thebajarunner
Ultra Nomad
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Registered: 9-8-2003
Location: Arizona....."Free at last from crumbling Cali
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Mood: muy amable
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Motorcycle helmets required?
I have a young friend, Baja bound on his bike in Sept.
I have given him maps, all the border info, gas stops, the whole nine yards.
His only question???
"Do I have to wear a helmet?"
Well, I told him "only if you need to use your brain in the future" but he persisted in the question.
So, simple question (no more lectures needed)
"Are helmets required while operating a motorcycle in Baja?"
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thebajarunner
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 3718
Registered: 9-8-2003
Location: Arizona....."Free at last from crumbling Cali
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Mood: muy amable
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did not open
your site did not open,
and the question was as to the law,
not as to whether or not it made any sense
(we pretty thoroughly thrashed that through the other day)
and, I share your observations, I told him I have not seen riders sans helmets in Mexico, but he says he likes to ride over Sonora pass and park the
hat "after I figure we have passed the last CHP"
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vgabndo
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 3461
Registered: 12-8-2003
Location: Mt. Shasta, CA
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Mood: Checking-off my bucket list.
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The link (and post I removed) was to a series of photos of a guy with his head stuffed into the rear end of an 18 wheeler. He lived because he wound
up hanging limp from his captured helmet after being dragged for a quarter mile.
If your friend is as self destructive as he sounds, I'd recommend he just not take a helmet. How bad is a ticket when compared to a thousand other
things that may help him into the next world.
Undoubtedly, there are people who cannot afford to give the anchor of sanity even the slightest tug. Sam Harris
"The situation is far too dire for pessimism."
Bill Kauth
Carl Sagan said, "We are a way for the cosmos to know itself."
PEACE, LOVE AND FISH TACOS
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DENNIS
Platinum Nomad
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Location: Punta Banda
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I see riders all over the place here without helmets. I have no idea about the law pertaining to this but I'm sure, whatever it is or isn't, it
could be interpreted many ways. Especially here, it would be insane not to wear one.
Is the helmet law in the states a federal or state law? Are there states which don't require them?
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vgabndo
Ultra Nomad
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Location: Mt. Shasta, CA
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Mood: Checking-off my bucket list.
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Yes Dennis, they are state laws and Arizona, for one, is contributing to the increase in our health insurance premiums. I like to look for the little
spot of light they make when the sunlight shines in one ear and out the other.
Undoubtedly, there are people who cannot afford to give the anchor of sanity even the slightest tug. Sam Harris
"The situation is far too dire for pessimism."
Bill Kauth
Carl Sagan said, "We are a way for the cosmos to know itself."
PEACE, LOVE AND FISH TACOS
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Price
Nomad
Posts: 168
Registered: 8-29-2003
Location: Las Vegas/San Felipe
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I t seems to be in San Felipe helmets are required - but - during events is the only time is it enforced - yesterday noticed several 4-wheelers right
by the police station - no helmuts
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JamesBC
Newbie
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Registered: 2-12-2008
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I think helmets are required nationally in Mexico, but enforcement is spotty in most places. On the island of Cozumel (which is 'scooter central' - to
the point that there are even special pumps at Pemex, just for scooters) enforcement is (relatively) strict. I haven't seen tickets given, but I have
seen the police stop people and talk to them, and I have heard of a few people getting written up. So, as far as Baja goes - probably illegal to not
wear one, and enforcement is probably quite lax.
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805gregg
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Location: Ojai, Ca
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You only need a helmet if you have something to protect, so if you ask that question, no you don't need one. Maybe go for the Darwin awards.
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KurtG
Super Nomad
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Location: California Central Coast
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Mood: Press On Regardless!!
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Mexican law does require helmets but like other laws enforcement is inconsistant. Several years ago a buddy and I were ticketed in Cabo San Lucas and
went to the station to pay the peso equivalent of $7.00 each and then got our pics taken with one of the officers and his shotgun. It was worth the
small fine!
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BMG
Super Nomad
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Registered: 6-10-2007
Location: La Paz / Bahia Asunci�n / Away from home
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| Quote: | Originally posted by vgabndo
He lived because he wound up hanging limp from his captured helmet after being dragged for a quarter mile. |
Very gruesome pictures and the rider did not live.
We do see riders here in La Paz riding frequently without helmets. Not sure about the laws though.
I think the world is run by C- students.
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DianaT
Select Nomad
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Registered: 12-17-2004
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| Quote: | Originally posted by thebajarunner
I have a young friend, Baja bound on his bike in Sept.
I have given him maps, all the border info, gas stops, the whole nine yards.
His only question???
"Do I have to wear a helmet?"
Well, I told him "only if you need to use your brain in the future" but he persisted in the question.
So, simple question (no more lectures needed)
"Are helmets required while operating a motorcycle in Baja?" |
Since there seems to be no straight answer, or at least one that is applied in all areas, and you obviously know the wisdom of wearing a helmet----fib
to your young friend. 
Tell him that it is definitely against the law and if he is caught without a helmet it will be a very large fine and one week in a Mexican jail.
My sister and her nursing friends always called young males riding without helmets donors.
If your young friend finds out you fibbed, just smile.
JMHO
Diane
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Diver
Ultra Nomad
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Registered: 11-15-2004
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| Quote: | Originally posted by jdtrotter
---fib to your young friend.
If your young friend finds out you fibbed, just smile.
JMHO
Diane |
Great answer ! There is wisdom on Nomads !! 
.
[Edited on 4-3-2008 by Diver]
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DanO
Super Nomad
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Registered: 8-26-2003
Location: Not far from the Pacific
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And their vehicles were referred to by some ER doctor friends of mine as "donorcycles."
\"Without deviation from the norm, progress is not possible.\" -- Frank Zappa
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tripledigitken
Ultra Nomad
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Registered: 9-27-2006
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| Quote: | | Quote: | | Quote: | Originally posted by Hose A
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My sister and her nursing friends always called young males riding without helmets donors.
JMHO
Diane |
You must also consider that there is a shortage of donors.
His riding without a helmet may benefit many others. |
Hose A,
Very true, but given a choice for a donor I'll take the one wearing a helmet!
Ken
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vgabndo
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 3461
Registered: 12-8-2003
Location: Mt. Shasta, CA
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Mood: Checking-off my bucket list.
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Funny Ken...however, if I am really in need of an organ, I would probably take one that was laced with dummy DNA.
BMG...where did you find the info about the rider being killed?I'd like to send that to the guy who sent me the false info, and to my biker friends
who got a forward from me.
Undoubtedly, there are people who cannot afford to give the anchor of sanity even the slightest tug. Sam Harris
"The situation is far too dire for pessimism."
Bill Kauth
Carl Sagan said, "We are a way for the cosmos to know itself."
PEACE, LOVE AND FISH TACOS
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DianaT
Select Nomad
Posts: 10020
Registered: 12-17-2004
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Oh dear---looks like a started a bit of a hijack. Do you think that Super Moderator will be unhappy?
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vgabndo
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 3461
Registered: 12-8-2003
Location: Mt. Shasta, CA
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Mood: Checking-off my bucket list.
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BMG...I found the link to a hoax site quite easily when I looked. The accident did (obviously) happen. The rider's helmet did him no good and he
paid the price for his outlaw behavior.
Parental guidance recommended...
http://www.snopes.com/photos/accident/tulsacrash.asp
Undoubtedly, there are people who cannot afford to give the anchor of sanity even the slightest tug. Sam Harris
"The situation is far too dire for pessimism."
Bill Kauth
Carl Sagan said, "We are a way for the cosmos to know itself."
PEACE, LOVE AND FISH TACOS
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BMG
Super Nomad
Posts: 1776
Registered: 6-10-2007
Location: La Paz / Bahia Asunci�n / Away from home
Member Is Offline
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| Quote: | Originally posted by vgabndo
BMG...I found the link to a hoax site quite easily when I looked. The accident did (obviously) happen. The rider's helmet did him no good and he
paid the price for his outlaw behavior.
Parental guidance recommended...
http://www.snopes.com/photos/accident/tulsacrash.asp |
I also received the email with the photos saying he lived, but I already knew the story of the motorcycle rider. Not sure what the motivation was in
saying he lived in that email. I think helmets save lives even though there are other injuries caused by the extra weight on the head, but that's
another thread on a different forum.
This thread did get me interested in the helmet laws in Mexico and I found quite a few references to such a law but never any statement of fact as to
what that law is. I'll go along with Diane, tell him it is the law. If he comes back later and says you fibbed, plenty of websites will back you up.
I think the world is run by C- students.
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vgabndo
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 3461
Registered: 12-8-2003
Location: Mt. Shasta, CA
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Mood: Checking-off my bucket list.
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I forwarded the original as well as the hoax report to most of my motorcycling buddies. It is interesting that none of them responded. In my
judgement it has something to do with the "there but for fortune...concept.
As a lifelong rider, such images are sobering and still have the same effect as the movies they used to show us in Driver's Education in high school.
I'm so proud of our little community where our public service cable channel has produced a program in which a drunk driving highschooler kills a
friend. All those involved, the police, the firefighter/EMTs, the parents of the victim, the funeral director are all local people who are not actors.
It is VERY VERY powerful stuff. It is so unsettling that it took me a couple of tries to watch it all the way through. It just HAS to help.
Still, I believe my old claim that teenagers and chipmonks are going to have a certain number of roadkills and there is little we can do about it.
Sad on both counts.
Undoubtedly, there are people who cannot afford to give the anchor of sanity even the slightest tug. Sam Harris
"The situation is far too dire for pessimism."
Bill Kauth
Carl Sagan said, "We are a way for the cosmos to know itself."
PEACE, LOVE AND FISH TACOS
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