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Old 31st March 2010, 12:58   #76
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Warning :

Most of the safety rules are actually backed by insurance companies. For them a Life lost is a terrible liability. (If you have taken a comprehensive insurance, then yours and the third party lives are covered here).
Not surprisingly some of the biggest research labs on automobile saftey is either owned/driven/partnered by some of the biggest insurance companies.

If Im not wrong, some of the insurance companies mandate that the rider should be wearing a helmet at the time of the accident, if they are to be covered (I could be wrong on this one, I overheard this from someone).

From that perspective it makes sense to mandate the safety gears by insurance companies. Since for them you are an asset, and they will take appropriate measures to prevent (you as) an asset from becoming a liability.

Perhaps a discussion for another thread.. Lets carry on with the current discussion.
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Old 31st March 2010, 14:29   #77
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Raccoon View Post
I really don't want to start a debate, but why do so many people think its right for them to decide what others wear?
Simple.

Suppose, a rider dies in an accident where a helmet could have saved his life. The poor rider is no more but the other person involved in the accident will have to go through mental trauma of having caused a death (irrespective of whose fault it was) and also become a guilty party by default in the eyes of the local public and the law.

I want two wheeler riders to wear proper helmets not because i have a soft corner for them. Its only to save my own butt.

Same reason i want people to wear seat belts as well.
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Old 31st March 2010, 15:02   #78
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom View Post
Helmets save lives, when properly fitted and worn. I doubt that even the very best would take the weight of a lorry.
Very true. But yes, ONLY THE BEST and the best ones cost nothing less than 25K & sorry I cannot afford to experiment my Rs 900 worth Studds underneath a truck

Quote:
Originally Posted by prince_pervez View Post
A helmet cannot 100% save lives. I have reported an incident on the same thread a few years back where a teen lost her life and she was wearing a helmet. The rear tyre went over the helmet. The helmet was still on and the head was crushed inside. Ideally the rear tyre should have slipped over the helmet.
Very true. In this case, using RVM as regular habbit when riding/driving would've helped to some extent.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Raccoon View Post
but why do so many people think its right for them to decide what others wear? Let every head decide whether it wants the protection of a helmet and not have one imposed on it.
Very true. Unfortunately, the head is unable to think once it has been damaged, only when it survives, it is able to.

Quote:
Originally Posted by gururaj r View Post
An overcoat also helps you from scratches if you happen to fall down.
A simple overcoat may not be protective my friend, they're called riding gears. Click here to know more on

Last edited by aargee : 31st March 2010 at 15:03.
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Old 31st March 2010, 17:21   #79
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Originally Posted by straight6 View Post
the ones being sold on the street like vegetables by those 'bhaiyyas'. I can bend them and probably break them with my hand. Imagine how protective they will be in a crash!
they have started to make an appearance in this part too

can't its manufacturing be stopped?
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Old 31st March 2010, 18:40   #80
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I had a very different kind of an experience when I went helmet hunting. Walked into a pretty neat store who had a good collection of helmets. My eyes were wandering thru the shelves and there was customer who came to the store asking for a helmet.

Customer : Need a helmet.
Guy from the store : Is it for safety or just for the sake of the cops ?
Customer : Cops.

The dude hands over one of those hard hat types helmet and charges him 100 bucks or so. I looked at the chap from the store and he smiled back saying " I cant help Sir, its the people who need to know the real use of a helmet . It saves lives" .Definitely yes !!

I picked up a helmet for myself and walked away.
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Old 31st March 2010, 18:57   #81
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Quote:
I cant help Sir ...
I wonder how many people will die because he thinks like that!
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Old 31st March 2010, 19:13   #82
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom View Post
I wonder how many people will die because he thinks like that!
thad there is little the fella from the shop can do.After all its his bread and butter, he can only cater to his customers. I think it has to do more with the people and their safety concerns.
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Old 31st March 2010, 19:37   #83
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rjstyles69 View Post
Guy from the store : Is it for safety or just for the sake of the cops ?
The above question puzzles me. I am sure those 100 bucks helmets are illegal. I am not being perfectionist, but feel that by asking this question, the store guy is eliminating the minute chance of the customer buying a genuine helmet.
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Old 31st March 2010, 20:01   #84
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Guys, in relation to this thread will it possible to make a list of good helmets.

I mean i hear guys complaining about index, bhp helmets which actually cost along the lines of Rs.2000. If someone went to a shop and they showed them these helmets i guess many people who are looking for good helmets will buy them as it costs more than isi marked helmets like wrangler n stuff (with a psychological mindset that something that costs more should be good quality).

So i think it will be helpful if we made a list of good helmets, n also mention if their isi/dot/snell rated so that fellow tbhpians are able to buy themselves good helmets. We definitely are assured of the quality of helmets we get from abroad like kbc n stuff. So it'll be nice if people mentioned helmets available in the indian market in the range of maybe 1500-5000 rupees.
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Old 1st April 2010, 12:00   #85
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom View Post
...I doubt that even the very best would take the weight of a lorry.
Not arguing against your point in general, but i seem to remember a video years back of a double decker bus running over an F1 helmet - and it survived.

Quote:
Originally Posted by lobojames9 View Post
Guys, in relation to this thread will it possible to make a list of good helmets.
...
Please see this thread and continue the discussion there :

Which Helmet? (Tips on buying a good helmet in post #78)

cya
R

Last edited by Rehaan : 1st April 2010 at 12:16.
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Old 1st April 2010, 16:39   #86
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Quote:
Originally Posted by snaronikar View Post
Why even the cops on their bikes wears the helmets which is like "half-helmet". Similar to the hard hats. These people should themselves start wearng of the proper helmets. After seeing them, many people tend to buy these kind of helmets which I feel is neither useful nor safes the head during any eventuality.
Dude, in a day I see at least two cops with no helmets on them. Its not the helmet alone, they break rules. They think its their grand fathers road so that they can do anything and the helmet quality is so cheap(I have not felt it, can see it.)

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Old 1st April 2010, 17:53   #87
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Hi,

Just read all the posts starting Jan 2008. Its interesting where people have expressed their views about how the government should regulate, how cops should be more vigilent, outlawing roadside helmets and the last one about insurance companies being hand in glove with helmet manufacturers and regulatory authorities. While I agree with all of them except the insurance bit (i dont know if this is true or not so I cannot comment) should the rider not actually value his own life and consider buying a good helmet. It does not need to cost 25k and its a bit much to expect when most bikes sold cost just about double that figure. Decent helmets with ISI approval are avilable from 500-600 onwards. These provide adequate protection against most falls.

Whatever the rules are, I guess its upto us to decide how we want to follow them. If you think that you can take a chance with your life and those of your family then go ahead and buy a soup bowl for 100 bucks from the guy on the road.

Its about choice. Just make sure its the correct one.

Parik

PS: For a good, comfortable fit, I wear a skull cap and then wear the helmet. The hair does not get messed up either .
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Old 1st April 2010, 19:22   #88
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My Classmates used to laugh at me when I used to wear helmet to college even when it was no enforced and I was the only guy who used to wear it and many a times made jokes about it. All I told them was I love to ride and in case I crash, I want to be able to walk away from it and ride again. I have forced many of my friends to wear a helmet.

Many have argued that to wear or not to wear is ones personal choice and know the risks thus it must not be enforced , I have no counter argument to convince them.
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Old 1st April 2010, 19:31   #89
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Well I would like to share my experience. I have been riding for 10 years now but wasn't wearing helmet till the government made it compulsory some 4 years ago. I bought a MPA flash and I loved it. Then I thought how silly i was for not using it till now. And my love proved to be worthy when the helmet saved my head during crashes twice. Now I am getting a BELL soon.
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Old 1st April 2010, 20:15   #90
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Along with recommending a good helmet and its importance in saving head injuries, may I recommend all BHPians to counsel whoever they can on something equally critical?

REAR VIEW MIRRORS - and using them, especially before changing directions!

We have a whole bunch of bikes and scooters on the roads without even one rear-view mirror. Having no rear-view mirrors, yet wearing a helmet only constrains the rider's vision of what is coming behind / on the sides.

And, even without signaling, we can find their glorious riders cutting across lanes like they are the only ones on the road.

Imagine a four-wheeler on the right-most lane and a bike from the lane to its left cutting into the four-wheeler's lane. The four-wheeler's driver just about slotted into 2nd and pressed on the gas - and the two wheeler came way too close while cutting the four-wheeler out...

...and we can hear the two wheeler rider say "I was hit by a car from behind, thank god my helmet saved my life - the fracture on my leg will heal, but at least I am alive..!"

What does it take to educate them that a bit of prudence while changing lanes, having both the rear view mirrors on their rides, and using them for what they are there for, would have saved them from even that fracture?!

What if the four-wheeler was a tanker lorry, not a car? Will a helmet save the rider's life if the truck runs over his back, even if it is a pricey, highest quality make?

Last edited by ph03n!x : 1st April 2010 at 20:19.
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