NY motorcyclist dies on ride protesting helmet law

[jimmy olsen]

Now that's ironic.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/43624650/ns/us_news-life/

NY motorcyclist dies on ride protesting helmet law
Troopers say man would have likely survived if he had been wearing a helmet

The Associated Press
updated 7/3/2011 11:59:48 AM ET 2011-07-03T15:59:48

ONONDAGA, N.Y. — A motorcyclist participating in a protest ride against helmet laws went over his handlebars, hit his head on the pavement and was killed, police said Sunday.


The motorcyclist, 55-year-old Philip A. Contos, likely would have survived the accident if he'd been wearing a helmet, state troopers said.

The accident happened Saturday afternoon in Onondaga, a town in central New York near Syracuse.

Contos was driving a 1983 Harley-Davidson on a helmet protest ride organized by the Onondaga chapter of American Bikers Aimed Towards Education, or ABATE, troopers said. The organization states that it encourages the voluntary use of helmets but opposes mandatory helmet laws.

Contos, of Parish, hit his brakes, and his motorcycle fishtailed and went out of control, flipping him over the handlebars, police said. He was pronounced dead at a hospital.

New York is one of 20 states that require all motorcycle riders to wear helmets. Lobbying by motorcyclist groups has led some states to repeal helmet laws.

A helmet that meets federal standards reduces the wearer's chances of being killed in an accident by more than 40 percent, said safety consultant Jim Hedlund, of the Governors Highway Safety Association.

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[CountDeMoney]

I LOL'd.

[Neil]

If you ride a motorcycle, you get what you deserve.

[Iormlund]

Strong Darwin award contender.

[Eddie Teach]

Strong Darwin award contender.

Not really. People get killed this way frequently.

[sbr]

   Nice one.

[dps]

Strong Darwin award contender.

Not really. People get killed this way frequently.

Also, the guy was 55, so he'd likely already passed his genes on anyway.

[Slargos]

And yet people scream when I make fun of holocaust victims. 

Going helmet-less is a risk, sure, but so is smoking and eating saturated fats and etc etc etc.

[Lucidor]

It's the good advice that you just didn't take
Who would've thought ... it figures

[Norgy]

Not really. People get killed this way frequently.

Riding motorbikes during protests against helmet laws? I strongly doubt that.

[Eddie Teach]

Riding motorbikes during protests against helmet laws? I strongly doubt that.

Riding motorcycles without helmets. His reason for being on the road adds a touch of irony, but doesn't compound his foolishness. It's not like these protests are inherently more dangerous than normal driving.

[The Brain]

A modern day Norman Morrison.

[jimmy olsen]

Riding motorbikes during protests against helmet laws? I strongly doubt that.

Riding motorcycles without helmets. His reason for being on the road adds a touch of irony, but doesn't compound his foolishness. It's not like these protests are inherently more dangerous than normal driving.

Don't protest riders drive relatively slowly so as to be seen? It was probably safer than normal.

[CountDeMoney]

And yet people scream when I make fun of holocaust victims. 

You're a fellow mototard, so don't bother playing the sympathy card.  You're as obvious as Marty defending fags, pederasts and European rapists.

Going helmet-less is a risk, sure, but so is smoking and eating saturated fats and etc etc etc.

When somebody has a coronary in McDonald's protesting the banning of trans fats, then it'll get posted.

[Norgy]

Riding motorcycles without helmets. His reason for being on the road adds a touch of irony, but doesn't compound his foolishness. It's not like these protests are inherently more dangerous than normal driving.

From your statement, the opposite seemed to be the case, that people died during such protests at an alarmingly high rate, thus making this death unspectacular and commonplace, and not really something to report.

I would like to see more people on motorbikes without helmets. And brakes.