May 30, 2015 1 min read

You presented many good arguments for the use of helmets by motorcycle riders in your May 24, editorial.

You’re absolutely correct, of course, that society pays the costs associated with injuries suffered as a result of riders not wearing helmets. It does seem to me, however, that the exact same arguments – with slight changes in the numbers – could be used to argue for the abolition of motorcycles in general. Here again, we have the classic conundrum of personal freedom versus the public cost.

I propose a solution utilizing the principles set forth by Jonathan Swift in his “A Modest Proposal,” i.e. if a motorcyclist suffers a head injury while not wearing a helmet, let us simply permit him (or her) to lie by the side of the road until they spontaneously heal. Thus, personal freedom is unfettered, while the “costs” to society are unchanged. Of course, if your primary goal is to get people to do what “you” think is best, this solution will probably not appeal to you.

Bruce Taszarek

Eighty Four