Attorney who fought Florida helmet laws died in motorcycle crash while not wearing one

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Smith didn’t like being told what to do and valued his independence, said Dave Newman, who met the attorney through an American Legion post in Old Town where they were both members.

“He thought everybody should have their own choice,” Newman said.

In 2000, Smith’s aspiration was realized when the Florida Legislature passed a law allowing motorcyclists over 21 to go without head protection as long as they had $10,000 in insurance coverage for motorcycle accident injuries.

In August, Smith and his girlfriend, Brenda Jeanan Volpe, were riding a motorcycle on U.S. 19 in Pinellas County. They were headed to a memorial service for another biker who had died of cancer.

Smith crashed the bike as he tried to slow for traffic ahead of him. Both he and Volpe were killed.

Neither was wearing a helmet.


https://www.tampabay.com/news/flori...-died-motorcycle-crash-while-not-wearing-one/
 
I ride with my brain bucket at all times even if I'm just going to get gas a few blocks away
And my grandson has to wear a helmet on his bike
I understand it's your own decision but for me it just gets put on
 
gggGary said:
Rode in the abate rally in about 75, Wisconsin dropped the helmet requirement soon after. (AGE 21 n over)
Seldom ride without a helmet, but sometimes I still do.

"ATLANTA — The director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has tested positive for Covid-19."
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/cdc-director-tests-positive-covid-19-rcna53570
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Law here's the same as Fla. I think riding without a helmet is one of the dumbest things we can do, yet I still do it on the odd occasion. Never claimed I was a genius.
 
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Can't ride without a helmet here in QC... I feel odd riding 500 ft up and down the road doing quick checks without a helmet. For me, a ride of any sort requires a helmet, gloves, riding footwear and pants at a minimum. I am guilty of riding without a proper riding jacket and pants, though. Intending to change that next season. True riders here say "dress for the slide, not the ride".
 
When I was 19 I had my one and only crash ( knock on wood ) when I hit a dog and went flying over the handlebars and did a colossal belly flop and slide. Wearing just jeans , a t-shirt, and an open face helmet. I lost a lot of skin on my forearms and shoulders and tore one of my shoes right off . It wasn’t until later, looking at the top of my helmet, just above my forehead I noticed my Bell helmet had a chunk of fiberglass dug out of it , about the size of a silver dollar. I never even realized my head hit the ground. :yikes: Been a big fan of helmets ever since. And after having gravel scrubbed out of my road rash, I’m also a big believer of jacket and gloves at all times. The one thing I haven’t been able to adapt to is protective pants, I tried a pair of Kevlar lined jeans, and a pair of Cordura pants with all the pads. Nope…..it’s too flippin hot here, I was sweating to death.
 
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Used to live in Hermosa Beach, CA. My only form of transportation was my GPz550. Seldom wore a helmet unless I was taking the freeway. And even then, sometimes not. Nothing like bombing to Malibu wearing shorts, sneaks and sunglasses.
 
xjwmx said:
Weird. You're way ahead of us on the 2022 freedom index yet we ride w/o helmets and carry guns. I don't know what else we can do except double down on genderless bathrooms
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Used to be called, and still are, communal toilets/restrooms. Wheel chair restrooms are communal as well. No such thing a a genderless person. Male, female, hermaphrodite.

But i understand where you are coming from.
 
been in a lot of car Crashes and some real bad ones. Worst damage to me was my left wrist and right collarbone were broke in the same crash

This was my last one. Over a cliff smashed into a rock face and rolled down onto it wheels onto a small alcove/beach.

I do not expect to survive another road accident


car crahe
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Mailman said:
When I was 19 I had my one and only crash ( knock on wood ) when I hit a dog and went flying over the handlebars and did a colossal belly flop and slide. Wearing just jeans , a t-shirt, and an open face helmet. I lost a lot of skin on my forearms and shoulders and tore one of my shoes right off . It wasn’t until later, looking at the top of my helmet, just above my forehead I noticed my Bell helmet had a chunk of fiberglass dug out of it , about the size of a silver dollar. I never even realized my head hit the ground. :yikes: Been a big fan of helmets ever since. And after having gravel scrubbed out of my road rash, I’m also a big believer of jacket and gloves at all times. The one thing I haven’t been able to adapt to is protective pants, I tried a pair of Kevlar lined jeans, and a pair of Cordura pants with all the pads. Nope…..it’s too flippin hot here, I was sweating to death.
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I can relate... as a kid, got tossed off a horse at full gallop. Executed a perfect five-point landing on the country gravel road; face, knees and elbows. Recall it being a mite uncomfortable getting all the gravel and dirt scrubbed out the road rash. No more horses for me. Riding jacket and better gloves for me next season for sure!
 
xjwmx said:
Weird. You're way ahead of us on the 2022 freedom index yet we ride w/o helmets and carry guns. I don't know what else we can do except double down on genderless bathrooms
Click to expand...
Had to look up the "Freedom Index", had never heard of it. Looks like we're doing OK, but there are certainly lots of issues that we could improve upon!
 
^It was in the news recently. I'm sure it's highly subjective. Denmark is at the top, but "hate speech" is illegal there, a fundamental restriction on freedom of speech. Here you can say anything without fear of the court, at least if you can prove it's true. Restrictions on speech would put a country far down the list for me. To me there's only one objective measure of freedom, and that's gun ownership. That's because in the real world whoever holds the gun has the power. I can't see how that could be subjective
 
xjwmx said:
^It was in the news recently. I'm sure it's highly subjective. Denmark is at the top, but "hate speech" is illegal there, a fundamental restriction on freedom of speech. Here you can say anything without fear of the court, at least if you can prove it's true. Restrictions on speech would put a country far down the list for me. To me there's only one objective measure of freedom, and that's gun ownership. That's because in the real world whoever holds the gun has the power. I can't see how that could be subjective
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Look at it like this...................... By ruling hate speech a crime, (Denmark), it would be preferable to confronting a man holding a gun and him asking if you "would like to repeat that statment to my face"..........Whoever holds the gun has the power also means less personal freedoms due to intimidation for the other person. Maybe that why the US is 15th on the country freedom index
 

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