A Helmet Law Protesting Motorcyclist dies without a Helmet

A Helmet Law Protesting Motorcyclist dies without a Helmet

A 55-year-old motorcyclist named Philip A. Contos was pronounced dead at a hospital last Saturday afternoon in Onondaga, New York City. Contos was one of the bikers who were allegedly participating in a protest ride against helmet laws in New York City which was organized by the Onondaga chapter of American Bikers Aimed Towards Education, or ABATE.

Apparently, the group was opposing the mandatory wearing of helmets in New York City and to show this, they decided to ride without wearing helmets. Several other similar protests have been made in other cities and with the continous lobbying of motorcyclists other cities have chosen to repel the rule and made helmet wearing voluntary.

Contos was driving a 1983 Harley Davidson, and according to the police he hit his brakes which made his motorcycle fishtail and go out of  his control, this made him flip over his handlebars and hit the pavement head first.

Helmets are said to prevent fatal injuries to motorcycle riders and it has been estimated to be almost 40% effective according to the National Center for Statistics and Analysis of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Had Contos been wearing his helmet on, he would have survived the fatal accident, local police says.

Posted by James Fried on Monday July 04 2011, 3:22 PM EST. Ref: AP. All trademarks acknowledged. Filed under Health. Comments and Trackbacks closed. Follow responses: RSS 2.0