Ride CT & Ride New England Serving New England, NYC and The Hudson Valley!
STAMFORD – The death of a close friend in a motorcycle accident last week has prompted a Connecticut rider to launch a petition drive to pass a helmet law in the state.
Dante Ibanez is seeking a “No Helmet, No Ride” policy in Connecticut. “We do not want my friend to go without us changing something to ensure no one else will meet their end,” he wrote in a petition plea posted Sunday on Change.org.
Ibanez’s friend, 30-year-old Jose David Chacon-Valverde, was riding on Route 1 in Stamford about 7 p.m. Wednesday when he lost control of his Harley-Davidson motorcycle and crashed. He was taken to Stamford Hospital with life-threatening injuries and later died.
Chacon-Valverde was not wearing a helmet. News reports last week quoted friends as saying he usually wore a helmet and that they didn’t know why he was not wearing one the evening of the crash. “The only day he forgot his helmet was his last ride. He was only able to ride his new bike for nine months,” Ibanez wrote in the petition plea.
Ibanez also recalled, “He was riding with me when he hit a steep rain drain. His bike goes out of control and he hits the back of his head. Speeding, alcohol or drugs were NOT part of the incident. Just a damn rain drain and no helmet.”
Ibanez noted that Chacon-Valverde “was only 30 years old and barely had time to ride. Working every day to support his family, he met me and others and created a new bond. Riding out with our Harleys was his only window of escape to enjoy life.”
Ibanez wants lawmakers to enact a No Helmet, No Ride law “where everyone who is driving a motorcycle, not matter who they are, is required to wear a helmet… Safety should not be an option, it’s a requirement.”
As of this afternoon the online petition had 90 signatures. The petition will be delivered to state representatives and senators as well as to the governor.
RIDE-CT & RIDE-NewEngland has messaged Ibanez seeking further comment.
– By Bud Wilkinson
Dante – I applaud you for what you are doing in memory of your friend, and for all others who ride, and those who love them. I am so tired of hearing about people’s right to choose – what about the rights of all those they leave behind, or all those left to take care of them when they are in a vegetative state for the rest of their existence due to an otherwise avoidable head injury.
Please continue the push and don’t let your friend’s death be in vain. The State of CT needs to enact a helmet law ASAP as it has been proven time and time again that a DOT helmet significantly reduces the chance of death or permanent injury in a motorcycle crash.
Folks, if you won’t wear a helmet for yourself – do the right thing and wear one for those who love you and want to keep you here and able to fully enjoy life.
Signed it, still cant believe the insurance companies havent made this mandatory