Helmet Law Suicide
In 1992 California began requiring that motorcycle riders wear a helmet. Despondent, Gerald Marotta, 48, put on his helmet and shot himself. He left behind a note, "Now I can't ever ride again."
Attorney Wendy Lascher, who had challenged the law, said, "from what I heard about his note, I think the law did have something to do with his death, in that [riding without a helmet] apparently was his only outlet."
Attorney Wendy Lascher, who had challenged the law, said, "from what I heard about his note, I think the law did have something to do with his death, in that [riding without a helmet] apparently was his only outlet."
Los Angeles Times - Jan 10, 1992
Comments
Reminds me of the current threats from the confused trans folk - "Let us use the bathrooms and showers that we want and capitulate to our other demands or we'll kill ourselves." Once you appease that sort of threat, you are subject to blackmail forever. Just consider our spineless and clueless college administrators, who now have to provide crayons and play-dough to their snowflake students, along with palatial black and women studies facilities, which are racist and sexist, respectively.
Posted by RobK on 03/31/17 at 10:20 AM
Riding without a helmet is addictive, I'll grant you that. At a nominal temperature of 75F, bright sunshine and low humidity, the wind in your hair combines with the thrill of speed to release massive quantities of endorphins into your bloodstream. It is quite literally a form of drug addiction.
I keep the helmets from every motorcycle crash I've ever been in, (30 years worth and I ride like a banshee; it's more than one). Whenever I get the notion to go riding without a helmet on a gorgeous spring day, I pull one of those trashed helmets off the shelf and look closely at the deep gouges, the cracks, the dents, the ripped off shields... Then I put on my expensive helmet and I go riding.
Broken bones, stitches and deep bruises are just the price of riding sportbikes aggressively, one I happily pay. Dying in a crash doesn't worry me overmuch; I've lived a very full life. But the prospect of being turned into the mental equivalent of a stalk of celery absolutely terrifies me.
I keep the helmets from every motorcycle crash I've ever been in, (30 years worth and I ride like a banshee; it's more than one). Whenever I get the notion to go riding without a helmet on a gorgeous spring day, I pull one of those trashed helmets off the shelf and look closely at the deep gouges, the cracks, the dents, the ripped off shields... Then I put on my expensive helmet and I go riding.
Broken bones, stitches and deep bruises are just the price of riding sportbikes aggressively, one I happily pay. Dying in a crash doesn't worry me overmuch; I've lived a very full life. But the prospect of being turned into the mental equivalent of a stalk of celery absolutely terrifies me.
Posted by A Nonny Mouse on 03/31/17 at 11:21 AM
I was riding down the road at full throttle when a big bumble bee made a perfect kamikaze strike on my helmet visor. She left enough of her behind behind that I had to slow down and ride visor up until I could wash her off. I don't know what the bee would weigh, but imagine her stinger slamming into your forehead at 130MPH!
Riding around town I would prefer to go without.
Riding around town I would prefer to go without.
Posted by BMN on 03/31/17 at 12:54 PM
Yes, that would sting.
Posted by Skyte on 03/31/17 at 05:10 PM
I had an experience with a bee and a helmet that was a little different. I was going 45 on what amounted to a fast back-road, when I discovered that there was a bee sitting in the cracked open visor area on the top. I keep the visor cracked open a bit because otherwise I have a hard time breathing. The bee walked around the upper edge of my helmet, until I managed to get to where I could slow to about 15-20 near a stoplight, as there was no place to pull off where I was. I'm just grateful that I didn't try violently pushing it out of the helmet, as that could have been disastrous at that speed.
Posted by Alassirana on 04/01/17 at 05:04 PM
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Category: Death | Suicide | 1990s