Skate Boarding - Skate Boards and Protective Gear :: Argumentative Persuasive Essays

Skate Boards and Protective Gear     The notion that safety-related set up reduces the injuries suffered in accidents seems at first glance to be an obvious conclusion. After all, it is the aim of these products to either prevent accidents from occuring in the first place or to reduce the injuries suffered by the we ber should an accident occur. However, the conclusion that investing in high quality protective flip greatly reduces the risk of being severely injured in an accident may mask other (and potentially more than significant) causes of injuries and may enliven people to over invest financially and psychologically in protective gear.     First of all, as mentioned in the argument, there are two distinct kinds of gear -- preventative gear (such as light reflecting material) and protective gear (such as helmets). Preventative gear is think to warn others, presumably for the most part motorists, of the strawman of the roller skater. It works on ly if the other is a responsible and caring individual who will afford the skater the necessary space and attention. Protective gear is intended to reduce the effect of any accident, whether it is caused by an other, the skater or some force of nature. Protective gear does little, if anything, to prevent accidents but is presumed to reduce the injuries that occur in an accident. The statistics on injuries suffered by skaters would be more interesting if the skaters were grouped into those wearing no gear at all, those wearing protective gear only, those wearing preventative gear only and those wearing both. These statistics could provide skaters with a clearer understanding of which kinds of gear are more beneficial.     The argument above is weakened by the fact that it does not convey into account the inherent differences between skaters who wear gear and those who do not. If is at least likely that those who wear gear may be generally more responsible and/or safety conscious individuals. The skaters who wear gear may be less likely to cause accidents through careless or risky behavior. It may, in fact, be their natural caution and responsibility that keeps them out of the emergency room rather than the gear itself. Also, the statistic above is based entirely on those who are skating in streets and parking lots which are relatively dangerous places to