Actually many of the riding suits you see savvy street motorcyclists wearing are made from Kevlar materials and hidden armor with space age plastics and other forms of protection sewn inside the garments.
Helmets are another issue all together. Seems since the major cause of injury and death is head injuries in the majority of traffic accidents, then using the best for the majority logic, why is there not a mandatory Helmet Law for every person that is in or operating a moving vehicle at all times?
Airlines should also issue jump suits, helmets and Parachutes plus instructions to all passengers at time of boarding.
All rides at amusement parks should also issue and require the use of helmets to protect the rider’s heads from any unforeseen trauma.
Trade off using helmets is compromising neck and spine injuries for immediate trauma to the skull, face and scalp areas.
Granted a helmets round form will provide glancing blows from objects one may come in contact with, and a helmet properly designed for the intent of use may provide reduced chances for superficial trauma. However, closed head injuries are not uncommon with both victims wearing and those not wearing helmets. Studies have found the de-acceleration is the major cause of closed head injuries, which occur, in automobile accidents at a far higher rate than in motorcycle accidents. Main reason is the passengers in automobiles have objects much closer to them to impact with than one riding a motorcycle.
Add to that the weight of the helmet, increasing the chances of neck and spine injuries even when there is no impact to the helmet what so ever. Just the G Forces and the added weight on the person’s neck using the helmet increases their chances of neck/spine injury. Main reason for the Head and Neck Support (HANS Device) inventions and others similar to it.
Bottom line is we provide additional funding and expense to accommodate handicapped individuals and do not design buildings, ingress and egress. Plus provide access for them for public transpiration. We do not leave out the small minority of handicapped. However thinking back on this the government was forced to make laws to make sure businesses and public use facilities and transportation would provide accommodations for handicapped people.
Why discriminate by using sub-standard and dangerous, and cheaper traffic control devices on tax payer's public roads and highways? Cheaper as pointed out by the American Motorcyclists Associations Legislative representative or public use roads and highways?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kevlar