Need to start a new thread on this topic because it's important for all slingers

Ga requires them so I use one. Have gone through 4 different options until a settled on a very light Badass brand 1/2 helmet. One of the lightest on the market for reasons noted. I'm also a sports car guy and really love the open air feel. Before the SlingShot I restored a Triumph Spitfire and it was smaller and felt less protective than the Sling but required no helmet. Currently have a first gen Miata and again the only difference is an extra wheel and a A-pillar windshield. Is it safer than the two rear hoops...? Hard to say but we are accustom to the hard framed windshields so assume yes.

Now a will say that riding the SlingShot in the winter with a nice warm full face helmet is nice and a lot less funny looking worn in the SlingShot than the Miata ...

Quote from gearhead

There are safety equipment choices -- and then there are insurance choices... If anyone were to take a ride with me in my Slingshot, they'd probably be the most insured they've ever been... I've got a $4M policy. For good reason. Out here in Kalifornia, most of the Hospital ER's have been closed (guess why). An acquaintance of mine had a solo accident on a bicycle in Irvine/Costa Mesa and he had to get med-evac'd out in a damned helicopter. That short copter ride set him back $10K+ and that's before the doctors even got started... An accident at higher speeds in a Slingshot or car involving multiple people -- the costs can get staggering quickly. Not to mention that many cities like Huntington Beach charge a hefty fee for accidents in their city, to cover the costs of their first-responders.

In this day and age of frivolous lawsuits and extremely expensive medical care it's almost negligence not to have an umbrella policy, in my opinion unless you are homeless or without a penny to your name then an umbrella policy is a must.

Good job gearhead for being one of the few to cover their six rather than leave it exposed and hope for the best.

I guess I don't wear one around town, but when I am traveling I like it because of the extra functionality... I have a Shoei Neotec and like that it can be down or up. I like the Sena audio in the helmet as (for me) the sound is much better. As with anything... Oil, tires, polish it is a personal preference. This study about helmet risks when wearing a seatbelt will likely be just like everything else nowadays... bad in one study, good in the next....

I tried going without a helmet and just a ball cap. I can do it when I have the meansling top on, but when the top isnt on, which is most of the time, I cant for the life of me keep the hat on - to much wind here in the desert. Also I have found that with my little 1/2 helmet my head actually stays cooler than with the ball cap - insulates from the sun better I guess and lets some air circulate. - with our intense sun going without any head covering is not an option - my head would get so burnt it wouldn't be funny and on top of that I would probably end up with skin cancer on my scalp -

I have a full helmet for when the weather is bad, but otherwise my little 1/2 helmet will be on my head when I ride - heck, its light and I like it

First of all.....this may sound controversial ...why do lawmakers care if you wear a helmet or not.....I think some do it to make potential voters happy.....some might want to see you kill yourself because you’re just an outlaw...

The most dangerous risk we face is our own driving...at times...showing off....speeding....whatever...

The second most is people texting...driving drunk....speeding....high....and people that shouldn’t be driving.

As a very famous Dirty Harry once said...... Do you feel lucky punk.....we’ll do ya?

My riding advice to everyone is...Drive like other drivers are intentionally trying to kill you...

Statistically according to insurance facts....once every ten years you will wreck a vehicle...

Which vehicle will it be and when? Will it be major or minor? Will you survive or not? Are you doing everything in your power to increase your odds of survival?

My ex wife’s first husband chose to ride his bike without a helmet. The driver that blew the red light killed him. His head hit a metal telephone pole. But he didn’t died right away, he laid in a coma for a year then he died. That was over 30 years ago.

How many people are driving distracted today.....I would estimate it ...at least 50% percent. That means you have a 50% percent chance of being or not being in an accident, not caused by you. I’m not crazy about those odds....That distracted driver doesn’t care if you’re driving a car, a truck or a tank, a bicycle or walking....Because they probably won’t even see you....They don’t care if you are wearing a helmet or not. They don’t care about your loved ones....they don’t even care about theirs...They don’t care if you live or die. The most important thing is them and the imperative text message that can’t wait.

They are intentionally trying to kill you.

Quote from slopoke

This is great info and I am working with my GA legislators to try and bring this up for a vote to amend the current law.

I have scoured everywhere looking for the source of the statement above. Do you happen to have the actual *linkable* source from the AAN?

Thanks!

better be careful - knowing government instead of changing the law to eliminate the need for a helmet they just might make you use the HANS device with your helmet

government always has a way of making life more complicated

Be careful what you wish for....

Right now we are classified and sold as a motorcycle.....in my state it’s an autocycle....with no motorcycle license required, motorcycle plates and following motorcycle rules..

If lawmakers get involved anymore.....we could be put into a different classification with a whole bunch of rules and regulations we can’t live up to or don’t want.

We could be required to add a bunch of equipment like airbags....and pass a certified crash test to be sold. Or to even be allowed on the road.....if I own a $20,000 vehicle I’m not allowed to have on the road anymore, I’m going to be pissed. If we have to fit into an actual car designation we’re screwed big time. Then you have two choices....pay for all the very expensive upgrades or have a piece of useless junk you can’t even sell or put on the road.

Right now we have the best of both worlds.....lawmakers could change that thinking they are doing something good......that very rarely happens or turns out right.

You can never make everyone happy.....keep government out of our lives.....

A can of worms could be opened as a result of unintentional wave making because you do or don’t want to wear a helmet....then they’ll look at other aspects of what is and isn’t a motorcycle.

Let a sleeping dog lay.

Thousands of current slingshot owners could get screwed...in more ways than one.

Quote from Bigdog

Be careful what you wish for....

Right now we are classified and sold as a motorcycle.....in my state it’s an autocycle....with no motorcycle license required, motorcycle plates and following motorcycle rules..

If lawmakers get involved anymore.....we could be put into a different classification with a whole bunch of rules and regulations we can’t live up to or don’t want.

We could be required to add a bunch of equipment like airbags....and pass a certified crash test to be sold. Or to even be allowed on the road.....if I own a $20,000 vehicle I’m not allowed to have on the road anymore, I’m going to be pissed. If we have to fit into an actual car designation we’re screwed big time. Then you have two choices....pay for all the very expensive upgrades or have a piece of useless junk you can’t even sell or put on the road.

Right now we have the best of both worlds.....lawmakers could change that thinking they are doing something good......that very rarely happens or turns out right.

You can never make everyone happy.....keep government out of our lives.....

A can of worms could be opened as a result of unintentional wave making because you do or don’t want to wear a helmet....then they’ll look at other aspects of what is and isn’t a motorcycle.

Let a sleeping dog lay.

Thousands of current slingshot owners could get screwed...in more ways than one.

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I don't think that is necessarily true... If you drive a 57 Chevy it has no airbags and seatbelts and it is still legal on the road. It usually only applies forward, and not back... but as you said.... government who knows.

Jeez, I step away for 1 day and this thread goes all over.

Let's go back to the original posting, including mine from a year ago. This is NOT a discussion of whether you should or should not wear a helmet. It is a discussion that if you wear a helmet in a restrained vehicle that you also need to wear a HANS device.

Yes, there a plenty of situations where a helmet would help (debris, flips) and plenty of situations where a helmet would not (head on accident). What the American Academy of Neurosurgeons (and myself) have said is that you need to use the HANS device also when using a helmet and any bodily restraint situation.

Would any of us use only 1/2 protection? Maybe glasses/goggles with only 1 lens? Only 1 steel toed boot at work? Only 1 glove on my right hand? (Michael Jackson He he!) No? So then if you choose to wear a helmet, you should also use a HANS.

BTW, HANS does not always mean a neck wrap. In off-road racing, many times it's just a strap on the back of the helmet to the roll bar, This allows you to turn your head, but provides the restraint necessary to keep the helmet from travelling forward too much.

[/stepping off soapbox]

like I said above, I only use a lap belt around town. My upper body is not restrained and as such attaching my helmet to the roll hoop with a strap would probably not be a good idea - would almost guarantee a broken neck in an accident.

I was stopped once by a cop who told me I was crazy to ride a bike without protecting my brain. Since that day, I took his advice and always wear a cup for protection

cup9.jpg

Quote from Funinthesun

I was stopped once by a cop who told me I was crazy to ride a bike without protecting my brain. Since that day, I took his advice and always wear a cup for protection

cup9.jpg

Very under developed....

Quote from billythekidd

I don't think that is necessarily true... If you drive a 57 Chevy it has no airbags and seatbelts and it is still legal on the road. It usually only applies forward, and not back... but as you said.... government who knows.

57 Chevy is still a car. The SS is sold as a motorcycle....in many states it’s classified as an autocycle.... if the government tries to reclassify the SS and requires it to meet the safety specs they come up with.. for the new classification ..we could be screwed.. they can make you comply or just not let you register it ever again.

How much money and work would be invoked to make the 57 comply with today’s safety specs...not saying any of this will happen....but anything could if enough of a stink is raised.

If your state require motorcycle helmets and they change the rules to require a HANS device for the SS ....because it’s a motorcycle some egghead will want them installed on two wheelers also. And a roll cage to connect it to...this could become totally crazy....

As I said...be careful what you wish for.

I agree that the HANS device would be helpful to us. Do it yourself ....don’t involve the government. This could be a good thing to wear with the helmet that doesn’t require vehicle attachments..

Quote from Bigdog

57 Chevy is still a car. The SS is sold as a motorcycle....in many states it’s classified as an autocycle.... if the government tries to reclassify the SS and requires it to meet the safety specs they come up with.. for the new classification ..we could be screwed.. they can make you comply or just not let you register it ever again.

How much money and work would be invoked to make the 57 comply with today’s safety specs...not saying any of this will happen....but anything could if enough of a stink is raised.

If your state require motorcycle helmets and they change the rules to require a HANS device for the SS ....because it’s a motorcycle some egghead will want them installed on two wheelers also. And a roll cage to connect it to...this could become totally crazy....

As I said...be careful what you wish for.

I agree that the HANS device would be helpful to us. Do it yourself ....don’t involve the government. This could be a good thing to wear with the helmet that doesn’t require vehicle attachments..

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Here in Colorado it is now an Autocycle. No helmet (motorcycles do not require a helmet either) but the State Patrol told me that the seat belt is mandatory. So even though it is not a car, it is also not a motorcycle. I guess my point is that if they change things such as in a car a seat belt is mandatory, they usually make that effective from that time forward and not back or even the 57 that is a car would be required to have all the latest safety stuff. When I went to register my new SS the lady said that before July 1 of this year it was a motorcycle, now it is an autocycle... Not sure what that means going forward for insurance as they now charge a fee for a year like they do on a motorcycle. If they say the HANS is required to drive I will just sell and drive my bike. I like the freedom and am not one for rules.

I have been saying this since the day I bought my Slingshot. I only ride with a helmet when it is freezing out (for warmth). I have only been pulled over once and it was to discuss the rules and after I pulled out the information stating it was an autocycle, he let me go. Every single time someone asks me if I should be wearing a helmet I respond with no. I get a lot of foul looks from bikers thinking I need one. I simply say I either wear a helmet or a seat belt but not both. I always use the Earnhardt story as my reason for why I don't wear one. Not a lot of people understand the intent of the helmet anymore. It is for bikers who would fly off their motorcycle and hit the pavement. It id designed to reduce brain trauma when falling. Blocking rocks is a byproduct. We would simply jerk back to our seat while our head continued at the same speed forward and then snap. I also completely agree lawmakers should stay out of it and leave it to the riders. When people say "Well you would just be safer with one on" with absolutely no justification, I simply look back and ask them if they wear one driving around in their minivan since in their world it makes things safer.

Quote from billythekidd

I don't think that is necessarily true... If you drive a 57 Chevy it has no airbags and seatbelts and it is still legal on the road. It usually only applies forward, and not back... but as you said.... government who knows.

Thank you for addressing that... its referred to as a "Grandfather Clause"....

another example... fully automatic weapons with a "purchased before date" are possessed legally..

if Slingshots were ever required to meet higher standards... there would be an "effective date" and those requirements would then fall on Polaris as the manufacturer...

Oh, and our Son and Daughter-in-law recently blessed us with yet another reason to wear our helmets:

Bill