HENDERSON: On civility and donning the brain bucket

Some of the things I was warned as a young man that I should never get into arguments over
were—in no particular order—religion, politics, which hand in a card game wins, and whether there should be a
motorcycle-helmet law.

In Brown County lives a friend of mine who has to stay inside most of the winter. This is because his nose and part of his
cheek are made of plastic, the result of a motorcycle accident in his early 20s. Eventually, after several surgeries, my friend
lives for all seasons but winter— having cheated death itself. No, he wasn’t wearing a helmet. And now, his face
freezes.

 My children used to grouse at me when seat-belt laws were put into place. The no-seat-belt fine wasn’t large,
and I found seat belts rather confining. The fact that I was 60 pounds overweight at the time had nothing to do with it. One
evening, I was driving near the intersection of 91st and Meridian streets. Right in front of me, a truck hit a car nearly
head on. The air bags blew in the car. The truck driver was only bruised, as was his truck. The car, however, was mashed to
bits. Two people in the car extracted themselves from their seat belts after several of us bystanders checked them for possible
injuries. They literally walked away. From that moment, I wore my seat belt when driving.

As I drive the freeways, city streets and the hills of southern Indiana, I see dozens of motorcyclists cruising here and
there. For about a half year, I’ve rejoined them after not having ridden since my firstborn was on her way, nearly 25
years ago. I was browbeaten, and properly so, into selling my Honda.

Back then, I wore my helmet once in a while, but really liked the insect-filtration capability of my somewhat long hair.

There is an organization called American Bikers Aimed Toward Education (ABATE) that advances the concept that Hoosier bikers
and their passengers ought to be able to ride without helmets. The very governor of Indiana, a bike rider, is a fan of this
organization, although the First Brain is protected by the First Brain Bucket—a helmet.

This summer, there’ll be a lot of bad news about Indiana bikers, and the number of head and brain injuries coming from
accidents where biker or passenger didn’t wear a helmet. Some will point to Darwinian self-selection. Others will wag
their social fingers at me, for believing that wearing a helmet ought to be the law in Indiana.

Another biker friend of mine, a programmer, wiped out on the FDR Drive in New York City. He was wearing a helmet, and he
and his girlfriend died instantly. He was going at an outrageous speed and hit an oil slick, then tangled with a stationary
light standard. He was an experienced rider and was obviously pushing it. The helmet didn’t help, it’s true. Darwinian
selection comes in many forms.

 Ask an emergency-room doc about helmets. They have practical answers. You can see it in their eyes. Subconsciously,
they also put their hands on their stomachs. We need to join many other states in mandating helmets. I hate legislating behavior,
but what we do in this world greatly affects others.

The selfish, if invigorating, act of not wearing a helmet chimes in with the problem of secondhand smoke. At some point,
the Legislature and the governor agree that with liberty comes the responsibility of civility. Otherwise, we devolve back
to our tribal origins.• 

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Henderson is managing director of ExtremeLabs Inc., a Bloomington computer analysis firm.