I'm with you there Eddy. Because I live in Australia helmets aren't an option, they're mandated by law and have been since the 1950's. Yes we had the same whining noises for a couple of years but these days it's just accepted that if you buy a bike, you buy a helmet to go with it.
I've always used a full face helmet and always ridden sports bikes till my wrists & back would no longer handle the riding position for long. When I bought my America I bought a full face helmet out of habit. When a friend purchased an open face (what you Americans call a 3/4 helmet I believe) and told me of the differences I bought one myself and discovered the same as you did - how much more a sensory experience it was and how much less you feel seperated from your surrounds. Today I still have my full face helmet, but I only wear it when it rains. My girlfriend refuses to wear a full face at all, as it gives her a headache.
About 9 months ago I came down on a rainy night, bounced my bike off a traffic island and bounced myself off the road. I was wearing the open face (it hadn't been raining when I left home). I got carted off to hospital in a neckbrace and when I finally got to see my helmet the next day I found huge gouges in the front and the back. I was on a normal suburban street so I was doing normal suburban speeds, and that helmet changed what would have been horrific head injuries to just a badly bruised leg.
Yes I too have seen the arguments that a helmet is useless on roads due the speeds and they're right at highway speeds. A helmet's pretty useless at that speed as you'll die from the many other injuries you'll sustain. However unless you're a weekend warrior who only uses the bike on a highway, the majority of your riding in traffic will be done at speeds where a helmet is effective. Even the weekend warriors have to get to and from their highways, and they're much more likely to have their accident while involved with low speed traffic than a less crowded highway with much fewer cross-roads.
If you have the choice, and you choose not to wear one, then at least be honest enough to admit that it's simply because you don't want to and that you accept the additional risk as a personal choice. I have respect for the personal choices of others. The weak arguments used to justify not wearing one don't hold water, and are as obviously transparent as a politician's promises. I can't respect using half-truths to justify the refusal to take responsibility for personal choices.
Matt
