Seatbelt_and_Helmet_Laws

Governments role should protect us from each other, not from ourselves. Helmet laws are unreasonable because they take away our choice to decide for ourselves what we feel is safe. Seatbelts help protect people other than the driver. Helmet laws have no benefit to anyone other than the user. I feel that we as human beings should have control over our own safety. When a law has to do with another person’s safety the government should do all they can to make sure that the innocent are protected at all times. “Seatbelts prevent the driver from being thrown into a passenger during a crash, crushing a passenger, and help the driver keep control of the vehicle in a crash rather than being thrown from the driver's seat.” Helmet use among U.S cyclists were nearly non-existent before the 1990's. No one wore helmets in the 80's and before but when helmet use went up so did head injuries. Making cyclists wear helmets when motor cyclists don't have to makes no sense. As Amy Babich said, "Our message then is, "If you don't want to ride a bicycle without a helmet, ride a motorcycle instead." Helmets can promote injuries in different ways. A helmet can make the cyclists head larger, which can make a cyclists more likely to fall. Defense lawyers love helmet laws because they can shift the blame to the cyclist for dying even if the motorist was clearly at fault and even if the cyclist would have died even if she'd been wearing a helmet. A motorist who ran a red light and killed cyclist Ben Clough in 1998 didn't even get a traffic ticket. Another motorist who was incredibly drunk when she killed one cyclist and injured another safely avoided any conviction. I'm sure that wearing a seatbelt or a helmet is safer. But so is maintaining body weight and being healthy. “There are no laws requiring us to eat healthy and exercise every day. If the reason for seatbelt laws is that they are for our own good, the same argument can be made about things like exercise and having a healthy lifestyle.” It will be understandable for an airline to require seat belt use on a commercial flight, you are, after all, riding on their airplane, if you get bounced out of your seat you might cause injury to others, or endanger the aircraft. The government is no wiser or more righteous than each of us individually. Our personal choice is none of the government's business like my diet, exercise habits, and other personal choices. What made this country so unique was that it enshrined in its governing principles the idea that people should be left to live their lives the way they please. Everyone in this society makes decisions every day that has risks but the government cannot dictate all of our lives. I believe that it is only when a person's conduct or actions threaten the well being of others did the state have any cause to interfere. If helmet saves lives, we should helmet motorists, since far more motorists die from head injuries than cyclists. We don't automatically outlaw everything that saves lives. Banning meat consumption would save lives, but that's not sufficient grounds for making it illegal. Even if helmets save lives, there are other, better ways to make cycling safer, such as a three-foot passing rule and car-free bike lanes. Countries with the most helmeted cyclists also have the highest rate of cycling head injuries. Months before the Council considered the adult helmet law in 2006, it voted 5-2 to allow cars to park in bike lanes. The City should not instruct cyclists on how to be safe when it's giving bike lanes to cars. The general public should begin start thinking long and hard about whether they want to live in a society that shares risks, or a society that attempts to eliminate all risks through the elimination of personal freedoms and individual discretion. We come to this world alone and we will leave alone. No one is perfect but we as humans should have control over our own lives. Most of us have to endure the instructions and orders of our parents and guidance’s until the age of 18. Why should the government do this to us for the rest of our lives.