If you quote the gov'ts statistics you believe the disinformation of people who don't want motorcycles on the road.
They also state that helmets prevent fatalities in 37% of accidents which puts the lie to everything else they say.
We are also supposed to believe that a helmet in which you can easily see the dark outline of the front aperture doesn't restrict your vision and putting a laminated shell packed with foam over your ears doesn't hinder your hearing. FANTASTIC!!!
Helmet choice is the issue and I know 1%ers who CHOOSE to wear a full face helmet. They just don't want Nanny gov't mandating any more restrictions. I for one do wear a full face for distance and inclement weather but prefer to be able to go uncovered when I'm putting thru town so I can see and hear better (denied to me by the Nanny in the State House).
ANY reduction of awareness reduces your survival factor on a motorcycle. Check out the granny with the green plastic behind her glasses going home from the optometrist with dialated eyes (one of which turned in front of me from a thru-only lane).
I also own a half helmet and a beanie for appropriate occasions.
My chances for survival were greatly improved when my helmet kept my mellon from splattering all over the rear end of a truck. (In-town on a lazy Sunday evening, about 40 mph.)
One of the wife's Boss's hit a bus in Galveston at LSRally last year. Half helmet. After he was released from the hospital, he didn't care much for eatin' soup for months while his jaws were wired shut, but he's back on solid food now.
We all have reasons for what we do. Can't expect them to all be the same.
I will never understand the idea of wearing a helmet on the highway, but then not wearing one when riding around town. The possibility of an accident is MUCH higher when riding around town. Especially close to home. A car running a red light doesn't care that you can see or hear better when it t-bones you.
On the subject of 1% riders wearing full face helmets, the ones I know wear them for protection of their identity, not their cranium.
I forgot this wasn't a debate thread. Sorry. I live in a state where helmets are a choice and I choose to wear one also. I was in an accident while riding around town, close to home and at slow speed. Still bounced my head off the pavement. Spent the night in the hospital but was lucky. I don't want to do that again.
Government facts might be wrong so I guess we'll never know the truth.