Choices

Wednesday, August 29th, 2007 at 1:30 pm by retrorider

The death of Shane Chapman is a tragedy. Like many motorcyclists, Shane left behind a wife and young children. One of those children, 10-year-old Emily, has decided to do something about it.

Shane Chapman was killed when a car pulled out in front of him. He was not wearing a helmet. Shane’s home state of Idaho does not require him to do so. Emily wants to change that. She has started a petition to change Idaho’s helmet law to require all riders to wear helmets.

It is easy to see how a 10 year old could draw the connection between her father’s death and the lack of a law requiring him to wear a helmet. She is still learning the concept of personal choice and responsibility.

Shane Chapman had a choice. He could choose to wear a helmet or he could choose not to. Instead, he let the state decide for him. There’s no law that said he had to wear a helmet, so he didn’t. 

As long as their are people like Shane, who place their faith in the state to tell them how to protect themselves, there will be broken-hearted 10-year-old girls, and adults who still think like 10-year-olds, trying to legislate their way further and further into our lives.

If Shane Chapman were alive today, I wonder if he would sign Emily’s petition.

7 Comments

Gotta say, this one is a tear jerker. I’ve got 3 kids myself.

JW

Comment by Joe Witherspoon | August 29th, 2007 5:17 pm | Permalink

It is indeed, Joe. I have two children myself, 11 and 19. Of course, they are the reasons why I choose to wear a helmet, and a riding jacket, and riding pants, and boots, etc. ATGATT. Depending on the circumstances it may not save me, but I know that I have increased my chances as much as I can.

Comment by Retrorider | August 29th, 2007 7:39 pm | Permalink

One could reasonably argue that it is irresponsible to ride at all when one has children at home (I do and I ride). I always teeter-totter on this issue. On one hand I feel bad for this guys kids, and a law would have likely saved his life, but I can also see the other side where people need to make their own choices - even when it is stupid. Maybe if you chose not to wear a helmet you should be required to have a license plate frame that says, “Donor bike - Supporting organ and tissue donation.”

Comment by SquidNey | August 30th, 2007 6:55 am | Permalink

A law may have made no difference at all. Only a percentage of motorcycle fatalities are due to head injuries, even in states that don’t require helmet use. The most common killers are blood loss and torso trauma (crushed chests).

Did anybody ask if Shane had any culpability in the accident? Was he speeding, drinking, did he have a valid license, was he driving recklessly? And even if the driver pulled out in front of him, did Shane predict the possibility, prepare to take evasive action and then follow through with an expertly trained and practiced attempt to avoid the situation. Or did he just plow straight into the car “assuming” it wouldn’t do something like that? It’s about personal responsibility people!

This type of incident is about so much more than helmet use!!! Even with helmet laws in every state, riders will die regularly. Especially in a country like ours, where the standards for getting an operator’s license (motorcycle or car) are laughable.

Death cannot be legislated away. No amount of protective equipment and safety devices will protect us in all situations. And sometimes we must just live with loss and pain instead of going on an ill-conceived crusade which is just an attempt to make ourselves feel better.

Rhino

Comment by Anonymous | August 30th, 2007 6:30 pm | Permalink

As a Brit here in he US this whole issue confuses me. There is much legislation around vehicle safety and of course there is legislation about wearing of seat belts. Why are helmets any different? It should be law to wear one. Here in Florida it gets hot but I still wear my lid and leathers, my 7 year old appreciates it. Personally I think the whole freedom excuse it just that a feeble excuse. It has nothing whatsoever to do with Freedom.

Comment by Andrew | August 31st, 2007 7:38 am | Permalink

Andrew,

It has everything to do with freedom. Do you want the goverment dictating every aspect of your life, or do you think you should be able to decide for yourself what risks you are willing to take. One reason we kicked you guys out of our country 230 years ago was so we wouldn’t have one person telling us all what to do, but we could decide for ourselves.

With each passing day, ALL governments will continue to try legislate everything we do. At least in this country we have an avenue to prevent or reverse that.

And even though it’s not obvious by my response, I wear a helmet everytime I ride. But I want the choice, I don’t want to be forced to!

If you ride a motorcycle and are truly concerned about your children’s future. You will do whatever you need to, to make sure you’re around for the duration. This includes many lifestyle choices other than just wearing a helmet.

Do you want the government telling you what to eat, how much to exercise, who you can have sex with, what neighborhood to live in, what recreational activities you can engage in? I bet not!

Seatbelt laws need to be repealed!

Rhino

Comment by Anonymous | August 31st, 2007 10:47 am | Permalink

The helmet law thing is a tough one. This is about ‘mission creep’ in my little world. Legislate helmets, then what’s next. The safety nazi’s do not deserve the right to legislate saftey for us.

On the flip-side, all minors must wear a helmet by law…and that is appropriate. But if someone can die for our country via the Armed Services, they should have the right to choose not to wear a helmet.

Comment by angrybob | August 31st, 2007 2:52 pm | Permalink

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