Some Of Us Have The Freedom

Here in Pennsylvania, if you ride a motorcycle, you have the choice, according to law, whether or not to wear protective headgear to reduce the chances of serious or fatal injury if you are involved in a crash. (Not to mention to make an atrocious amount of noise!!) However if you drive or ride in an automobile, van, SUV, pickup or commercial truck, the law does not afford you the same choice when it comes to seat belts. A recent news story indicated that a study has shown that head trauma resulting in injury or death has increased over the years since wearing helmets has become optional for motorcyclists. As some have opined in the local newspaper, duh!...fewer helmets, more injuries and deaths. Other studies have indicated that someone wearing seat belts are more likely to survive a crash than someone who is not. The issue here is one of both personal safety and personal freedom. Looking at it from a personal freedom viewpoint, we should all be free to decide for ourselves whether or not to wear a helmet or to use seat belts. So why is it that one group, the motorcyclists, is free to make that decision for themselves while another group has the decision made for them by the government? From a safety standpoint, it would make sense for motorcyclists to wear helmets and for drivers and passengers in automobiles to wear seat belts, no matter what the law says. So why do we need to have a law? Oh yes, because a lot of people don't have any common sense. But why the different treatment for different vehicles? Either require both helmets and seat belts, or neither. The current laws make no sense to me.

So Sayeth The Shack