Because when you aren't looking in front of you and take a corner at too high of a speed, this is what wil happen. No helmet. The fireman on site first with gloves was applying pressure to this kids forehead because as his entire scalp was cut just below his bangs and drooping over his eyes when he tried to sit up. He was talking at the scene, but things can change one the bleeding/swelling begins internally.
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There's no excuse for not wearing a Helmet. There are way too many deaths on Motorcycles as it is, why tempt fate and not wear a Helmet? Doesn't matter if you've been riding for 30 years, all it takes is someone else not paying attention. :-)
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Not being a biker, I have no opinion either way.
However, I did have four friends that all died in motorcycle accidents, one became a human eraser, one was dismembered, one was broken in many, many places and one of severe head wounds.
All four wearing their helmets.
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That's a good point, Carlos. Wearing a helmet doesn't guarantee safety. To be fair the same could be said about Seatbelts.
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been riding a motorcycle for 20 years and been in accident for 3 times...
helmet save my face from eating the tarmac...
still ride to work place every day in and out...
ride safe guys...u never know... better save than sorry...
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It's really more up to the people driving cars to always be looking at the road, look both ways twice, etc., you can wear all the gear on the bike in the world, if a car hits you it's going to hit you. Anything we can do a riders certainly helps. like not taking stupid chances, not pissing people in cars off, all that good stuff.
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Sigh. I don't think that Duane meant for this to become a thread about good / bad motorcyclists and good / bad behavior. I think that he was pointing out that a helmet may have (not would have) made a big difference in this case.

The bike was already down when the car was hit, at least from what I can tell from the picture; however, there are no pavement scrape marks at the bike or elsewhere in the pic as far as I can tell. Without a wider shot, it is difficult to make a call.

It is likely that this is a single vehicle accident wherein the result was a secondary collision with a car. The accident report might be well worth reading. The statistics on motorcycle accidents (you can find them on the NHTSA website) are overwhelmingly single vehicle accidents or accidents where the motorcyclist is at fault; e.g., apex too early, too hot and losing control. The largest car/motorcycle area where the motorcyclist is not at fault is where cars turn in front of an oncoming motorcycle; they misjudge the distance because they expect cars and "see" the motorcycle as being a car farther away, or they don't see the motorcycle because they are only expecting to "see" cars. The crash statistics for western Europe are most interesting. While I've only seen presentations on those statistics and not seen the raw data, it seems that incidents of cars not seeing motorcycles is substantially lower than here. Of course, the percentage of the population that rides either motorcycles or scooters is much higher as well. Yes, it is true that I used to be a technical reviewer for the NHTSA conferences on motorcycle safety.

As Adam said, some riders give motorcyclists a bad name / image. In the safety game, we tell motorcyclists to watch out when they see such behavior because the angry driver may not be able to take it out on the person who made them angry but they can take it out on you. You are the smallest thing on the freeway, so don't get an attitude.

Don't forget, every rider is an idiot on two wheels and every cager is a homicidal maniac. But I'd never stereotype.

At the end of the day, it is your job (car or bike) to be as safe as you can within the tolerances of the risks that you are willing to take. Sometimes that is not good enough, but being mindful can reduce those "sometimes".
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Sold my bike last year because too many people I know having wrecks caused by deer or other wildlife snd other drivers not paying attention. With three sons I didn't want to leave them without a dad. Not worth it to me.
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Let Darwin decide, but I would wear a helmet... Glasses-Goggles should be mandatory at a minimun.
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High-sided off my bike about 6 years ago wearing a full face helmet, thankfully, as otherwise my face would have been in the ground, probably a broken jaw at a minimum in addition to the concussion, broken arm and broken thumb I got. That was a single vehicle accident, going about 35 and landing in dirt/grass. Makes me glad I followed me own policy to wear the helmet or don't ride. Wish more people would do the same.
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Hard to believe I am saying this, but this echoes my sentiments exactly and my beloved Fatboy was sold yesterday.

The deciding factor was a coworker being put on life support after being hit by a tourist and hearing about his kids holding a bedside vigil.

He was wearing a helmet and they believe it saved his life, even though he has major head damage.

I can't wrap my head around the thought of missing my yearly daddy daughter dance or attending it in a wheelchair, despite the freedom and pleasure my Harley has given me for so many years.
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That's why I always look in front of me and never take corners at too high a speed on my bike.
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Same here. I rode dirt bike as a youth, and generally wore a helmet because I rode off-road with branches, weeds, rocks and stuff. But three friends who died in accidents all had helmets on. One that was a vegetable in a hursing home for 15 years because the helmet splintered and drove a shard of plastic deep into his brain. When I do ride (not drive) a bike, I DO wear a helmet, because odds are still better with, than without.
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