Bikers Of America, Know Your Rights!

OFF THE WIRE
MINNESOTA:
https://www.abatemn.org/sites/abatemn.org/files/June%202010.pdf ABATE of MN newsletter... quite lengthy, but well worth the read... unable to post all 17 pages here. They were kind enough to put in my letter about helmets!
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http://www.duluthnewstribune.com/event/article/id/170785/group/Opinion/
Reader's view: Motorcycle helmets have the potential to harm By: Thomas V. Koehler, for the News Tribune
I have no condoling words for column writer David McGrath for the loss of his motorcycling friend (“Mandatory helmet laws can save Minnesotans’ lives,” May 28). He does not know me, and nothing I could say would ease his loss.
While I know that some severe injuries and some deaths might possibly be prevented by the use of motorcycle helmets, I want known the equally real possibility of unintended consequences of mandated helmet use.
Design criteria for motorcycle helmets embrace adequate protection to the head at impacts under about 35 mph. Depending on the specifics of the crash, the impact, and the helmet fit, there may well be no adequate protection at much lower speeds. It is also possible there may be some protection at higher speeds.
An unprotected head collides with the pavement, and then the brain collides with the interior of the skull. When a protected head collides with the pavement, the helmet hits first, absorbing some of the impact energy, but then the head collides with the interior of the helmet and then the brain collides with the interior of the skull.
The greater the protection afforded by the helmet, the heavier and bulkier the helmet becomes. The helmet weight and bulk produces increased stress on the cervical column from at least three factors. The weight alone produces stress. The increased wind resistance adds stress. The momentum — the tendency of the helmet (and head) to keep moving in a given direction when the bike and rider either stop or change direction — adds stress.
A helmeted rider with no accident may suffer significant stress injuries due solely to wearing a helmet. Crashed, helmeted riders are very likely to have well-preserved heads atop broken necks. Helmeted riders, feeling falsely protected, are very likely to ride beyond their capabilities, thinking the helmet will protect them.
Thomas V. Koehler
Two Harbors