No Helmet Law?

[Freak Out]

There is no self service fueling in Oregon.

[bobblehead]

follow the money. Its the insurance companies that lobby for helmet and seatbelt laws. do-gooder politicians also want to get involved for some good press, but mostly its the insurance companies.

I wear a helmet too, but I agree with harvey...sometimes the herds needs culling.

[MJZiggy]

I like the seat belt law for kids with idiot parents. Driving down the highway the other day and i saw a kid staring back at me from the car in front of me. The kid then jumped to the front seat and back again. All at 70mph. Kids arent smart enough to know better but their parents should.

No to helmet laws.

yeah yeah yeah. How many of us grew up perfectly well doing that and worse.

Sometimes it's less about how many of us did and more about how many of us didn't.

When you're talking about grownups that's one thing (and I do think carseat laws are overdone--8 years and 50 lbs.? Please) but protecting the kids who can't do it themselves is another.

[GBRulz]

When you're talking about grownups that's one thing (and I do think carseat laws are overdone--8 years and 50 lbs.? Please) but protecting the kids who can't do it themselves is another.

WI has a law similar to that. They have to be in a car seat until 4, but a booster seat until 8, or a certain weight/height. My niece has a booster seat, it's basically a big foamy pad to sit on. Apparently it brings them up to the right height so that a seat belt won't harm them.

[MJZiggy]

There's a $.50 clip that you can buy that pulls the seatbelt to the side that serves the same purpose.

[oregonpackfan]

There is no self service fueling in Oregon.

Freak Out is correct. Oregon is also one of the top 10 states in the country with the highest gasoline rates.

Allegedly, the law against self-service is to "protect the consumer" as there was an explosion by a self-serving motorist years ago.

I suspect the real reason for the non-self service is to keep the unemployment rates down. Those gas stations employ a lot of people at minimum wages.

[oregonpackfan]

One shortcoming of the No Helmet law is that it raises the health insurance rates for the rest of the population.

A number of those individuals who survive an accident while not wearing a helmet require far more intensive medical care than if they had been wearing a helmet. There are stories of helmetless accident survivors who spend the rest of their lives as a vegetable at the financial expense of the rest of us.

So those "idiots" who ride not wearing a helmet do indeed affect society.

[HowardRoark]

I suspect the real reason for the non-self service is to keep the unemployment rates down. Those gas stations employ a lot of people at minimum wages.

The law seemed pretty transparent to me too. As I sat in my car I wondered why they don't mandate that everybody needs to eat at least one doughnut every morning.

[HarveyWallbangers]

One shortcoming of the No Helmet law is that it raises the health insurance rates for the rest of the population.

I always love when liberals justify a law because of reasons like this. One, I don't think you base a law on the cost. I'd rather have a law based on individual freedoms. Also, I doubt the costs would go up that much. Did your insurance rates go down when the seat belt law was enacted? Hardly. It's just something politicians claim so they can continue to legislate "what's best for us." There are other things our politicians could do to lower the cost of health insurance.

BTW, this doesn't mean I don't think children should be required to wear seat belts, helmets, etc.

[packinpatland]

I don't remember gas being cheap in Oregon when I was there. It was a lot more than what I was used to paying, but I think it was cheaper than California. What's your gas tax in Connecticut?

62.5 cents a gallon.

[packinpatland]

Only CA is higher that CT


Alabama 38.6 45.6 2 cent inspection fee. 1 cpg Transport Fee. City and Couny levies can be from .5 to 6 cpg.
Alaska 26.4 32.4
Arizona 37.4 52.4 1 cpg UST tax. Use class vehicles pay an additionsl 9cpg for diesel
Arkansas 40.2 47.2 .3 cpg environmental assurance fee for underground storage tank fund
California 63.9 72.0 6% Sales Tax. 1.25% county tax. 1.2 cpg state UST fee. plus local sales tax
Colorado 40.4 44.9
Connecticut 62.5 61.4
Delaware 41.4 46.4 .9% gross receipts tax for Hazardous substance cleanup fund.
Dist. of Columbia 38.4 44.4
Florida 51.6 53.4 Sales tax 11.6. 4 cpg excise tax. 2.2 cpg environmental inspection.
Georgia 44.4 52.6 4% sales tax. Local option sales taxes from 1% to 3%
Hawaii 51.0 71.1 4% sales tax. county tax and 0.1 cpg environmental reponse tax.
Idaho 43.4 49.4
Illinois 57.9 65.7 6.25% sales tax. 0.003 per gallon tax for underground storage tank fund. Additional 12.75 cpg in City of Chicago
Indiana 50.1 69.2 6% sales tax. 0.01 per gallon inspection fee.
Iowa 40.1 47.9 1 cpg UST fee.
Kansas 43.4 51.4 1 cpg environmental fee
Kentucky 36.9 39.9 1.4cpg underground storage tank fund. Commercial carriers pay surtax 2.2cpg quarterly on gas and 5.2 cpg on special fuels
Louisiana 38.4 44.4
Maine 47.5 53.9 .07 Coastal and Inland Water fund. 1.38 groundwater fund. 40 cpg/10,000 for Petroleum Market Share Act.
Maryland 41.9 48.7
Massachusetts 41.9 47.9 2.5 cp UST fund.
Michigan 54.4 60.3 6% sales tax. .875 cpg for environmental regulation fee for refined petroleum fund
Minnesota 40.4 46.4 2 cpg UST cleanup fee at wholesale level
Mississippi 37.2 43.2 .4 cpg Environmental Protection Fee. In Hancock, Harrison and Jackson counties there is an additional 3 cpg Seawall tax.
Missouri 36.0 42.0
Montana 46.2 53.0 0.75cpg fee assessed at the pump to go toward the state cleanup fund.
Nebraska 42.3 47.7 0.9cpg release prevention fee for gasoline and 0.3cpg release prevention fee for diesel
Nevada 50.9 53.0 up to 10cpg county tax on gasoline.0.75 cpg cleanup fee. .055 cpg inspection fee.
New Hampshire 38.0 44.0 0.125 cpg for oil pollution control fund.1.5 cpg for UST cleanup fund.
New Jersey 32.9 41.9 4 cpg Petroleum Products Gross Receipts Tax.
New Mexico 36.4 43.4 1 cpg loading fee.
New York 59.6 64.7 local county sales tax of between 3.125% to 4.75%.
North Carolina 48.6 54.6 0.25cpg inspection tax.17.5 cpg flat rate plus a variable rate of 12.35 cpg wholesale price component
North Dakota 41.4 47.4
Ohio 46.4 52.4 Surcharge of 3 cpg for commercial vehicles.
Oklahoma 35.4 38.4 1 cpg per gallon UST fee.
Oregon 43.4 48.7 additional optional county gasoline (ranging from 1 to 3 cpg) and city gasoline and diesel taxes (ranging from 1 to 5 cpg).
Pennsylvania 50.7 63.6 19.2 cent per gallon oil company franchise tax on gas. 26.1 cpg oil company franchise tax on diesel.1.1 cpg UST fee
Rhode Island 49.4 55.4 1 cent per gallon environmental protection regulatory fee for UST program.
South Carolina 35.2 41.2 0.25 cpg inspection fee for inspection program and 0.50cpg environmental fee for UST cleanup.
South Dakota 42.4 48.4 2 cpg Tank Inspection Fee. Ethanol is taxed at 20 cents per gallon; E85 and M85 are taxed at 10 cpg.
Tennessee 39.8 42.8 1cent special petroleum tax for gasoline and .4 cpg environmental assurance fee.
Texas 38.4 44.4
Utah 42.9 48.9
Vermont 38.4 50.4 1 cpg license fee for UST fund.
Virginia 38.0 44.0 0.6cpg petroleum storage tank fee and 2% sales tax on motor fuels in localities that are part of the Northern Virginia Transportation District
[b]Washington 54.4 60.4
West Virginia[/b] 49.9 55.9
Wisconsin 51.3 57.3 2cpg UST fee on gasoline and diesel.
Wyoming 32.4 38.4 1 cpg to the environmental cleanup costs.

[GBRulz]

http://www.gasbuddy.com/gb_gastemperaturemap.aspx

Kind of a cool map, showing gas costs across the US.

[oregonpackfan]

[quote="HarveyWallbangers"]

One shortcoming of the No Helmet law is that it raises the health insurance rates for the rest of the population.

I always love when liberals justify a law because of reasons like this. One, I don't think you base a law on the cost. I'd rather have a law based on individual freedoms. Also, I doubt the costs would go up that much. Did your insurance rates go down when the seat belt law was enacted? Hardly. It's just something politicians claim so they can continue to legislate "what's best for us." /quote]

Harvey,

Insurance companies keep very detailed statistics on matters like this issue of helmets for motorcyclists. The fact is motorcyclists and cyclists involved in accidents while not wearing helmets are bound to incur far greater costs in medical care(providing they survive the accident) than users who wear helmets.

[Tyrone Bigguns]

OPF...that isn't Harv's point.

[Patler]

I rode motorcycles for years with a helmet and for years without a helmet. Still do both today, with and without. Kind of feel it should be my choice.

OPF - I don't know whose stats to believe, there is another side to it. If you follow the anti-helmet (motorcycle) lobby they have stats to prove much LESS medical costs for the helmetless rider...because they more often die in higher speed crashes. The helmeted rider lives, but with a broken up body. By their stats, there is also a higher incidence of severe neck injuries and even paralysis in low speed accidents with helmeted riders. Some studies say it is from the drag of the helmet along the ground, others say it is from severe whiplash due to momentum from the added weight of the helmet.