| Thank you for entering that note!
There are _too_many_ people who believe that, because of their
particular style of riding, they don't require a helmet. What
they tend to ignore is that there are a great many variables
which are OUT OF THEIR CONTROL that could result in severe
injury. The previous note is an excellent illustration of this.
I started _religiously_ wearing a helmet about 5 years ago after
Liz Walker of Boston's Channel 4 did a special report on
bicycle-related head injuries, and the use of helmets to prevent
them. This was long before the fairly recent "New England
Journel of Medicine" report on the same topic. She didn't play
games with statistics --- she just presented the cases of a
number of riders, from novice to experienced, for whom daily
circumstances turned disasterous. She also presented cases in
which the proper use of a helmet _prevented_ these types of
injuries.
I can still see clearly in my mind the picture of a young man
with a crease in his forehead after hitting a guardrail. I can't
remember what happened --- his tire blew, or a truck blew by him,
the specifics don't matter. It was something that hit him by
surprize, like the rider in .0. But that's all I needed to
convince me that I wasn't gonna get on my bike again without a
helmet. AND I HAVEN'T SINCE!
And neither has my wife, and neither has our 3.5-year-old
daughter. And when we start hauling around the newest Erickson
(now eight months) she will wear a helmet too! It doesn't matter
how _fast_ one rides, it's the fact that while on the bike
something _could_ happen that will cause head injury. What's
$30-$60 to preserve your health?
Now I know there is a thread in this conference that considers
HELMET LAWS, but I'll put my two cents in here anyways. I
believe that the use of bicycle helmets should be MANDITORY FOR
CHILDREN UNDER A CERTAIN AGE (I haven't figure out the age yet),
but that ADULTS SHOULD BE FREE to make their own decisions,
however _stupid_ they might be. I believe in a government that
protects our youth, but doesn't baby-sit our adults.
Have a GREAT one!
John
|
| >> Now I know there is a thread in this conference that considers
>> HELMET LAWS, but I'll put my two cents in here anyways. I
>> believe that the use of bicycle helmets should be MANDITORY FOR
>> CHILDREN UNDER A CERTAIN AGE (I haven't figure out the age yet),
>> but that ADULTS SHOULD BE FREE to make their own decisions,
>> however _stupid_ they might be. I believe in a government that
>> protects our youth, but doesn't baby-sit our adults.
John,
I like your style and enjoyed your note. Are you
interested in running on the same ticket with Tom Deloria
when he makes his bid for Governor in the fall :)
_Jerry
|
| #>> Now I know there is a thread in this conference that considers
#>> HELMET LAWS, but I'll put my two cents in here anyways. I
#>> believe that the use of bicycle helmets should be MANDITORY FOR
#>> CHILDREN UNDER A CERTAIN AGE (I haven't figure out the age yet),
#>> but that ADULTS SHOULD BE FREE to make their own decisions,
#>> however _stupid_ they might be. I believe in a government that
#>> protects our youth, but doesn't baby-sit our adults.
#
# John,
#
# I like your style and enjoyed your note. Are you
# interested in running on the same ticket with Tom Deloria
# when he makes his bid for Governor in the fall :)
#
# _Jerry
#
HA! It would be a welcome _vacation_ from doing REAL (tm) WORK!
And I have enough experience in government (absolutely NONE) to
be _qualified_!
Or as Rev. Jesse would say: Qualified! Qualified! Qualified!
Later,
John
|