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?
On the one hand, I value my freedoms. Even if it means other people think I am stupid, foolhardy, or whatever. It is indeed a slippery slope.
OTOH, if I owned a motorcycle (I don't), I would wear a helmet & insist that anyone on it with me wear one too. Heck, I make my child wear a helmet on his tricycle going 0.3 mph. It burns me to see children in a car with parents smoking, preggy women smoking, or people being cruel to animals. Those are technically 'freedoms', but there have to be absolutes somewhere.
You think you're safety conscious but you hardly ever wear a seat belt?
Wow....
Suicide is a "individual choice" too, and yet quite the selfish act.
And suicide has what to do with it? FYI, the seatbelt in my car because of its placement and the fact that it can't be adjusted comes right across my neck. It's just not safe to wear. Id rather be thrown from the car then decapitated from my seatbelt.
we can't legislate peoples' choices to be stupid...
But should we be forced to pay for the results of their stupidity and I don't mean just bareheaded bikers.
great question;
of course not...I'm just asking the question: Where do we draw the line...
A helmet is a choice
Eating fast food as a diabetic is a choice
We currently pay for people's mistakes (read: choices)...Sooner or later, you'll end up in the ED, and 75% of the time, it's because of choices you made...That's what we do...we clean up others' mistakes...
Don't pick on bikers
For every guy w/ no helmet, there are 2 diabetics that: don't regularly check sugars, eat fast food weekly, etc...We don't deny them aid...
Should we? That's debatable, BUT, it's not for me to decide...
I was told a long time ago (back when helmets became mandatory in CA) that he would have been killed when he "put his bike down" if he had been wearing a helmet. I have seen a small glimpse of what can happen w/o a helmet. I can't believe people want to ride w/o one. Saw enough in that one day to rule out ever having a motorcycle in my family. Sorry to those that love to ride...nothing personal, just be safe Life is too precious, and anyone lost this way is one too many. :icon_hug:
I meant that to be a provacative question. After seven years in the ER I've come to the point where I resent my tax dollars being spent in HUGE numbers to support other people who will not take responsibility for themselves. I'm sorry if people here don't think it's an appropriately "nursey" attitude and it doesn't mean I won't provide excellent, compassionate care to all of my patients but quite frankly, I clean up my own messes. I think the helmet laws came to be because it is a theoretically easy fix to a potentially expensive trauma (do not start throwing stats at me that's why I said "theoretically"). Any of you who have sat in triage know my frustration when a perfectly healthy 24 year old comes in for a minor complaint to be treated for free (Medicaid) because they aren't working for whatever reason and they are talking on a cell phone that even I can't afford, wearing $150 jeans, $40 nail jobs and jewelry out the wazoo. The diabetics that continue to eat crap and don't check their blood sugars or make any attempt to control themselves. COPD'ers who still smoke and try to do so under their cot sheets while on oxygen with complete disregard for themselves or anyone else for that matter. People who don't take their antihypertensives because they "don't want to take medicine every day" ending up in a a hypertensive crisis for which you and I will be paying. These are CHOICES people are making not random events. If you know that by doing "A" it will prevent or mitigate the resulting "B" then I think you have a responsibility to do "A". And if you choose not to then hey, you made your own bed. That's where choice comes in. Where is MY choice to not pay for your stupidity. Is this a slippery slope, of course it is. Is it going to happen, probably not. Should it happen, I don't know. What I do know is this country is bankrupting itself supporting the results of people having choices and not doing the responsible thing. People talk about personal freedom and not wanting the government to meddle in their business which is great but once your personal freedom has to be bankrolled by the taxpayer for the good of only you then I think we have the right to put some constraints on that freedom. I hope I haven't come across too harsh as that is not the kind of person I am but this just happens to be a big pet peeve of mine to the point that I had to get out of emergency nursing (that and I really disliked my boss LOL) for the sake of my sanity and for my patients. It was becoming increasingly difficult for me to maintain the level of compassion that I feel all patients deserve regardless of their situation. Some how this country has to figure out how to blend personal accountability and a reasonable amount of monetary support into a healthccare system that would work for all. I don't know if it's possible and I certainly don't have the answer.
I have a big fear of those donorcycles. I saw a bad donorcycle accident when I was in Memphis last week and about an hour after that one pulled out in front of my aunt and she almost hit him. I wish people would take the necessary precautions when riding those things. The family has my sympathy!!!!
This is a valid question and it's good to discuss it. Both sides of the argument have good points. There is no perfect solution to balancing the prevention of harm and protecting personal choice. Most would agree that certain regulations and laws to protect people have a role to play to some degree in certain cases. And most would agree that trying to prevent all possibility of harm is ridiculous if not a violation of one's rights in some cases. Even if we don't pull government regulation into the picture, we as individuals and as groups have to decide how much risk we're comfortable with.
So here's one specific example. Do you wear a motorcycle helmet when you ride a motorcycle? There are risks to the individual and to the larger groups we live in. We have the option of using legal means to influence behavior choices. Our views are informed and shaped by many influences. Personal experience. Stories we've heard. Statistics. Underlying beliefs and assumptions and values.
Generally, we're not going to change our undelying belief and values with such discussions. But we can test our assumptions. We can share our stories. And we can discover and discuss statistics.
So for example, for those who argue that they'd rather take the risk of dying without a helmet than getting a spinal injury with a helmet... I'm curious what the actual risks of each are and what long term outcomes are.
For those who argue that the costs involved in taking care of someone injured without a helmet is reason to pass a mandatory helmet law... let's compare that to the costs of lifetime care for those whose injuries would've killed them if they hadn't been wearing a helmet.
Great discussion! Let's keep it respectful and informative!!
Fatlaties have increased, I'm not sure how to measure the cost. I read somewhere, but can't find the source that head injury admissions increased by 80% since the repeal of the law, not sure of the cost either.
Elvish, BSN, DNP, RN, NP
4 Articles; 5,259 Posts
I am torn.
On the one hand, I value my freedoms. Even if it means other people think I am stupid, foolhardy, or whatever. It is indeed a slippery slope.
OTOH, if I owned a motorcycle (I don't), I would wear a helmet & insist that anyone on it with me wear one too. Heck, I make my child wear a helmet on his tricycle going 0.3 mph. It burns me to see children in a car with parents smoking, preggy women smoking, or people being cruel to animals. Those are technically 'freedoms', but there have to be absolutes somewhere.
I don't know. I like the debate, though.