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Old 04-15-2014, 11:00 PM   #13
KSagal
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Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: Pelham, NH, USA.
Posts: 10,356
5 yr Member HT/PT Owner SegwayFest Attendee
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Cybercat View Post
Well, technically speaking, society makes such choices for us on a daily basis. Try walking around naked, and see what happens. As a society, we make rules all the time that tell us what we can and can't do, including what we can and can't wear. Some have to do with societal norms (nudity is a no-no), and others have to do with potential costs to society. When you choose not to wear your helmet, you put yourself at greater risk. And if you do have an accident, there can be huge costs to society - ambulance, medical costs, disability payments, etc., etc., etc. So society says we need laws to prevent such things by passing laws.

And those laws affect everything we do every single day. Wear your seat belt. No U turn. Warnings on cigarettes. No driving under the influence. No jaywalking. You name it. These are things that put you at risk, so society prohibits, requires, or regulates them.

So, should the use of a helmet be one of the things regulated? Reasonable minds differ. Personally, I think someone has to be crazy not to use one, but I can respect a different opinion.

As long as the person is consistent, that is. Generally I find, tho, that a lot of people who get up in arms about society telling them what to do are the very same people who are the most vocal supporters of regulations to tell others how to lead their lives. I can respect anyone's opinion, so long as they're consistent. I don't have a lot of respect for hypocrites, tho, and this world seems to be filled with them. (And just to be clear, I am not accusing you of that, because I don't know you - just a statement of my philosophy in general.)
You make a good point and I mostly agree, but there are plenty of places where the society makes different rules. There are states without seat belt laws or motorcycle helmet laws, and even places where public nudity is not prohibited. So, society is not consistent itself.

But my comment was not about society at large, but to one poster who constantly rails on and on about wearing helmets on segways, and seems to respond aggressively to my posted choice to allow people to wear them or not as they see fit. He has posted several conflicting statements about it, but is clear that he feels we should wear helmets, and not to do so is foolish.

I used his exact words of rights, privileges, and freedom and choice were not mine to decide if I should wear a helmet or not. Of course they are, relative to him trying to deny me that choice.

Bear in mind also, there are reasonable studies that have determined that motor cycle helmets do reduce injuries, are that seat belts reduce injuries in car accidents. I do not know of any reasonable studies that examine if helmets actually reduce injuries on segways...

Keep in mind that speeds on segways are far slower on average than on any of the other conveyances discussed in either of our postings.

By law, a person on a segway in most instances is a pedestrian. (sometimes treated like a person on a bike, but while on sidewalks, clearly a pedestrian)

Now, if we look at pedestrians who travel on sidewalks like segways, and we acknowledge that they are traveling a bit faster than other pedestrians, then I have to ask, do you feel it appropriate to require joggers to wear helmets?

I suspect that joggers must fall sometimes. I further suggest that if they do, and land on their heads, them potentially a helmet may reduce that particular injury...

So in that case, a helmet may help, but the concept of 'Requiring' all joggers to wear them would have such a minor impact on any positive injury results that it is a silly rule.

I believe that helmets on segways fall into the same category as helmets on joggers.

Furthermore, I believe there is a negative safety aspect to helmets, as they have the potential to be hot, and can impact the ability to move the head, and to have peripheral vision. So, the potential discomfort and reduction of safety, while small, seems to exist for me, which will further diminish the positive effect of requiring joggers and segway operators to use helmets...

Since many people use them as mobility aides, do you suggest that people use helmets in that environment as well? How about people in wheel chairs? Surely, somewhere sometime, someone has fallen out of a wheelchair. Did they hit their head? Should they wear helmets? Where do you draw that line?

And there you have it all. Reasonable assumption, but no reasonable science to the value of wearing a helmet on a segway, coupled with no laws that compel them, leave me with my opinion about them...

I most often do not use one. I sometimes do, when in certain road or off road situations. I also resist people telling me to wear one, but I do not and have never advocated people should not wear one either. I believe people should do what they want. (Except my children, whom I require to wear a helmet when on my segway)

One last point. I consider myself a segway advocate. People have often expressed trepidation as the difficulty of riding a segway. I believe that many feel they are harder than they actually are. If the general public that is unfamiliar with riding segways see only riders in helmets, they may feel that they are actually harder to ride than they are...
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Karl Ian Sagal

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