Rick Johnson
By that logic any restriction then becomes justified - outlawing
smoking, banning fattening foods, eliminating the driving of
automobiles and so on. I'm sure you have plenty of studies that show
how much all those activities result in higher insurance costs. I'd
even go so far as to challenge you to provide reputable studies showing
not just the costs related to head injuries in our latest target group
but their effect relative to other everyday activities.
To apply your logic consistently we would have to require helmets while
walking on snow or ice, getting in and out of the bath tub and while
participating in a myriad of other simple activities. Since that is not
the case what we have here is simply singling out a high profile group
and applying a discriminatory policy.
Feel free to express your opinion but I have little patience for red
herring arguments.
Rick
Robert Burney wrote:
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Rick,
I would agree with you IF
society did not pick up the
tab for those who survive their own decisions. We all pay higher
medical
insurance costs for those who decide to go without health insurance.
If
the rider is not killed for lack of a helmet, all our health insurance
rates go
up for the extra medical care required for the individual. This is
true
whether or not that rider has his own health insurance.
If he/she does not have
that insurance, all of us who
do will pay even more for our own insurance.
If that rider is
crippled, Social Security disability
insurance will pay, which costs society even more.
In short, I am all in
favor of self determination so
long as the individual is not impacting others by their own decision.
That is rarely the case.
Robert Burney, JD
President
RE Burney &
Associates, Inc.
8285 SW Nimbus Ave.,
Suite 124
Beaverton, OR
97008
Brokerage of Life
Insurance, Annuities,
Long Term Care and
Disability Insurance.
Office: 503-608-7813
Cell: 503-502-4289
EFax: 503-210-1595
Email: robert@reburney.com
From:
obra-bounces@list.obra.org
[mailto:obra-bounces@list.obra.org] On
Behalf
Of Rick Johnson
Sent: Tuesday,
February 26, 2008
4:44 PM
To: C M
Cc: OBRA List
Subject: Re: [OBRA
Chat] Helmets
will be mandatory in Vancouver,
WA
Please speak for yourself
only. I'm in favor of
letting the individual decide how valuable their brains are. If someone
doesn't
think their gray matter is worth protecting I say let nature take it's
course.
Rick
C M wrote:
I think
it's safe to say
that most, if not all, of us in OBRA land are strongly in favor of
wearing
helemts and requiring others to do the same. The question is how do we
get the word out to the policy makers ?
On
2/26/08, Mark J. Ginsberg
<markjginsberg@yahoo.com>
wrote:
Michael,
I don't disagree, but folks who study these things have reached these
conclusions.
as for kids and helmets, in Oregon
it is 16 and under. ors 814.488, for those under 11 the adult gets the
ticket,
for those over 11, the kid gets the ticket.
Mark
Michael
Benno <mbenno@yahoo.com> wrote:
Mark, that is a good
point if the cost of a helmet
was significant. However I would argue that point as being a barrier to
owning
a helmet.
New helmets are very
affordable (under $40) and used
helmets are essentially free. I did a quick scan of craigslist and
found
several helmets ranging in price from Free to $20 on the first page
alone.
At what price were you thinking helmets would no longer be a barrier?
Case in point: I had 4
excess helmets in my basement. These
are all top line race helmets (Giro, Bell, Lima, Lazer) with all with
retail
prices over $90. I tried to sell them in craigslist for $10 each. No
bites! I
posted them on craigslist for free, again no bites! I put them on my
curb and
was only able to get rid of one (I live on a bike route).
Personally I think price
is not a significant
resitance to obtaining them. Let me remind you all that kids under 10
are
required to have helmets for bikes, skateboards, scooters. So why not
adults?
while it is not my personal
view, the resistance to
requiring helmets, is that for those who can't afford much, adding an
additional requirement makes biking that much harder, and there are
studies
that show that measurable amounts of people won't bike if they must
wear a
helmet.
so while I wear my helmet religiously, for a person who is just getting
started
(who maybe needs a helmet the most), to force them to wear a helmet can
mean
they don't even start riding a bike.
Mark
Michael
Benno <mbenno@yahoo.com>
wrote:
Personally, I applaud
this effort and wish PDX would
step up, as a leader in the bicycle movement, and do the same. I'm not
a safety
natzi or anything, but I just don't see the need to not require
helmets. I
have three I'd be willing to donate to the cause.
----- Original Message
----
From: "jon.ragsdale@comcast.net" <jon.ragsdale@comcast.net>
To: obra@list.obra.org
Sent: Tuesday, February 26, 2008 2:40:49 PM
Subject: [OBRA Chat] Helmets will be mandatory in Vancouver, WA
There is a story on the front
page of www.kgw.com
reporting that Vancouver
has enacted a rule that in 30 days all cyclists will be required to
wear
helmets. Full story: http://www.kgw.com/news-local/stories/kgw_022608_news_vancouver_helmet_law_bicycle.2edad9de.html
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Mark J. Ginsberg
Attorney At Law
1216 SE Belmont St.
Portland, OR 97214
(503) 542-3000
Fax (503) 233-6874
markjginsberg@yahoo.com
www.bikesafetylaw.com
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Belmont St.
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(503) 542-3000
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markjginsberg@yahoo.com
www.bikesafetylaw.com
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