Helmet Laws

According to this CNN article, motorcycle fatalites have gone up significantly since Florida repealed their mandatory helmet law. Over a three year period before and after the repeal, deaths increased by 81%.

The cost of hospital care has also risen significantly – from $10 million to $44 million in a 30 month period.

On the one hand, I don’t think the government has any place telling us what risks we can or can not take. I should be able to skydive, swim, rock climb, motorcycle, mountain bike, rappel, skateboard, or box as I choose. My life, my body, my choice.

On the other hand, I don’t think other people should be responsible for picking up the medical costs associated with damage I take from the risky choices I might make.

Unfortunately, the article does not specify who is paying for the increased medical costs. If it is covered by the motorcyclists or their insurance, I don’t think it should have any legal consideration. If the state is picking up the tab, there is an issue.

So what’s the right course of action?

Florida took an interesting approach, requiring at least $10k in medical insurance if you choose to ride without a helmet. I’m not sure how that’s working out for them.

In terms of insured motorcylists, I think insurance companies should be able to offer two policy types: A less expensive helmet required policy, or a more expensive wear it or not policy. If you purchase the helmet required policy and get in an accident without a helmet, the insurance company would not be on the hook for any medical costs associated with the head trauma.

However, how would that work if one had socialized health care? Maybe one could purchase a “helmet free” liscense plate that would cost a bit more but go into the health funds or something.

I dunno. Just rambling.

So what about the people that don’t have insurance, take stupid risks, and get hurt? Is society required to take care of them? If you apply it to motorcycle helmets and seat belts, what about driving in general? Eating at McDonalds? Smoking? Jaywalking? Living in an urban area?

From my motorcycle list:

FREE BEER

An Irishman, an Englishman, and a Scot were sitting in a bar. The view was fantastic, the beer excellent, and the food exceptional.

“Y’know” said the Scot, “I still prefer the pubs back home. Why in Glasgow there’s a little bar called McTavish’s where the owner will buy your 5th drink after you buy 4.”

“Well” said the Englishman, “at my local, the Red Lion, the barman there will buy your 3rd drink after you buy the first 2.”

“Ahhh that’s nothing” said the Irishman. “Back home in Dublin there’s Ryan’s bar. Now the moment you set foot in the place they’ll buy you a drink, then another, all the drinks you like. Then when you’ve had enough they’ll take you upstairs and see that you get laid. All on the house.” The Englishman and the Scot immediately pour scorn on the Irishman’s claims

He swears every word is true.

“Well” said the Englishman, “did this actually happen to you?”

“No, not me personally,” said the Irishman. “But it did happen to me sister.”

Ah. Good old double standards.

Grabbed from my motorcycle list:

Recently I mailed a can of DuPonte Teflon Multipurpose Lubricant to [SNIP] in Australia. He had been following the thread about it in the product reviews section and wanted to try some but it is not available yet down under. I told him that there was a story behind it but that it was too long to get into and I would tell him the story when I had time to type it up. Well the conversation I had with the postal worker was typical bureaucratic nonsense and I thought that some of you might find it amusing too. So Barry (and anyone else who is interested), here it is…..

When mailing outside of the U.S. there is a customs form which need to be filled out. On the form you must state specifically what the package contents are. Being lazy and not wanting to write 1 can of DuPonte Teflon Multipurpose Lubricant on the form, I just wrote 1 can of WD-40, figuring that’s close enough and they will know what WD-40 is. What follows is a recap of the conversation that I had with the postal worker after I handed the package to him for mailing.

The first thing that he did was to weigh the package and enter the address into the computer to give me pricing options for shipping. While doing so there was a rattling sound that came from within the package.

Postal Worker: What’s that sound?
Me: There is a marble inside the can to help mix it up when you shake it.
Postal Worker: It says on the customs form that it contains a can of WD-40.
Me: Yes
Postal Worker: WD-40 doesn’t have a marble in the can. Why are you mailing a can of WD-40 to Australia?
Me: Why does it matter?
Postal Worker: Well this package sounds suspicious so I need to know.
Me: I am sending it to a friend because he can’t get it where he lives.
Postal Worker: I find it hard to believe that you can’t buy WD-40 in Australia.
Me: Well actually it’s not WD-40 it’s DuPonte Teflon Multipurpose Lubricant. It’s kind of new and they are not marketing it in Australia yet.
Postal Worker: So why did you write WD-40 on the customs form?
Me: Because I am lazy and didn’t want to write DuPonte Teflon Multipurpose Lubricant in that tiny little box on the form and figured that WD-40 was close enough that customs would know what it was.
Postal Worker: Well it says on the form that you must write the exact contents, not something that is “close enough.”
Me: Ok I’ll fill out a new form.
Postal Worker: You can’t
Me: Why not?
Postal Worker: Because you have already given me the package and once it is received by a postal worker we can only deliver it to the intended recipient, we can’t give it back to you.
Me: So what happens if the package is undeliverable?
Postal Worker: Well in that case we would deliver it to the return address on the package.
Me: Well the return address on the package is my address, so why can’t you just give it to me?
Postal Worker: Because we have not yet determined the package undeliverable.
Me: OK so what needs to be done at this point to mail the package?
Postal Worker: Well since the package sounds suspicious it will have to be inspected.
Me: Fine, open it up.
Postal Worker: I can’t, only a customs inspection agent can do that. So I will have to send it to customs to have it inspected before it gets mailed.
Me: well if you give it to me, I can open it up and show you what’s inside and then tape it back up.
Postal Worker: Well we’ve already established the fact that I can’t give it back to you.
Me: Fine do whatever needs to be done. I don’t understand what the big deal is.
Postal Worker: Well sir since 911 we have some stricter guidelines that we must conform to because of the threat of terrorism.
Me: The threat of terrorism? It’s not like I am sending this to the White House or the Pentagon. If I were going to send a mail bomb or something like that, why would I be sending it to some guy in Western Australia?
Postal Worker: I’m just doing my job.
Me: Yes, I understand that but wouldn’t it be a lot easier if I just filled out a new form?
Postal Worker: I can’t do that. I will have to send this package to customs and have it inspected, and you have already admitted to lying on the form and I must inform you that is a federal offence.
Me: So arrest me then, I understand that being a postal worker is a thankless job but do you really have to be an asshole every minute of your life?
Postal Worker: Threatening a civil servant is a federal offence.
Me: I didn’t threaten you; I just called you an asshole. Is there a law against that?
Postal Worker: No but it’s totally un-called for and I am not the one who started this by falsifying a customs document.
Me: Sorry but this is just starting to irritate me. All I want to do is mail this package. So just tell me what I need to do to get that done. If you have to send the package to customs for inspection or whatever then fine, do it. All I need to know is if there is anything else that I need to do.
Postal Worker: Well at this point all you have to do is pay the postage.
Me: OK fine but what happens if I refuse to pay the postage.
Postal Worker: Well then I would have to refuse to accept the package and give it back to you.
Me: Well just a minute ago you said that you couldn’t give the package back to me.
Postal Worker: Well once the postage is paid and the package is accepted I can’t give it back to you but you have not paid the postage so the package has not been officially accepted.
Me: So then what you told me a minute ago about not being able to give me back the package was all bullshit and if I refuse to pay the postage you will have to give it back to me.
Postal Worker: Well I wouldn’t put it that way.
Me: Bottom line, if I refuse to pay, you give the package back to me right?
Postal Worker: Yes
Me: Ok then I refuse to pay, so give the package back to me.

At this point the postal worker gave the package back to me, I went to another post office and filled out the form, correctly this time. Handed the package to a different postal worker and the package was accepted, transported and delivered with no further questions asked. So don’t lie on a customs form.

Bloody paranoid society. I don’t know whether the terrorists are winning or not, but we’ve definitely given ourselves some lumps about it.

From my motorcycle list:

I want to thank all of you who have taken the time and trouble to send me your damn chain letters over the past few years. Yes, thank you, thank you, thank you from the bottom of what’s left of my heart for making me feel safe, secure, blessed, and wealthy.

Because of your concern…I no longer can drink Coca Cola because it can remove toilet stains.

I no longer drink Pepsi or DR Pepper since the people who make these
products are atheists who refuse to put “Under God” on their cans.

I no longer drink anything out of a can because I will get sick from the rat feces and urine.

I no longer use Saran wrap in the microwave because it causes cancer.

I no longer check the coin return on pay phones because I could be pricked with a needle infected with AIDS.

I no longer use cancer-causing deodorants even though I smell like a water buffalo on a hot day.

I no longer use margarine because it’s one molecule away from being plastic.

I no longer go to shopping malls because someone will drug me with a perfume sample and rob me.

I no longer receive packages from UPS or Fed Ex since they are actually Al Qaeda in disguise.

I no longer answer the phone because someone will ask me to dial a stupid number for which I will get the phone bill from hell with calls to Jamaica, Uganda, Singapore, and Uzbekistan.

I no longer eat KFC because their chickens are actually horrible mutant freaks with no eyes or feathers.

I no longer date the opposite sex because they will take my kidneys and leave me taking a nap in a bathtub full of ice.

I no longer buy expensive cookies from Neiman Marcus since I now have their recipe.

I no longer worry about my soul because I have 363,214 angels looking out for me and St. Theresa’s novena has granted my every wish.

Thanks to you, I have learned that God only answers my prayers if I forward an email to seven of my friends and make a wish within five minutes. (Geez, the BIBLE did not mention it works that way!)

I no longer have any savings because I gave it to a sick girl who is about to die in the hospital (for the 1,387,258th time).

I no longer have any money at all, but that will change once I receive the $15,000 that Microsoft and AOL are sending me for participating in their special e-mail program.

Yes, I want to thank all of you soooooooo much for looking out for me!

I will now return the favor.

If you don’t send this e-mail to at least 1200 people in the next 60 seconds, a large bird with diarrhea will crap on your head at 5:00 PM this afternoon and the fleas of a thousand camels will infest your armpits

I know this will occur because it actually happened to a friend of a friend of a friend of a friend of a friend of a friend of a friend of my next door neighbor’s ex-mother-in-law’s 8th husband’s 2nd cousin’s 3rd husband’s ex-wife’s mother’s beautician

Chain letters aren’t quite as bad as spam…

Grabbed from WolfspiritJPH:

• ExxonMobil is making record-breaking profits because of high gasoline prices but refuses to invest that windfall in renewable energy, calling it “uneconomic.”
• Instead of using its record-breaking profits to move America toward a cleaner energy future, ExxonMobil is spending millions on junk science, lobbying, and advertisements to block meaningful action on global warming.
• ExxonMobil is content to keep America dependent on oil while reaping the financial benefits.The company’s president has said we “need to accept the reality” of America’s dependence on oil rather than undertake “expensive” steps trying to avoid it. It is ironic that one of America’s largest corporations shows so little faith in American ingenuity.
• ExxonMobil is making record-breaking profits because of high gasoline prices, but ExxonMobil continues to challenge the 1994 court ruling ordering the company to pay $4-$5 billion in punitive damages to fishermen and others injured by the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill.
• Because of ExxonMobil’s environmental policies, I’ve pledged not to buy the company’s gas, invest in the company, or work for the company. Readers interested in joining the campaign can sign up at www.ExxposeExxon.com.

Consider checking it out…

If you must buy gas, consider BP – it is my understanding that they’ve directed a considerable portion of their profits towards moving towards renewable resources. I have not vetted that fact.

In case you didn’t read it yesterday, America now owns Ireland.

America now owns Ireland

So, some lists I belong to have members who believe that it is appropriate that the British police shot and killed a guy they thought might be a terrorist (he wasn’t). He was unarmed, but he was wearing a heavy coat and he ran.

Imagine that this becomes an “OK” response.

While imagining that, consider the fact that if you fit a questionable profile you can be detained for extended periods of time (months or years has become a disturbingly frequent report), or possibly indefinitely (As far as I know, Jose Padilla has yet to be charged or released), and things become more concerning.

With both of those in mind, pretend that you belong to a “questionable profile”. The police want to stop you. If you run, you die. Stop, and you’ll be detained for some indefinitely amount of time and potentially be treated rather poorly.

Don’t like either of those options? What other choices do you have?

Shoot back. You’ll probably die anyway, but given the choice, I think I’d rather go out that way than be shot in the back or rot in a cell.

Fortunately, I’m white and was born American so I’m pretty unlikely to be stuck with making that choice. If I was darker or spoke with an accent, and we get another dark skinned Brazilian or two shot, I might have to consider it more seriously.

Now what about people who might actually be in violation of some law? No, I don’t think they should use lethal force: if you break a law, you don’t have the right to kill someone to avoid being captured. However, in many cases, you also don’t deserve being killed.

For instance, while I believe that we should allow people fairly easy entry into the country, I think that those who still enter illegally should be deported. However, I don’t think they should be executed if they try and run away from the officer who tries to detain them. Non-violent or “victimless” crimes should not carry the death sentence.

If they do start carrying the death sentence, why would people not turn to violent means to avoid being killed?

So an 88 year old WWII vet in South Saint Paul keeps a messy back yard (tools, stacks of lumber, a “rickety” back porch, and a ripped back screen door).

The city wanted him to get it cleaned up. He didn’t feel like changing how he does things. They’ve called him into court “nearly monthly” on the issue since November 2003. He generally makes it, but missed three times.

So, they’ve locked him in jail for 30 days without bail unless he gets his yard cleaned up.

Yep.

Iraq

Two Sunni members of the Iraqi constitution committee were shot to death. Apparently, Sunni insurgents have vowed to kill any Sunni muslims who try to take part in the committee.

It seems like the Sunni insurgents are putting themselve in a bad place. If the next Iraqi government is formed based on this constitutional committee, they are doing their utmost to not have a voice in it.

Presumably, they oppose it, because they see it as a puppet or tool of the western influences. However, in the case of western influences complete disappearing, they are still going to be in a bad situation. According to the CIA factbook, Iraq is made up of 32% – 37% Sunni and 60% – 65% Shi’a.

Saddam favored the Sunni, but Saddam would most likely not have been in power without western support. In the absence of western support, the Shi’a will rule Iraq. Unless they hope to split Iraq into two or three countries (Kurdish and Arab, with Arab split into Sunni and Shi’a), the Sunni will need to win concessions from the Shi’a through peaceful or violent means.

Keeping Sunni voices out of any constitutional dialogs occurring in the presence of western power will not help get those voice heard in the event of western powers departing. It very easily could make their road harder.

Just ramblings, but while I understand the desire to not have collaborators “lending legitimacy” to the current constitutional efforts, the strategy seems unwise.