HI folks,
Just last week I lost two of my friends that I have known for many years, a married couple that my wife introduced me to.
They died because they did not like to wear helmets.
They were cruising at 45 to 50 mph according to the accident investigators and witnesses, when a cager ran a stop sign, this caused him to swerve violently in order to avoid the crash but with his wife on the back adding the extra weight, he lost control, they did not hit any vehicles they were just thrown off the bike and they both suffered major head injuries just from the pavement, and both died in route to the hospital.
IMHO, a full face helmet, although uncomfortable in the hot summer, can mean the difference between life and death, an open face helmet will not protect your face, and a simple fall off the bike at 35mph or even slower can result in death from a severe trauma to you face nose or jaw, The nose can explode and send fragments into your brain, resulting in death, or at the very least, a very ugly appearance and a lot of plastic surgery.
Dennis