Helmet Shmelmet

Last year the oh-so-intelligent "Powers That Be" in the State of Pennsylvania decided it was no longer necessary for adults who ride motorcycles to wear a helmet. Now, my evil alter-ego tells me that this is merely population control. Only stupid people would ride a motorcycle without a helmet, thus more stupid people will be killed or maimed and unable to procreate, thereby.....reducing the population of stupid people, right? Of course the American Motorcyclist Association applauded this decision and our great liberal Governor "Fast Eddy" for this decision. As a result, every village idiot and their sidekicks are now riding the highways, streets and back roads of Pennsylvania without helmets.

A couple of days ago, an acquaintance of mine who is a seemingly intelligent adult, implied that I was calling his intelligence into question (claims he has an I.Q. of 139....mine is 141, but who's counting?) when I suggested that riding his Harley without a helmet was irresponsible.

Here's my rant (which I give because I CAN!)... Wearing a helmet is not about YOU. As grown-ups, parents, responsible adults - we do a lot of things that might make us slightly uncomfortable because it makes sense. We wear a seatbelt, we drive safer, we take care of ourselves, we don't quit our job every time our employer aggravates us - why???? Because there are people who count on us. People who need us around, need us to provide for them and be there for them. This is not a "mom thing". Anyone with the most remote slice of responsibility, even in the absence of children should just KNOW BETTER. The problem is, they don't know better. Stupid abounds and unfortunately as a result, the government some times has to step in and force stupid people to do the right thing.

Does the government already interfere in our lives more than they should? I don't know. As long as stupid people keep breeding, we're going to have to have laws which require parents to strap their kids into child safety seats (ironically, I still see kids walking and jumping across the back seat of a car from time to time - not strapped in!) and requiring us to buckle up, vaccinate our children and yes, wear helmets. Another thing that amazes me is that most communities in the area I live require people to wear a helmet on a bicycle - even adults - but not on a 500 - 1400 lb motor vehicle that can move like a rocket. Like I said, stupid abounds.

I predict that the State of Pennsylvania will finish calculating their statistics some time around summer of 2006 and realize that the motorcycle related deaths resulting from head trauma have skyrocketed and have to say, "gee Eddy, maybe that wasn't such a good idea after all!". Much like the early 80's when the State of New York thought it might be fun if the drinking age was 19 years old. I think it only took them a year to calculate the hideous increase in DUI related deaths in drivers between 19-21.

I guess I said all that to say this......My apologies to all those bare-headed idiots who complain that the government does too much meddling in our private lives. Did you ever stop to think that perhaps if you weren't so stupid, the government could move on to bigger and better things?