What if the law went further than just helmets?

[oldnslo]

Stay tuned for the globalization of safety devices which will be included on every motorcycle, at least beyond a certain size, on the planet.
You might see leg protectors, seatbelts, padded break-away handlebars and collapsable fuel cells. It may get nasty someday. On the bright side, it may be many years before anything becomes mandatory. It will become practically impossible to modify your motorcycle in any way without violating a law. It's a lot easier for the govt to control what your bike is like than to check you out for armor in your pants.

[Keyoke]

And that has already started in some places - type approval has almost killed custom building in some countries altogether. It restricts justabout anything you can do with a bike - everything has to be original parts, from the manufacturer, specifically for that bike

[High_Side]

The safest "motorcycle" is a Honda Civic. Someone has to draw the line somewhere...

[suckingair]

I've seen what skin looks like after sliding down the road at 80 km per hour wearing jeans.. I will always wear jacket, pants, boots, gloves and helmet because my ability to walk away from a crash is more important than anything else.. I feel for the people that have to put someone else's brains into a plastic bag.

[Keyoke]

I've seen what skin looks like after sliding down the road at 80 km per hour wearing jeans.. I will always wear jacket, pants, boots, gloves and helmet because my ability to walk away from a crash is more important than anything else.. I feel for the people that have to put someone else's brains into a plastic bag.

I'm with you on that - i don't ride without kit. The law wouldnt make any difference to me.

However, it depends on how far they go - I do wear leather trousers, with armour. However, they are shop-brand rather than a well-known make - would they still be legal? I know this is all speculation and paranoia, bbut i like giving myself plenty of chances to say "i told you so!"