To Avert Liability, Washington Town Drops Helmet Laws – NYTimes.com.
Is it really better not to have laws to make bicyclists wear helmets? I must admit, I’m in two minds about it. There certainly are arguments for and against it. Btw, that’s a controversial discussion in my native Germany, too, with, strangely as it seems, the ADFC [General German Bicyclists' Club] campaigning against the law. Their argument: fining bicyclists for not wearing a helmet might reduce the number of people who use bicycles, especially for commuting.
Pit, Though I refuse to ride with anyone not wearing a helmet, the only reason I can see for it to be the business of government is that government has seized the power to take my earnings from me to use to pay for the medical care for some fool who refuses to wear a helmet and ends up on government healthcare as a vegetable for 40 years.
Remove Medicaid and ObamaCare and I see it as a personal choice in which stupidity cannot really be outlawed.
Ride organizers have every right to require helmets, or fur coats for that matter, for participants. Government is just to intrusive already and should stop trying to outlaw stupidity or risk.