Six year old and drinking father killed in Wausau motorcycle crash

[gypcasino]

Police: Father had been drinking before fatal motorcycle crash

By The Associated Press

WAUSAU, Wis. - A Wausau father killed with his 6-year-old son when their motorcycle crashed into a tree just off a city street had been warned not to drive because he had been drinking beer all day, according to police reports.

One woman told investigators that she considered Daniel Dodson "toasted" when he took off with two sons on the motorcycle, police said.

Dodson, 35, and his son Blake died in the crash near downtown Wausau on Saturday afternoon. Another son, 10-year-old Austin, remained hospitalized in fair condition, authorities said. None were wearing helmets...

http://www.lacrossetribune.com/articles/2007/08/08/wi/03wi0808.txt

(unambigufied thread title --1992)

[Invader3K]

Pretty sad. Sounds like someone at least tried to stop him and he did it anyway.

 

I don't want to start an argument, because maybe it wouldn't have helped in this situation, but I'm surprised it's not required to wear helmets while riding a motorcycle.

[GAME05]

it never bothers me when some random guy dies because of a bad decision he made himself, but stories like this are apalling that someone has zero consideration for his responsibilities as a parent and even for the lives of his own kids that he would subject them to those kind of behaviours.

[samwise]

I do not think the state of Wisconsin requires a helmet, but I think they should start looking into this. If you can get a ticket for not wearing a seatbelt, it would make sense there be a law that requires helmets. I know it is another state but when Ben Roethlisberger crashed he was not wearing a helmet and he was not required by law to do so. I know it is cliche' but my mom who works in a hospital always says that motorcycle riders without helmets are organ donors waiting to happen.

 

This is just a terrible thing, his other son and wife will never live normal lives after this.

[Fatter than Joey]

It's amazing you can be killed on impact driving 20 MPH -- it shows how incredibly dangerous it is to have a rider in front of the driver.

[Invader3K]

I guess that's why I don't get why it hasn't happened yet. There are so many "do gooders" in state legislatures and such, you'd think a bill would pass at some point requiring helmets. Is the motorcycle lobby that powerful that they can get stuff like that blocked?

[gypcasino]

Is the motorcycle lobby that powerful that they can get stuff like that blocked?

http://www.madison.com/wsj/home/local/wonder/safesound/index.php?ntid=199515&ntpid=5

[homer]

My personal opinion is that if you don't want to wear a helmet, fine.....but I really don't think your insurance company should cover your medical bills if you crack up. Now kids on the other hand should always have to wear a helmet.

[GAME05]

i'm not a fan of helmet or seatbelt laws at all. but i consider it a different issue on what minors might be required to wear.

[HebrewHammer]

Then there's this little tidbit:

 

"Dodson had been allowed to leave the Marathon County Jail, where he was serving time for a theft conviction, to help take care of his children, police said."

 

Great.

[RU Rah Rah]

I was in Oostburg last week on vacation, and I saw this dude riding a moped with a little kid propped up on his lap. Neither were wearing helmets. My six-year old saw it and explained to my two-year old what a bad idea it was.

[Samurai Bucky]

I was in Oostburg last week on vacation, and I saw this dude riding a moped with a little kid propped up on his lap. Neither were wearing helmets. My six-year old saw it and explained to my two-year old what a bad idea it was.

That's Oostburg for you. http://static.yuku.com/v2//domainskins/bypass/img/smileys/wink.gif

 

Growing up, my dad would prop me up on the gas tank and drive around the field at the cabin or on the street car tracks. He would go slow, though.

 

I thought I would share a story about an accident I had driving a motorcycle. I used to work at Road America and was driving to my work location on the grounds. I was driving past the south paddock when a car decided to pull in front of me. I hit the brakes and went over the hood of the car. I was probably doing 15 - 20 MPH. I ended up with a sprained ankle, but it could have been worse. The scratch is still on my helmet to this day. I believe in wearing helmets.

 

From what I understand, the state loses out on federal funding because they don't have a helmet law. I don't know how much that is. From a "freedom" standpoint, there are many choices people make during their lives that are poor choices. Drinking and driving, jumping from the roof of a house, playing pepper behind home plate at Miller Park, etc. I suppose wearing a helmet is a "risk / reward" proposition. Does a person get enough of a reward wearing a helmet vs. not wearing one? For me, that is too much of a risk.

[dadofandrew]

I would never not wear a helmet, but I am against making it law. However, minors should have to wear them, without a doubt.

 

Hellishly sad story.

[mothershipconnection]

If I can get a $135 fine for nothing but failing to wear a seatbelt (ie that's what I was pulled over for - nothing else), it's absolutely absurd and stupid that you don't need to wear a helmet on a motorcycle.

[jaybird2001wi]

When I interned in Lake County, Ill. there was a seatbelt patrol in Buffalo Grove where cops would seriously use binoculars to look for motorists who don't have their seatbelts on and they would instantly pull them over.

[Thurston Fluff]

Two things form the article posted,

Wisconsin does require helmets for motorcycle drivers or passengers younger than 18 and for drivers with instruction permits and their passengers.

So the kids legally should have had helmets. I honestly thought it was required for all passengers but maybe I'm wrong. It might just be kids and temp permits.

Some motorcyclists say helmets impair their hearing and peripheral vision, while safety advocates insist their head-protecting advantages reduce injuries and prevent deaths.

This line always cracks me up when I hear it as an excuse. They say it reduces what they hear yet they ride a bike that makes more noise than a semi with steal wheels.

[bthurley19]

The Agency my mom works for in Wausau helps out parents of mostly low-income families and gives helpful advice for raising there children. They work closely with social services, who was involved with this family already. The Wausau Daily Herald wrote that this guy had been been serving a jail sentence for theft and had been given permission to be home and help with Child Care. What the paper didn't write is that social services had been trying to take the children away from this guy. So the county jail was releasing this guy to care for his kids over the weekend and social services thought that he wasn't even fit to care for his kids. Now one of the kids is dead and the other is never going to be the same.

Here's some further information from the Daily Herald:
http://www.wausaudailyherald.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070807/WDH0101/708070520

[Invader3K]

Motorcyclists seem to be full of excuses for a lot of things, like putting loud pipes on their bikes so people can supposedly here them better. Yeah, because I'm not just going to see you in front of me, I really need your loud bike going through the neighborhood at all hours. The idea that a helmet is going to affect peripheral vision is pretty lame, because you can find helmets that won't do that.

 

I'm surprised the insurance companies don't just step in and say they won't insure people if helmets aren't required, like seatbelts in cars.

[Jimbo]

Is the motorcycle lobby that powerful that they can get stuff like that blocked?

The legislator was debating a bill back in the late 70's. I was living in Madison at that time. The motorcyclists had themselves one huge rally and transcended into Madison, a long line of them just like Harleyfest. Drove down East Wash and around the Capitol Square. They get their point across.

 

[Invader3K]

It's just weird since the best argument for not wearing them is "I don't like to wear them." Yes, we live in a free country, but there are still things you sometimes have to follow in order to enjoy that freedom. I don't see how having to wear a helmet is really hindering someone's enjoyment of the open road.

[Jimbo]

My co-worker doesn't wear a helmut because he says it makes your head top-heavy, thus prone to a broken neck in case of an accident. Whatever.

[Invader3K]

Well, let's think about that...if you're in a situation where you're risking a broken neck, is not having a helmet on really going to be safer? Just sounds like an empty excuse to me.

[BREWCREW5]

This is just another reason to not drive drunk. Everyone on here is talking about helmets...How about the drunk dad smoking a tree.

[TheBwaz]

There is a case on the books in Wisconsin where an insurance company tried to deny an injured biker coverage becasue he wasn't wearing his helmet. The insurance company lost meaning that, until the legislature changes the law, the case is controlling. Don't hold your breath waiting for the legislature.

 

People who know what they are doing on their bikes, fine. Summer seems to bring out every yahoo who thinks the laws of the state and of physics do not apply to them.