Judge Touts Helmet Law

Posted on March 13, 2008 by Tim Titolo

A Judge in Ontario ruled that motorcycle helmet laws trump religious freedom.  Mr. Badesha, a practicing Sikh, and the human rights commission maintain the helmet law discriminates against Sikhs because their religion obliges them to cover their long hair with nothing more than a turban.

Part of the lawsuit involved testing whether the Turbans maintain themselves at high rates of speed.  The court was told earlier that Mr. Badesha raced a motorcycle around an Ontario speedway to test whether turbans unravel at high speeds.

The bizarre image of Mr. Badesha's experiment last year -- conducted under the auspices of the Ontario Human Rights Commission -- was evoked during his constitutional challenge to a law that forces motorcycle riders to wear a helmet.

Judge Blacklock was told that, in order to disprove a Crown theory that turbans unravel at high speed and cause accidents, Mr. Badesha drove around Cayuga Speedway at 110 kilometres an hour.

His turban held fast.

Nonetheless, the Turban was trumped by the Helmet in the name of public safety.





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Bicycle Injuries

Posted on October 18, 2007 by Tim Titolo

To follow up yesterday's post,  Reuters published an artice revealing the number injuries sustained by kids falling off bikes.  I commented yesterday on how in days of (my) youth, helmets were never worn and how the times have changed to make helmets fashionable apparel.  Read the full story here.

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Wear a Helmet!

Posted on September 20, 2007 by Tim Titolo

Motorcyle deaths have doubled during the last 10 years and states are grappling with safety helmet laws.

As motorcycle riding has become more popular, motorcycle deaths have more than doubled since 1997. In 2006, motorcycle deaths increased for the ninth straight year, to 4,810 motorcycle deaths, compared with 4,576 in 2005.

The National Transportation Safety Board unanimously approved Motorcycle safety recommendations which historically pit motorcycle rights activists against consumer safety organizations.  The issue, say those involved, is more education.

Currently  8 states have no helmet laws on the books.  Part of the NTSB recommendations was to provide data on motorcycle deaths and injuries.  Hopefully states will enforce the recommendations for using helmets and the public will be more knowledgeable about the risks of not using them.

To read the full article click here.

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