I am sure that most have seen this already, but thought I'd post it.


ONONDAGA, N.Y. -- Police say a motorcyclist participating in a protest ride against helmet laws in upstate New York died after he flipped over the bike's handlebars and hit his head on the pavement.

The accident happened Saturday afternoon in the town of Onondaga, in central New York near Syracuse.

State troopers tell The Post-Standard of Syracuse that 55-year-old Philip A. Contos of Parish, N.Y., was driving a 1983 Harley Davidson with a group of bikers who were protesting helmet laws by not wearing helmets.

Troopers say Contos hit his brakes and the motorcycle fishtailed. The bike spun out of control, and Contos toppled over the handlebars. He was pronounced dead at a hospital.

Troopers say Contos would have likely survived if he had been wearing a helmet.

I don't want to sound rude (RIP rider) but as the article says, he probably would still be alive if he had a helmet on. He made a bad choice and now he's dead. Darwin had it all figured out after it all.

Just kind of curious - ABATE claims to not be opposed to helmet use, they are opposed to government mandated helmet use.

Why, then, is it necessary to NOT wear helmets as a statement of protest when they are not opposed to helmets, just the legislation?

The laws of the land pretty much stipulate that if you are in a public place, your genitals need to be covered with clothing, right?

Could not the same protest against mandated apparel be potentially less fatally accomplished by riding around wearing ass-less open crotch chaps with nothing underneath, but still wearing a helmet?

Kind of shoots your cause in the bung-hole when you essentially prove the basic merit of the legislation, however obtrusively nannyish that legislation may be.

Don't imagine too many legislators are lining up to say "that dude was RIGHT! He should not have been legally required to wear a helmet, so we should change the law in his honor"

Way to "take one for the team"!

Sad and pointless (not the post, Zin).

Just because I don't want the government mandating that I do something doesn't mean I would not choose to do it of my own free will.

Yup..

The healthcare industry pretty much mandates how the government will react to healthcare. OH....I can't wait for the replies

Reading on other forums (non-Harley) about this it's apparent there's a lot of disdain for riders that don't conform to the ATGAT mentality. Comments are cruel for the most part.

I'm sure this is a tragedy for his family and friends. Maybe a helmet would have saved his life but a helmet or wearing all the gear doesn't guarantee you won't be hurt or killed on a motorcycle. If you are really that concerned about safety you wouldn't be riding a bike in the first place.

Soap box warning...

The last thing we should be doing is insulting a dead rider. We also shouldn't be trying to mandate safety equipment because our avocation is inherently unsafe (compared to a car) no matter what we wear or how we ride. Slippery slope and all that.

Anyone who would talk shit about this guy, regardless of our own personal feelings re: gear, is pretty damn low. Talking ill of the dead is low class...period.

I agree with you guys.

It's unfortunate for his loved ones. God knows that I've made some choices in my life that could've put me in the dirt a long time ago.