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Comment by njarboe | Hacker News Reader

Many people ride motorcycles for pleasure in America. Motorcycles are a dangerous mode of transportation (more than cars, buses, etc.), even if you wear a helmet. If you are going for maximum pleasure/risk then, if the pleasure is much higher without a helmet, it is rational to not wear one, if you are riding for pleasure.

Commuting on a motorcycle, you should wear a helmet. Pleasure ride on the weekends, maybe not. Let the person make the decision. Seems good to me. America.

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Absolutely insane, it is an irrational risk NOT to wear a helmet. Here are some cdc facts:

* Helmets saved an estimated 1,772 lives in 2015.

* If all motorcyclists would have worn helmets in 2015, 740 more could have been saved.

* Helmets reduce the risk of death by 37%.

* Helmets reduce the risk of head injury by 69%

https://www.cdc.gov/motorvehiclesafety/mc/index.html

Wear your helmet. Do it for yourself and your family, and never tell anyone NOT to wear a helmet. Seriously!

It is insane to ride a motorcycle. Once you decide that you want to risk riding a motorcycle for pleasure, maybe the increased pleasure of not wearing a helmet is worth it. Why would you ride a motorcycle at all for pleasure, if your philosophy of life is safety first?

Because safety and pleasure are not mutually exclusive. If your question was valid, skydivers wouldn't use parachutes and skiers would wear shorts and tank tops.

Just because one wants to enjoy a risky activity doesn't mean one has no common sense or self-preservation instinct.

Free climbers, astronauts and political dissidents must also be insane, and not understand this, either? Or their utility function is simply maximized at a place where yours is not.

I wouldn't smoke, ride without a helmet, etc, but who am I to say you are wrong for doing so? There are many people who would not sign up for a trip to Mars, but I would. Who are they to tell me I am wrong for a wanting this?

> "Free climbers, astronauts and political dissidents must also be insane"

Wait, when did I accuse anyone of insanity?

> "I wouldn't smoke, ride without a helmet, etc, but who am I to say you are wrong for doing so?"

I never said anyone was wrong for anything. I think you meant to reply to person I replied to above; you and I seem to agree more or less.

It's just insane to ride a motorcycle in the more populated areas of the US - with or without a helmet. A friend of mine works in a skilled nursing facility. Most of the younger males who end up there are because motorcycles. While wearing helmets saved their lives, many of them will be disabled in some way the rest of their lives.

I’ve been to a couple of motorcycle accidents (I worked as an ambulance driver), and I was surprised how little they got hurt. Most people here only drive with full protective gear, and it helps a lot.

Kids driving on mopeds, on the other hand, is a different story. Even though they only drive at low speeds, they get hurt really badly even in minor accidents because they don’t wear protective clothing.

Yes, motorcycling is dangerous, but your clothes make a huge difference.

Mopeds with people riding with flip flops or sandals. Shutter.

I agree. I have been in a pretty serious motorcycle "accident". Broke my wrist and banged up my ankle pretty bad. Full helmet (with a big scrape on it where I hit the ground), leather jacket (again, nice scrape on the back), jeans, and high boots. Glad I was wearing them. But I have ridden without a helmet (legal in NM at the time) a few times when the weather was right and I'm on a shortish, easy joy ride. Worth the risk for me in those few instances. It is also great to be able to give someone else a short ride on a whim and let them wear your helmet, while you go without. Not a big plus for me to live in a place where everything that the majority thinks is imprudent is illegal.

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