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Rhode Island doesn't have a helmet law (except for 1st year of license and passengers). I wear a helmet by choice, but to mandate full riding gear is going to far.
I know alot of guys with riding experience going back to the 60s. All with various (on track) experience including mx, enduro, trials, road racing, and drap racing. They always wear helmets, boots (not usually motorcycle boots), jeans, and those Belstaff jackets when on the road. The real Belstaff jacket made out of waxed cotton, or the nylon one. Now these jackets don't offer the abrasion protection of leather or the stronger textiles, but these guys are no squids either. They ride everything from old Triumphs, Velocettes, to interceptors, Ducs, Guzzis, BMW, and cruisers, and some brands that have gone out of business before some here were born. Some have had a fall, some haven't. They don't wheelie, or lane split (illegal here). They don't put anyone else at risk. Why should any of us pass judgement on their gear? They weigh their risk. I know a guy who sided a house, fell off the ladder and was in the hospital for months. someone else who slipped in his kitchen, banged his head, and died. Obviously he didn't expect to fall and die. Life is full of risks that we weigh everyday. The only way to be fully safe is to stay in bed, and even that isn't foolproof. OK I am rambling. I often wear a leather jacket, but a ride in a tshirt on the backroads is fun too. I never go without the helmet, because as you are tumbling on the ground its hard to control where your head lands (and I've broken 3 of them), but no leather or padding (or helmet) will save you everytime. A squid puts others at risk, someone without ATGATT puts oneself at a higher level of risk, no one else.
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