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Comment by AluminiumPoint | Hacker News Reader

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AluminiumPoint

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!

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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.

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