September 23, 2012 Posted by Matthew Dolman in Blog

Why Safety Helmets Should Not be an Option but Rather Mandatory For Motorcycle Riders

With Labor Day behind us and fantasy drafts finished, the season for football is gearing up. We prepare for Sunday afternoons of passes, touchdowns, interceptions and of course spine crushing tackles.

I think back on the number of injuries that these professional players receive and the safety gear that they wear to prevent injuries, including shoulder pads, knee braces and of course helmets. While no helmet or safety gear is perfect, we never see players without helmets. They don’t argue that a helmet is hot, constricting or limiting. Imagine the speed boost a quarterback might gain or the extra vision in their periphery from not wearing a helmet.

Why don’t we see players without helmets? Because who wants to put their head on the line against James Harrison, Brian Urlacher or, the ever popular, Ray Lewis. No one is willing to risk their life against some of the most physically tuned machines in the game, but everyday we see people taking risks with their lives on motorcycles. Although it may not be aesthetically pleasing, the simple truth is

In 2000, the FL legislature repealed its motorcycle helmet law, requiring all motorcycle riders to wear helmets. Some bikers see this as an appreciation of a person’s right to choose versus the rights of the government to infringe on personal freedoms. However, if we look at it from this perspective, why would you want to match-up your head versus concrete? Concrete had millions of years to become a hard substance. In a motorcycle crash your head, while no slouch in the hardness department, isn’t close to the toughness of rock.

Not every motorcycle ride is going to end in a crash or collision. However, using this as an excuse not to wear a helmet is similar to saying that, “The quarterback isn’t going to get sacked on every play.” Just because it isn’t going to happen this play, does not mean he should play without a helmet. There are a lot of unnecessary risks that we take in life, however riding without a helmet should not be one of them.

We truly want people to enjoy their lives and motorcycles in a safe manner. We can only encourage best practices and hope that an accidents do not occur. However, if one does occur and you are the victim of a Tampa motorcycle accident, the Dolman Law Group is here to help.