https://time.com/5719424/cycling-helmets/
The recommendation was among several issued by the National Transportation Safety Board after a hearing Tuesday on bicycle safety. The agency says 857 bicyclists died in crashes with motor vehicles in the U.S. last year, a 6.3% increase over 2017. Bicycle deaths rose even though total road deaths fell 2.4%.
Maybe we should all stay in bed under the covers. That's probably the safest option. Let's make it illegal to breathe, while we're at it. That'll eliminate the dangers of excessive air pollution.
ReplyDeletewhy are you making fun of a Torah command?
ReplyDeleteWhich command?
ReplyDeleteTo guard ourselves?
I'm not against hemets. I wear a bicycle helmet when I ride. I recommend it to others. I got one when I was in college after my cousin told me he had one of those automatic gates at a parking lot come down on his head while riding and how his helmet saved him.
But...
1. Helmets have limited use. They prevent external head injuries. They protect the skull. They do NOT necessarily prevent a concussion during impact.
2. Millions upon millions of miles are ridden by bicycle riders each year. What study shows that helmets will prevent deaths in the less than 1000 deaths per year?
3. What evidence is there that legislating morality works? How many vehicle deaths are from people not wearing seatbelts? Isn't it the law to wear seatbelts?
4. Are people all suddenly going to start wearing helmets who don't already? So on a beautiful Fall day if I decide to ride a few miles on a clear clean park path I suddenly become a criminal because I decided to enjoy the ride without a helmet?
5. Legislating is easy. The harder job is education. THAT'S a Torah lesson. Moshe is called Moshe RABBEINU. Much of the Torah is about Moshe struggling to get people to KEEP the Torah. Better safety education will save way more lives than having cops pull kids over and lecture them.
6. And while we're legislating, why don't we make severe penalties for drivers who disrespect riders on the road? Why don't we build more bike lanes? Oh, we can't do that! The drivers won't re-elect legislators who make anti-car regulations! Oh, no, we can't do that, it'll cost money!! Let's stick with feelgood legislation forcing everyone to wear helmets!!!
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you are right - government should not try and protect its citizens
ReplyDeleteno more bans on smoking lead pollution no more seat belts
If I burn leaded gas, or blow smoke in someone's airspace, I'm infringing on them.
ReplyDeleteBut smoking itself is legal. That's my point. People have a choice to smoke or not to smoke. Let people choose to wear a helmet or not wear a helmet.
same for religious freedom and bigotry
ReplyDeleteAs a matter of fact, yes.
ReplyDeleteLaws protecting LGBTetc from discrimination are leading to a dangerous backlash. This is the way G-d made the world. The Generation of the Flood experienced it. Europe experienced it in WWII. The State of Israel and America and Western-style democracies in general need to change back nd quick or they will experience it.
Places like Iran and Nigeria seem to be holding strong.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/LGBT_rights_in_Nigeria