Tuesday, July 05, 2011
photo: Associated Press/file photo
Philip Contos was determined to show that the government had no right to make him wear a helmet while riding his Harley Davidson motorcycle, regardless of the consequences.
He set out on Saturday with a group of fellow enthusiasts who were participating in a ride supported by ABATE (American Bikers Aimed for Education) to protest New York’s mandatory helmet law. While cruising through Onondaga, near Syracuse in central New York, Contos hit his brakes and was thrown from his bike.
His head struck the pavement, causing a fatal skull fracture. A law enforcement official said the death was preventable, had Contos been wearing a helmet.
But his brother, Richard Contos, said he would do it again, if he could. “He would have wanted it that way. … He protested everything.”
Each state determines its own helmet law and only four—Colorado, Illinois, Iowa and New Hampshire—are helmet free. New York is one of 20 states that requires all riders to wear the protective gear, while the rest exempt adults over the age of 18 or 21.
Motorcycle fatalities have more than doubled since the late 1990s. They peaked in 2008 at 5,312 deaths but dropped to 3,615 last year.
-Noel Brinkerhoff
Death of Motorcyclist During Helmet Protest Is Not Changing Minds of Some Riders (by Teri Weaver, The Post-Standard)
Motorcyclist Protesting Helmet Law Dies of Head Injury (by Kase Wickman, The Raw Story)
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