From: crowder@epcot.spdc.ti.com (Mark Crowder)
Subject: Re: HELMETS
Organization: TI Semiconductor Process and Design Center
Distribution: usa
Date: Mon, 14 Dec 1992 17:17:31 GMT

In article <BD.92Dec13090342@fluent.UUCP> bd%fluent@dartmouth.EDU writes:
>djm@morpheus.wustl.edu (David Maconochie) writes:
>
>>bd@fluent@dartmouth.EDU (Brice Dowaliby) writes:
>>
   [unclassifiable post war deleted]
>
>>So how about this idea?  In the land of the "free" (market) it should be
>>possible to arrange special medical insurance for those who wish to ride
>>without a helmet,  so it could be made illegal to ride without this special
>>coverage. I think that thsi could kill all the dirds with one stone.  This
>>in many ways resembles the extra coverage that you would (or used to) need
>>if you went skiing in the Alps. The insurance ran to about $200 per week,
>>and covered you if you broke a leg, neck, or some other vulnerable bit of
>>anatomy, and got you flown home on a special ambulance plane.  Actually, the
>>more I think about it the more I like this idea.  The US is the place where
>>money speaks, and if you aint got the dough, you dont get a piece of the
>>action.
>
>Sounds pretty dumb to me.  David, do you understand the concept of 
>insurance?  The point of insurance is to spread the cost of accidents 
>over a larger base of people, so no one person is crippled financially 

   Yep, this is called the 'pool' concept of insurance.  I have a 
friend who sells insurance with whom I discuss this sometimes.  There
is more than one pool, though, and the risk category you fall in 
determines which pool, and hence  what rates you pay.

>should an accident befall them.  If you make people "pay as they go"
>instead of allowing them to spread the risk around through
>insurance, why not just outlaw insurance,  and make everyone
>pay full cost for their accidents?

  The idea of health insurance with very high ($2k-$5k) deductibles
is being test marketed even as we 'speak'.  The idea is to put
price pressure (read competition) into the medical industry since
people will be more inclined to shop for price when lots of money
is comming out of their own pocket.  In this way, there would
still be coverage for catestrophic events.  It might work.  I hope
state insurance boards don't outlaw it. 
>
>Perhaps even more to the point, why don't you just take the
>absolute minimum insurance allowed by your state, and take
>your chances in the courts if you have a major accident?

  That's basically what I do, except for slightly higher liability
coverage.  I figure I can invest the difference and pay cash for
my own mistakes.  It's working so far.

>
>>Of course, those riding without helmets, even legally, might just get tired
>>of being asked to show their insurance certificate, and decide to wear a
>>helmet anyway.

  I suppose you could have a special color coded liscense plate or 
some easily visible indicator.  But nothing like this is ever going
to make it to the floor of congress, so speculating is pretty pointless.

Mark Crowder  "I'm sorry my karma ran over your dogma"  crowder@spdc.ti.com 
Dallas, Tx                    88 BMW R100RS         Texas Instruments, Inc.
"If at first you don't succeed, try again.  Then quit.  No use being a 
 damn fool about it."  -- W.C. Fields
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