Nanny Officials Have Us In Their Sights Again
I’ve mentioned here before the danger inherent in the push to make failure to wear a seat-belt an offense the cops can stop you for. Right now in Colorado they can’t do that, but if they stop you for another reason and you’re not wearing one you can get a ticket. The Legislatue is now working to change that.
What concerns me is that any group of legislators that would make that change is likely to want to mandate wearing motorcycle helmets at all times.
Let’s get this clear right now: I understand that helmets and seat belts frequently save lives. I also know that in less frequent situations they do more hard than good. I just don’t think it’s government’s business to tell me which odds to play. Don’t make that old argument about being a burden on society. I have insurance. Not only that, I often wear a helmet. But sometimes I don’t, and that’s my decision to make. As for seat-belts, I was out one night with a bunch of legislators just after they passed the original seat-belt law and I told them then that they could shove it, that I would continue not to wear one. That was almost 20 years ago. I finally got ticketed for not wearing my seat-belt just two weeks ago. I was speeding, but so was everyone else. And the patrolman only cited me for the belt, not speeding. While I appreciated not getting a speeding ticket I have to suspect he really stopped me for the belt, and speed was just his excuse.
Anyway, none of that matters now because just last week I got a new car and it’s one of these that has a system to totally annoy you if you don’t wear a belt so I’ve finally been beaten. I now wear my seat-belt every time I drive.
But let’s get back to helmets. I hadn’t heard anything about helmets in connection to this proposed seat-belt law, but I know the connection. Well, in this morning’s Rocky Mountain News, Mark Wolf ran five quotes from the forum they run. All five of them said the same thing I”m saying, that it’s no one’s business but mine. One person did say not wearing a belt gives kids the idea of not wearing a belt, but other than that he said it’s nobody’s business. And three of them said the same about helmets.
I was afraid of this when the Democrats took the Legislature and governorship. I firmly believe divided government is best; it provides the best checks and balances. I used to be a Democrat but I changed my affiliation to Libertarian a number of years ago for exactly this sort of reason. I may have to vote Republican two years from now to help break this imbalance.
Tags: Helmet Laws, motorcycle
