New Law Proposed: Kid Wears a Helmet or Parents Get Fined

http://www.chicagotalks.org/2010/03/11/child-bike-helmet-proposals-...

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Permalink Reply by Juan 2-3 or more mi. on March 12, 2010 at 4:27pm
Very lame idea. I never grew up with one. It would be tough to fine some peeps in the ghetto anyways.
Permalink Reply by Spencer "Thunderball" Thayer! on March 13, 2010 at 4:50am
Why 17? Is that a child? Seems arbitrary. The story mentions that the cutoff age is 14 why not 14? Also if this law where passed what is to keep legislation from applying the law to everyone?
Permalink Reply by Rev Al on March 14, 2010 at 4:52am
Yet Illinois doesn't require motorcycle riders to wear a helmet. If only the kids had a lobby.
Permalink Reply by Bryan D on March 14, 2010 at 6:52am
I'm confused. Are you guys all against wearing helmets? Or are you against the government enforcing it? Every cyclist should wear a helmet. The ones who don't are just stupid.
Permalink Reply by Liz W. Durham on March 14, 2010 at 8:25am
I make sure my children wear their helmets. For me, I would rather be safe than sorry when it comes to thinking of their safety and risk of head injury. If one of my children were to be involved in a bike accident and received a head injury the blame and fault would be mine if I did not do what I could have to help protect them - it is my responsibility as a parent.

That being said, I am NOT an advocate of a law requiring helmet wearing. I am rarely a fan of the "You must do it because it's the law" approach. This approach does not work very well! Pushing for mindless obedience makes no sense to me. I do like the points in the article about education being a key thing and of importance. People should have the right to make informed decisions and can only do so when information is made readily available.
Permalink Reply by Bryan D on March 14, 2010 at 9:00am
Liz W. Durham said:
People should have the right to make informed decisions and can only do so when information is made readily available.

This right here is exactly how it should be. I'm going to nominate you for congress. Or something.
Permalink Reply by heather s on March 14, 2010 at 9:51am
If I had kids, I would probably try to make them wear helmets. That said, I never wore a helmet as a child, and I feel confident saying that if my parents had tried to make me wear one, I would have taken it off the minute they walked away. Thankfully, we lived in a safe, low-traffic-speed area. I'd rather spend my efforts advocating for other kids to have that same privilege rather than legislating protective gear for an activity that is not fundamentally unsafe.
Permalink Reply by Michael Perz on March 14, 2010 at 1:22pm
I find it funny how many of the same people that would just as soon have every hard object in existence padded with bubble wrap also tend to be the most vocal opponents of childhood obesity.

Seriously though, how much more can people possibly make childhood suck these days?
Permalink Reply by Eric R on March 14, 2010 at 1:45pm
...but won't someone PLEASE think about the children!?... said Mrs. Lovejoy

Hamos and Silverstein are badge carrying members of the "What About the Children" Protesters. Sadowsky explained it perfectly that helmet laws don't reduce the number of accidents. In the long run helmet laws cause the number of bicyclists to go down. With all of that said, I wear a helmet 99% of the time when I ride.
Permalink Reply by Liz W. Durham on March 14, 2010 at 4:24pm
Reading all the comments and considering other things I have read has me wondering about the numbers of helmet wearing riders who are against helmet legislation. I think most of the riders I know are pro-helmet and anti-legislation. But maybe the folks I know are skewed.

It seems to me that legislators are really missing the boat when they think they need to make such laws. I don't know what it takes to get folks to understand that slapping down a silly law does not create change or safety or necessarily even compliance.

Are Hamos and Silverstein riders? Or connected to the biking community in any way other than political?
Permalink Reply by Tank-Ridin' Ryan on March 14, 2010 at 4:36pm
Liz W. Durham said:
Are Hamos and Silverstein riders? Or connected to the biking community in any way other than political?

I seriously doubt it on both counts. People who tend to want to save people from themselves are very seldom actually familiar with the reality of what they're trying to control.
Permalink Reply by Spencer "Thunderball" Thayer! on March 14, 2010 at 4:48pm
It seems to me that legislators are really missing the boat when they think they need to make such laws. I don't know what it takes to get folks to understand that slapping down a silly law does not create change or safety or necessarily even compliance.

"I suppose it is tempting, if the only tool you have is a hammer, to treat everything as if it were a nail."

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