I think from a health safety standard there are a lot more people riding cars than motorcycles so there is a greater focus on regulation of cars than motorcycles.
I think there is plenty of regulation relating to motorcycles. It's just that a helmet is probably the only thing they can regulate unless they ban motorcycles totally. Making a motorcycle rider wear a belt is stupid. So basically this is a silly question. It's a matter of regulating what is safest for that particular mode of transportation. A belt for motorcycles don't make sense. It does for a car.
Sure, it's about money. It's about the fact that I don't want to pay for the emergency medical bills when you choose not to wear a safety belt and end up in major surgery, or on a ventilator, or one of the hundreds of other possible outcomes because you chose not to wear a safety belt. And maybe about saving lives too, and reducing the number of Americans dead on the highways.
I don't think its a silly question. If the goal is to maximize safety, why even legalize modes of transportation that are inherently very dangerous? There's definitely some inconsistency there, but I understand the practical reasons behind it.
It is a silly question because then the question should have been... why are motorcycles legal? Given that motorcycles ARE legal and aren't likely to go away anytime soon... then you regulate them the best you can given their limitations.
If I were king for a day I'd ban all those ridiculously loud motorcycles that boys who never grew up past adolescence substitute for their wee johnsons. Our neighbor has one and early every Saturday morning (you know, when people like to sleep in) he pulls it into his driveway and cranks it for about 5 minutes before taking off and waking the whole neighborhood. He does wear a helmet though, which is fortunate for him because otherwise I'd be tempted to walk out in my underwear and punch him. For me, the seatbelt argument is not about motorcycles, but, as someone else mentioned, school buses. Some buses now come with seatbelts, but all of them should. That's a no brainer.
You should ask him to remove the helmet because you need to ask him a question. When he takes it off, punch him. The real thing here is that politically it is not possible to ban motorcycles. You have to regulate the modes of transportation as well as possible in order to increase safety. The fact that we still have school buses that have no seat belts is mind boggling to me as well.
How could no one mention anything about trucks (any type), who in many states aren't required by law to wear a seat belt? Is it completely about safety or is about revenue as well? Given that some counties and cities are know abandoning red-light camera operations, because they aren't making enough revenue or as much as they once did. (Nice going big G, you should've known people were going to slow down or avoid that area all together after first periods). While, tail end accidents increased.
The reason we have a seatbelt law is not because it saves lives or that it is a source of revenue for the government. The reason we have to wear seatbelts is because of the insurance companies. The insurance companies are very powerful and have been a major proponent of the law. They lose money when people are injured in accidents. If it were about safety every school bus in America would have a seatbelt. Since buses are not involved in as many accidents as cars, it is OK for the children to die, because that does not effect the insurance companies bottom line.
cuz it's cheaper for insurance companies and govt to deal with dead person. In other words, if you survived in an accident, it could potentially cost more than just paying for his/her accident death insurance.
The rest of America should also follow New Mexico's tricycle helmet law. It is a TRAVESTY that millions of toddlers are riding their tricycles without the proper safety equipment. More legislation in order.
Bikes are so 20th century. Everyone should be forced to drive Segways and let the pure win blow across their faces.
Weird coincidence, but I just found out tonight that a friend of mine was in a car accident last night. She wasn't wearing her seatbelt and was ejected from the car as it flipped over.
