Last Updated on July 7, 2021
You may have noticed riders that seem to refuse to wear a helmet. These are 5 reasons to not wear a motorcycle helmet in case you didn’t know why they don’t.
1 – You Don’t Enjoy Living
In 2016, motorcycle helmets saved an estimated 1,859 lives. (Source)
If every single rider would have worn a helmet in 2016, 802 more lives could have possibly been saved. (Source)
I don’t know about you, but those statistics alone prove the point that wearing a good helmet while riding gives you a better chance of being alive and well.
Unless of course you don’t enjoying riding your motorcycle and you don’t enjoy seeing your family/friends.
Or if you don’t want to live to see all of the cool stuff we are making for future technology or if you don’t want to see all of the new motorcycles that are coming out in the future…
Let’s face it, we’d rather live because we want to keep on riding and enjoying our lives.
Helmets help you do that by reducing the risk of death by 37%. (Source)
If you enjoy living and riding, wear a helmet.
2 – You Don’t Want Your Country To Save on Economic Costs
That’s right, wearing a helmet while riding actually helps save on economic costs.
These costs include lost productivity, medical costs, legal and court costs, emergency service costs (EMS), insurance administration costs, congestion costs, property damage, and workplace losses.
Each year, the USA could save more than $1,000,000,000 (That’s $1 billion) in the mentioned economic costs if all riders wore a helmet. (Source)
That’s a lot of money that could be saved for taking a few moments and strapping a helmet on before getting on your bike…
Imagine what $1 billion more per year can help with overall. It’s not even hard for the USA to get that much more per year… all bikers just need to put a helmet on and boom, $1 billion more per year.
3 – You Can’t Wait To Have A Fatal Head Injury
Maybe you think head injury is awesome…???
Who wouldn’t want to go into a concussion, lose consciousness, fracture their skull and/or have severe head trauma for the rest of their lives?
Sounds great, right?
Right…
When you wear a helmet you decrease your chances of ruining your life through a major head injury. Not only can it save your life but it can also stop you from severe head injury that could affect you for the rest of your life.
Helmets reduce the risk of head injury by 69%.
References to that statistic:
- Derrick AJ, Faucher LD. Motorcycle helmets and rider safety: A legislative crisis. Journal of Public Health Policy. 2009;30 (2):226–242.
- Liu BC, Ivers R, Norton R, et. al. Helmets for preventing injury in motorcycle riders. Cochrane Database Systematic Reviews. 2008;(1):CD004333. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD004333.pub3
Unless for some odd reason you’re looking forward to having a head injury, wear a helmet.
4 – You’d Rather Look “Cool”
I might be bias here, but I think helmets look amazing. There are some seriously awesome designs out there and for me personally, I love the look of my Icon Alliance helmet.
I mean, check out some of these random helmet designs. You can’t tell me they don’t look incredible.
There are also plenty of awesome looking open face, half, dual-sport or any other type of helmet you’d prefer to wear. We, and anyone that’d also want you to have the most protection possible, recommend going with full-face.
This is because that’s where you get most of the coolest styles while also getting the most protection possible in the case of an accident.
People wearing helmets get compliments all the time and I’m willing to bet that there are a lot less people complimenting those that don’t wear a helmet.
“Man, he/she looks so cool/sexy without wearing a helmet.”
When have you ever heard someone say that?
5 – You’ve Got To “Feel The Wind” While Riding
This reason is simply an excuse.
Helmets, especially the newer ones being made today, have plenty of air flow. I get it, if you’re in the Arizona type heat and you’re in full gear you’re more likely to sweat a lot more and that can get uncomfortable.
But there are choices out there that help with air flow, heat and sweating. The padding inside of helmets is being made to purposely keep dry while sweating with different sections of vents and padding types.
Besides, let’s face the facts here…
Wouldn’t you rather live to tell another tale than to get into an accident and possibly no longer live because you wanted to “feel the wind”..?
It’s a crap excuse and shouldn’t be your reason for not wearing a helmet.
Conclusion
All in all, there are no good reasons to not wear a motorcycle helmet while riding.
Need some help in finding some safe ones at a good price point?
Then you should definitely check out our guide on safe and cheap motorcycle helmets that way you can always stay safe.
A helmet helps to save your life, it helps to save a lot on economic costs, they greatly reduce the chance of having fatal head injury, they can look awesome on you and you can still enjoy the nice weather with helmets having plenty of air flow to them.
Although I do believe that all riders should have the choice of wearing a helmet or not wearing one, the right choice is an obvious one.
Do you wear a helmet while riding? Why or why not?
What are some other reasons to not wear a helmet? What are some good reasons to wear them?
Let us know in the comments below!
What’s up! I’m Colton, the main guy behind Moto Gear Knowledge. Gear has always been my #1 priority when it comes to riding.
I share my experiences regarding gear and anything else moto related with you here. 👍
I rode for 38 years and was in 4 wrecks. Each time I had a helmet on. 3 of those wrecks would have been fatal if I had not had a helmet. I had to be life-flighted 30 miles to a trauma 1 hospital 4 years ago today (July 4th, 2017)
Helmets are vital. They have so many helmets and jackets that are not only safe, but look good, and are cool with air circulation. Wear a helmet.
Geez man… That’s crazy that you have been in that many wrecks like that. If you don’t mind me asking, was it the drivers at fault for most if not all of those wrecks? Just curious as to how some of those wrecks ended up happening. Very grateful that you’re able to tell the tales because of a trusty helmet!
Do you think wearing a helmet should become law then? Why or why not?
Thanks for posting your comments! 👍
I am amazed at the lack of helmet usage and protective clothing worn by Florida motorcyclists. Wearing flip flops to ride a Harley seems very silly to me!
I hear you Jim. Although I also stand with the idea that anyone should be able to ride however they want, the gear is extremely important… I just hope nobody has to learn it the hard way. Same thing here in the midwest, many squid riders with gym shorts and flip flops 🙁
That’s one of the reasons why I decided to start this website up, to share the truth that gear is a MUST, a helmet at the very least… it helps tremendously.
I see that all the time. I don’t understand it. So many riders that I have ridden with say that they know they are a good driver. That doesn’t matter, it is the 4 million other drivers that you have to worry about.
A guy in Utah was flying down the freeway and hit a mattress and died.
I believe in the adage of always wear a helmet. If you think that you are planning for an accident. then don’t wear one.
Save your family, friends, wives, husbands, kids the trouble of planning for your funeral. Wear a helmet and stick around a bit. Your loved ones would love to have you around. So be cool and look cool in a new helmet. The price of one is a lot less than a casket.
We’re in the same boat and I couldn’t have said it better myself! Helmets are cool, being alive is cool and being able to continue riding is cool. Helmets are essential and help a lot more than most would think. 🤷♂️
Wow! For a second I thought there WERE actual reasons not to wear a helmet. I like what you did there!
You know, I think the bigger problems when it comes to motorists not wearing helmets come from Florida. They are notorious for not wearing helmets. I guess they feel inclined to do so because it’s flatlands out there. But that’s no excuse. I mean, I see these guys buzzing up and down Orange Blossom Trail when I lived there for a short time. I don’t really see many cyclists without their helmets in LA or NYC.
Maybe it’s the states that have more open roads. I wonder what it’s like in other countries like in Europe. In Asia I see people wearing helmets a lot, but places like Indonesia, there are many PASSENGERS who don’t wear helmets. Like girlfriends in the backseat or mother and their CHILD. Many times those aren’t high-powered Harleys’ though, but they are going pretty fast on those motorized scooters.
I hear ya, same deal in the midwest as well. I don’t think it stems directly from one place but rather the idea that helmets don’t actually help in an accident. Lots of riders think that helmets are basically brain scoops and they don’t actually help, yet statistics say otherwise in a BIG way.
To each their own, I always believe in the right to choose whether or not someone wants to wear a helmet. It’s just obvious what the right choice is!
Thanks for your comment! 🙂