God Bless the man who died. I am s-o-o-o sorry to hear this. I will pray for him and his family. Andy, you too. Glad as heck that you are "ok". I know this doesn't help much, but I am affected by what happened to you. As of recent times, I have been a strong supporter of A.B.A.T.E. 's lobbying to get the helmet bill passed. I STILL feel that it should be our choice, rather than mandatory. Like others who've written here today, my attitude has been that it won't matter what (if any) helmet I am wearing, because if I go down, I just as sure would rather be dead, because I'll be pretty messed up. Bet Andy will have stearn words opposing that foolishness. I think I'll reflect upon the cool factor vs. the sensible alternative. I am a big boy now, and need to preserve myself. My wife just might have a different opinion of my existence, should I go down, and become something of a vegatable for her to look after. I did work for a emmergency room surgeon who told me that a helmet is useless after 30 mph or faster, and that sometimes they add to the injury when parts shatter, and become spears to penetrate our skull. BUT you know, I think that my opinion just shifted a bit. I will ALWAYS wear a helmet. I have a 3/4 one (painted to match my SERK of course), and it is pretty kool!
God bless us all, every one of us.