Australia has a mandatory helmet law in place. Like many of their policies, they sacrifice a personal choice, or responsibility for the greater good. You have very little rights when compared to the States. Case in point are their gun control laws. The result is a safer country with fewer gun-related domestic disputes. Also, the liquor laws are very strict. The pours are weak and bar tenders can lose their jobs, or be fined for serving a drunk customer.

The resulting scene is not what you’d expect coming to the country. I don’t know about you, but my general impression of Australians were that they were party animals, mostly based on my previous experiences with them. The bar scene at night is surprisingly calm. There aren’t drunken idiots pouring into the streets, no one is puking all over and even on Australia Day, I was surprised how calm it was, compared to say, the 4th of July.

That brings me to my point, do you think mandatory helmet laws should be enforced in the States? It’s surreal to ride around town and see 99.9% of the riders with helmets. The one time I didn’t wear mine, I was getting yelled at by drivers and pedestrians. It was like I was pissing in public. For some reason, I don’t mind wearing a helmet, especially if everyone else is.

How do you feel about sacrificing personal rights for the greater good? Studies show that helmets save lives but is that enough?