Alberta to allow turban-wearing Sikhs right to ride motorcycles without helmets | Page 3 | GTAMotorcycle.com

Alberta to allow turban-wearing Sikhs right to ride motorcycles without helmets

Pandering to vocal minorities and extremist groups is practically a provincial tradition at this point (separate school systems, for instance). The insurance cartels will yawn, ratchet up policy premiums and let the politicians do their jazz hands routine. It's not deja-vu when it *has* happened before, right? If the increase in brain injuries is significant enough, then it might spur new medical research which could benefit us all one day.
 
A wise man once said capitalism is a series of voluntary transactions for goods/services. Insurance is inherently communistic in nature.
 
Not your circus, not your monkeys
 
This is not fair for the Pastafarians!

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In Florida right now, the no helmet law is lovely.

Eye protection mandatory, as is proof of valid health insurance. Otherwise you gotta wear a bucket.
 
I initially looked at this from the perspective of "Fine, then cut their socialized healthcare coverage", like many others.

But then, as has also happened here, people bring up other vices that cost our healthcare system lots of money. Smoking. Drinking. Being fat. Extreme sports. Being a retard and eating Tide Pods.

All of those are choices, but people get covered for the results of those too. Many here screaming that riding without a lid should yield no healthcare coverage are very likely to fall into one of those other bins.

So, until we cut socialized medicine for anyone and everyone who self-inflicts their injury via one method or another (and really, what does that leave left?) then there's a very strong argument to be made that we can't do the same in this situation either.

But I do agree that insurance companies should charge extra for making the choice of no helmet, for once they're out of the socialized healthcare system and have returned home where their brain injury requires 24/7/365 care, the premiums paid that will then cover them for the rest of their lives should reflect that choice the same as how insurance for smokers, alcoholics, fat people, and those who partake in extreme sports costs more.
 
I would really like to hear from a member of the Sikh community on this.
 
All the sikhs I know that ride(at least in canada) are usually the ones that cut their hair a long time ago, and just wear helmets, as safety/common sense/law requires.
 
Personally I would never jump on a motorcycle without a helmet. I'm not a big believer in a nanny state, I also believe one should have a choice as to whether they do or don't wear a helmet.

More bicycle riders and snow skiers are treated for helmet preventable head injuries each year - their medical treatment is a larger burden on society than are motorcycle riders yet they retain their choice.
 
Personally I would never jump on a motorcycle without a helmet. I'm not a big believer in a nanny state, I also believe one should have a choice as to whether they do or don't wear a helmet.

As long as these folks aren't included in the stats used to determine insurance rates, that's cool. There needs to be a wholly separate category for motorcyclists that choose to ride without helmets and insurance rates set accordingly.
 
More bicycle riders and snow skiers are treated for helmet preventable head injuries each year - their medical treatment is a larger burden on society than are motorcycle riders yet they retain their choice.

really? I bicycle and ski, I wouldn't have thought that. Where'd you find that data?
 
In Florida right now, the no helmet law is lovely.

Eye protection mandatory, as is proof of valid health insurance. Otherwise you gotta wear a bucket.

I hope you realize helmet laws in Ontario(OHIP) don't change for you even if you are in a state that allows no helmet riding.
 
I hope you realize helmet laws in Ontario(OHIP) don't change for you even if you are in a state that allows no helmet riding.

Not quite understanding this?
 
Alberta has a high population of Sikhs.This move could be due to an upcoming election.
 
I have two kids living in Alberta, my daughter says not a big deal the riding season in Ft Mac is only 10 days long anyway.
 
I used to race at Mission with a friend who was Sikh. He wore a patka under his helmet which - no offence to any Sikhs on the board - was more like a do-rag. He claimed that covered all the tenets of his faith.

He thought BC's exemption for Sikhs was pretty dumb as it leaves the rider very vulnerable.

I remember reading a report a few years ago from the AMA that medical costs for riders involved in serious accidents and didn't wear helmets was, on average, much lower. The main reason was that they typically didn't survive the initial impact, or died shortly afterwards. I'll see if I can find it again.

To each their own own I guess. I wouldn't feel comfortable not wearing a helmet. I have an ARAI that is cracked the whole way up the back right from a slow fall at Mission. The helmet did its job but that could have been my skull.
 
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In Florida right now, the no helmet law is lovely.

Eye protection mandatory, as is proof of valid health insurance. Otherwise you gotta wear a bucket.

I would like to hear the viewpoint of an actuary, the person who does the cost analysis of a helmet vs no helmet rider.

Dead is dead but veggie life is expensive. Vehicle insurance payouts won't be affected but could impact life insurance coverage or rates.

My life insurance doesn't cover me if I die in a plane crash when the flight isn't on a chartered airline. Could the life insurance industry impose similar restrictions for riding without a helmet or even just riding?

Vehicle insurance wants you to die and life insurance wants you to live, even if it's as a turnip.

Does the squid think he's invincible because he's wearing a $1000 lid?

Does a bare head ride more cautiously?

The actuary's job isn't simple. Helmet or not but define helmet. A stupid beanie would protect my bald spot but is still a helmet.

In states where helmets are optional what percent use them? What are the accident stats and injury stats?

I'm not sure how things work here but assume OHIP takes care of you until you're out of the hospital and then accident benefits from the insurers take over. The pablum and diaper crowd will need a lot of money. A million dollars won't go far.

In the USA the hospitals have to treat you until cured. The for profit ones consider you cured if they can get you to stand. Then they shove you into a cab with fare to get you to a charity drop in centre.

What would you do if your kid became a veggie? Write off your life to home care but what about after you die?

This is getting depressing.
 

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