Today is devoted to motorcycles again (those who believe in helmets):
http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/columnists/14919246.htm
Roadshow: Helmet lovers unite! You have nothing to lose but good hairdo
By Gary Richards
Mercury News Staff Columnist
Q When I was 16, I was visiting friends in the Fresno area. A bunch of us kids were having a good time, doing whatever we could to keep from being bored. The owners of the farm had an all-terrain vehicle and an Odyssey quad vehicle. One of the rules was everyone had to wear helmets, period! I was not thrilled, as it mussed my hair and there was a certain someone I was trying to impress. I knew the rules though. If I wanted to ride, I had to wear a helmet. So I wore one reluctantly.
We got to racing around the farm as we were feeling rather bold. I was sure I could pass my pal, so I went around a tree but didn't see a 3-foot ditch. My front tire hit that ditch and flung me over the handlebars. I remember landing on my head and rolling my neck. I couldn't feel most of my body, though I could feel the weight of the ATV on top of me. I was having trouble breathing. I had temporary nerve impairment because of the impact and broke a bone in my neck, which still causes me problems.
But this is what I will never forget:
After I got out from under the bike and was carted to the house to be looked at, someone came in with my helmet. There was a large chunk missing from the helmet where my head hit a rock. I thought about my helmet and my rather hard head and realized there was no match. If I had not had the helmet on, I would have been dead on that farm in Fresno.
Trish McCauley
Los Gatos
A Today I turn it over to riders who appreciate California's helmet law.
Q I am recovering from a motorcycle accident in April. I was entering Interstate 280 from Southwest Expressway when I swerved to miss a car. I hit the soft dirt, lost control and went down. My old 1988 Harley flipped over and slid about 50 feet down the ramp. My helmet was thoroughly beat up with gravel, pavement scratches and dents. I broke my clavicle and some bones in my foot, but did not suffer any head injuries or lose consciousness. I was off work 10 weeks.
I also had an accident in the 1970s where I took out a barb-wire fence. Two strands of which wrapped themselves around my helmet and face shield, giving me a healthy respect for helmets. They are cheap insurance.
Ian Wigley
Morgan Hill
A Yes, they are.
Q I wore the beanie helmet for a couple of years. They offer a great panoramic view and you can communicate easily with your passenger. That's where the novelty wears off for me. Five years ago a drunk driver turned left in front of me and my passenger. The beanies protected us from having debilitating head injuries. I had two broken arms, one broken foot, a screwed-up right knee for life and have some numb teeth to this day. A full face helmet would have prevented facial injuries because I got beat up pretty bad. Riders who wear beanie helmets should switch to a full-face helmet. I wish I had one on the night we went down.
Jeff Vanderwerf
San Jose
A And another motorcyclist thankful for his helmet.
Q A car made a sudden U-turn as I approached and hit my rear tire, throwing me from my motorcycle. You know what saved me? My helmet. Police told me that if I did not have my helmet on, I would have been heading to a morgue. My helmet had a crack from front to back and several dents and scrape marks where it hit the asphalt.
Gene Kohara
San Jose
A Now, the emergency room view.
Q I worked in an intensive care unit at Good Samaritan Hospital before the helmet law passed and remember one Saturday night having to hold down a guy because he'd dumped his bike, broke his leg and gashed his head. We had to drill through his shin to pound in a pin for a traction device to keep his leg viable. Because he wasn't wearing a helmet and had suffered a laceration, we couldn't use morphine to deaden the pain of that very painful procedure. And, we couldn't take him to the operating room until we knew that he hadn't sustained a significant head injury. Both the morphine and the general anesthesia would mask head injury symptoms, and he could die without us seeing it coming. We closed the doors to the room, but the security guard in the parking lot told us she'd heard the screaming. Tell bikers protesting helmet laws to think on that.
Andy Hyslop
A I hope they do.
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Join Gary Richards today when he takes Roadshow online for a live question-and-answer session from noon to 1 p.m. at
www.mercurynews.com . Or contact him at mrroadshow@mercurynews .com or (408) 920-5335.
and i know i have said it before; if you do not wear a helmet, YOU ARE AN IDIOT! you still get the barf salute for riding though 
