Helmet law-----France
Discussion
I,m taking an 80cc stepthru to Le Mans this year to scoot in and out of town and have assumed that our helmet laws are the same. I ask this question as a few years ago in the south (San Tropez) it seemed optional and in Greece it certainly is. Does it vary with age of the rider or size of the bike?
It used to be a case of you must have a helmet "on your person", so many French riders rode with their helmet slung through their arm totally legally. I think its now changed as 95% of riders I see in the south now wear their crash helmet properly.
I learnt to ride in Greece, and the law at the time was much the same. However, no one took any notice of this and everyone rode sans helmet. Myself included and had a couple of small traffic fines in several thousand miles.
If at all possible, and within the law, I much prefer to go helmet-less with a pair of decent aviators. Yes its much more risky and I know that in an accident I would probably die from head trauma, but pushing decent speeds on a mountain road on a hot summer day with no helmet just makes me feel more alive than anything else I can think of.
I learnt to ride in Greece, and the law at the time was much the same. However, no one took any notice of this and everyone rode sans helmet. Myself included and had a couple of small traffic fines in several thousand miles.
If at all possible, and within the law, I much prefer to go helmet-less with a pair of decent aviators. Yes its much more risky and I know that in an accident I would probably die from head trauma, but pushing decent speeds on a mountain road on a hot summer day with no helmet just makes me feel more alive than anything else I can think of.
SJWB said:
Soon to be 'more dead' if you carry on like that
I grew up riding bikes with no helmets, so when I wear helmets now I feel very trapped. For me, it completely robs the whole experience of being on a bike. Therefore I now don't ride much in the UK.
If you grew up riding with helmets (ie UK), then riding without helmets would sound pretty damn stupid. Fair play.
All I can say is I've ridden many thousands of miles without helmets, and I'm still here to tell the tale. Some of us need to take more risks and push the envelope to feel alive than others.
Mind you, now I have commitments (mainly a girlfriend), I would probably not ride sans helmet. Its the sort of thing you do when you have no real attachments. You don't risk anyone else apart from yourself.
SJWB said:
Soon to be 'more dead' if you carry on like that
Riding without a helmet used to be the norm, and most riders did not spontaneously drop dead.
It saddens me how H&S have so twisted our perceptions that many cannot now tell the difference between "less risky", "more risky", and "certain death".
molestrangler said:
I,m taking an 80cc stepthru to Le Mans this year to scoot in and out of town and have assumed that our helmet laws are the same. I ask this question as a few years ago in the south (San Tropez) it seemed optional and in Greece it certainly is. Does it vary with age of the rider or size of the bike?
You would get away with it around the track on friday night, but other than that you don't have a choice I'm afraid... Only on bicycles may you not wear a helmet, but even then it's frowned upon...
grumbledoak said:
SJWB said:
Soon to be 'more dead' if you carry on like that
Riding without a helmet used to be the norm, and most riders did not spontaneously drop dead.
It saddens me how H&S have so twisted our perceptions that many cannot now tell the difference between "less risky", "more risky", and "certain death".
What he said. There are already some people who respond like that if you dare admit to doing 90 on a motorway.
molestrangler said:
I,m taking an 80cc stepthru to Le Mans this year to scoot in and out of town and have assumed that our helmet laws are the same. I ask this question as a few years ago in the south (San Tropez) it seemed optional and in Greece it certainly is. Does it vary with age of the rider or size of the bike?
Laws are the same so therefore I would not risk the wrath of the BiB,could spoil an otherwise top weekend. They fined my mate €750 for leaving his insurance doc's etc on the kitchen table.
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