. He knows how I feel. I did ask him to get the largest possible life insurance policy through work. I really think that he honestly, 100% believes that if he rides super defensively and on off, low-traffic streets, he is not going to get hit. I'm not going to divorce him over it, and I can't live my life in fear of some sort of what-if. He doesn't nag me about being overweight with a horrible family history of diabetes and multiple cardiovascular diseases; he encourages me to be healthy and leaves it at that. He's human, I'm human, we love each other, even our failings.

I, though, have been guilty of not wearing my helmet, too. I wear it 99% of the time. Once my dd couldn't find her helmet, so she wore mine (she's my size). Once the strap was broken, and I couldn't get it fixed in time to get to work on time. Occasionally I can't locate my helmet, because I am a complete scatterbrain when it comes to putting my crap where it belongs. I will choose to ride anyway rather than walk or drive if there is something that keeps me from wearing my helmet; but barring that, I do always wear it. The one time I get nailed by a car, it will probably be the time I didn't wear it, knowing my luck.

The short answer: We're human.

I know you were talking motorcycles, but also safety-behavior in general, so there you have it.

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Specializes in LTC , SDC and MDS certified (3.0).

A helmet would have not helped on an impact like that . Helmets are only tested for saftey at 13mph. Honestly I'd rather not survive than have brain damage.

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I'm very safety conscious. But at the same time I hardly ever wear my seat belt and I never wear a helmet when I ride. For me its an individual choice that I don't feel comfortable with the helmets I've tried in the past. Full facials restrict my vision enough that I don't like them and the others just don't feel right to me. I live in a state that doesn't require them so I don't.

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This is my take on the subject. I think you should be required by law to wear helmets and seat belts. I understand that the people for personal choice will argue on the lines of the following: "It is my choice and it does not hurt anybody else."

The choice crowd have an invalid argument. I could care less what you choose to do as long as it does not effect my life. However, not wearing a belt or helmet does effect my life. When you smash in your cranium or take a tumble out of your passenger door, guess what happens? Yes, you go to a hospital. If you have insurance, it may pay up and then the rates rise. If you do not have insurance, then the hospital writes it off and punishes the people with insurance. In addition, your decision also required resources to be diverted from other people who may have needed those resources. (Fire, EMS, Rehab, etc.) So, your choice harms many more people than just your self.

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Specializes in Post Anesthesia.

I don't ride anymore but when I did I skipped the helmet- I figured if I hit hard enough to fracture my skull I didn't want a helmet on for fear I would just move the injury down and break my c spine and spend the next 20 years turn- water feed- blinking at communicate. Celestrial transfer seemed to be the better option.

I know I was just rationalizing but it sounded good at the time. Fortunately I have a wife who loves me enough to nag me off the donorcycle for good.

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A helmet would have not helped on an impact like that . Helmets are only tested for saftey at 13mph. Honestly I'd rather not survive than have brain damage.

Kudos to you!!! I've had the misfortune to have numerous Pt.s that have "survived" a head injury with a helmet while working LTC, and it is truly a fate worse than death.

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Specializes in icu, er, transplant, case management, ps.
This is my take on the subject. I think you should be required by law to wear helmets and seat belts. I understand that the people for personal choice will argue on the lines of the following: "It is my choice and it does not hurt anybody else."

The choice crowd have an invalid argument. I could care less what you choose to do as long as it does not effect my life. However, not wearing a belt or helmet does effect my life. When you smash in your cranium or take a tumble out of your passenger door, guess what happens? Yes, you go to a hospital. If you have insurance, it may pay up and then the rates rise. If you do not have insurance, then the hospital writes it off and punishes the people with insurance. In addition, your decision also required resources to be diverted from other people who may have needed those resources. (Fire, EMS, Rehab, etc.) So, your choice harms many more people than just your self.

Some states which have the helmet option of not wearing it, require that those who do not have a insurance policy that covers your medical bills. It makes no difference to me if one wear it or not. I just keep remembering a young medical student I once had in ICU. He had an accident, was not wearing his helmet, and died shortly after being admitted. I call them donor cycles.

Woody:balloons:

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