Do we have too many laws?

[Spidubic]

On CD989 they are talking about bike helmets and making them mandatory for those over 18.
Growler posted this:

i realize people,to be safer,should wear a helmet.
but the problem is that they should be taught the rules of the road first !
as soon as you say it is safe riding with a helmet people think that they can then do whatever they want because they are safe !
they are obeying the law !
just like in football,they have to wear a helmet, so they are safe !
but now they have found that they are still getting concusions, and dying earlier than what is normal! even though they were obeying the rules !
so they might still get hurt riding without a helmet, so why tell them they are safe now that they are wearing it ?
and why make it a law that we already have enough of ?

The question is are there too many laws? Should we just let people do what they want and hope they use common sense? He is right is the fact football players wear helmets and still get hurt. The adjusted to the safety the helmet offered and hit harder which has negated the safety a helmet offered. Would players have been safer if they were still wearing leather helmets? Another good question. Look at the size of players today compared to even 20 years ago. They are bigger, faster, stronger. They train even more to build up the muscles needed to compete which leads to faster and harder hits. They are outpacing technology. IF we make riders wear helmets will they assume they can take bigger risks? Some will thinking the helmet will protect them. And it might. Or not. At what point should we step back and let people do as they please? Seat belts save lives, should we change our stance and let people not wear them? Helmets on motorcycles, same thing. If every person who set foot on the road was a good responsible driver then yeah maybe we could get away with less laws. But sadly not all drivers are good or responsible.

Dang, that got long winded. Bottom line is do we need more laws or less? And why? What would you change?

[Joe Jakub]

Yes I believe we have too many laws.

Where I draw the line is when it comes to who it effects. I feel that laws should be only for the protection of others not for one self, except for the work place because in the work place the the employer is subject to the effects of an accident too.

In short no I don't think there should be a law mandating the wearing of helmets for adults because adults should have the ability to make that decision for themselves.
Yes we should change the seat belt law as well for adults.

There is enough laws that aren't being enforced now (especially labour laws) I would like to see less laws and better enforcement on the ones we have already.

As a side note... if they do choose to make helmets law, it sure will be interesting to see how they deal with the migrant workers.

[Spidubic]

In short no I don't think there should be a law mandating the wearing of helmets for adults because adults should have the ability to make that decision for themselves.
Yes we should change the seat belt law as well for adults.

Now lets throw a monkey wrench into that. Suppose they do as you say and remove laws like helmet wearing on bikes and seat belts in cars for adults. But the caveat is if you are involved in an accident you pay all your medical bills. No health care. Would this change anything. After all you are the adult and have chosen to forgo the safety equipment offered.

[Joe Jakub]

Only if the cause of the injuries is as a result of not wearing protective gear... but I could live with that. It might be a self regulating law then.

[Spidubic]

I think it likely would be too hard to actually make work. Too many cases would end up in court to decide who did what. I blame lawyers for all the added laws. Nowadays any little incident has people jumping on the lawsuit band wagon. Too many frivolous lawsuits for my taste. So more laws to try and cover all the bases.

[Spidubic]

Of course this leads to my other question. Why is it bicyclers and motorcyclists seem so against helmets?

[Joe Jakub]

Comfort is one reason, and freedom to make one's own choice is another reason.

It isn't like these actions really endanger anyone but themselves, so let them decide as adults should be able to.

[Joe Jakub]

How much regulation is too much regulation? Should people be allowed to make decisions on their own? People are told to lock their cars & not keep valuables in them but time and time again it happens. Should we make a law to prevent this?

We have to draw the line some where and I say it should be drawn between where people are only a danger to themselves and people are a danger to others.

[Spidubic]

I don't ride a motorcycle but I can see how the full helmet would be a little uncomfortable. On a bicycle I don't find the helmet that bad. More dorky looking than anything.

It isn't like these actions really endanger anyone but themselves, so let them decide as adults should be able to.

True, they don't endanger but they do have consequences that affect others which I would hope the rider takes into consideration. Insurance. Suppose in my scenario where a rider declines a helmet and is killed in a crash where it was his fault. He would or his spouse would be responsible for paying his medical bills and funeral costs. But also the question of insurance payout comes to mind. He choose the risk of not wearing a helmet so should the insurance company be required to payout? If we are going all the way with adult choices then I would say he forfeit his insurance. Unless it is stated in there he could ride without a helmet.

[Joe Jakub]

So where do you draw the line?

[Spidubic]

How much regulation is too much regulation? Should people be allowed to make decisions on their own? People are told to lock their cars & not keep valuables in them but time and time again it happens. Should we make a law to prevent this?

We have to draw the line some where and I say it should be drawn between where people are only a danger to themselves and people are a danger to others.

Perhaps this is why the population is growing so fast. Survival of the fittest and only the strong survive are being prevented from doing their job. Let adults do what they wish which I am sure will result in an sharp increase in deaths and thus put a check and balance on our population increase. We are letting too many people with no common sense continue to live.

[Spidubic]

So where do you draw the line?

I agree with your statement that if it only affects the person then let them do as they wish. They want to ride without a helmet the go ahead. They are adults, they know the risks. I also think at that point if they are in an accident they caused they forfeit the right to free medicine. As for insurance you either forfeit it or pay and extra charge to insure payment is made if you die while riding without a helmet. The question becomes figuring out what only affects them. Helmet on a bike, sure. Seatbelt in a car, not so sure. What if you are thrown from the vehicle into the path of another car and they swerve into a hydro pole to avoid you and are killed?

[Joe Jakub]

The chance of the scenario that you present with the seatbelt is one in a million, and realistically we can't regulate everything. There is always going to be stupid people doing stupid things and we can't possibly regulate them all. That is why we have lawsuits.

[growler]

and i'm just a bit late getting in to this,but i'm here now!
people are still being killed, whether wearing seat belts or not !
and recently we have added air bags into the cars, and even with them and seatbelts people are being killed !
and they never tell you how many that had accidents that were wearing seatbelts that lived through the accident that will never fully recover from their injurys !
so it looks like they knew they might get hurt driving a car, so should we stop giving them ohip, or any other insurance ??
and maybe the ones that got killed should have their family's denied their life insurance policy's, wearing a belt or not. theyknew there was the risk of being killed before they got into the car/truck !
and if you check it out about helmets in austrailia where the law was passed several years ago that everyone had to wear a helmet, about 40% of the riders quit riding, but then unfit peoples numbers shot up and unfit peoples conditions are now a very high amount of people that are dying.
and even with there being less riders now than before, bicycle riders injury's and deaths are still as high as before the law was put in place.
but they are producing a lot less bikes so more former bike builders got to quit working !
so they can now get fat,lazy, and die !

[Spidubic]

Statistics, gotta love them. So are helmets, seat belts, and airbags saving more lives or not? And if there is a chance you live by wearing a helmet then isn't it wise to wear one? Is it vanity, ego, something else that gets people all up in a know when asked to wear a helmet or use a seat belt?

[growler]

asking or reccomending it is great but making it a law is just another way of stealing freedoms

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