Helmet laws are a whole other discussion. The cost to society as a whole due to traumatic brain injuries from bike accidents was one of the driving forces behind helmet laws. I always wore one and it came in handy when I got hit by a car. I wear one cycling too.

Many ski resorts now require helmets for children. When I got mine (after a friend of mine got a mild concussion snowboarding), I thought I would be the only one, but I started to see more and more of them. I think the fact that the pros and Olympic skiers wear them helped make them more accepted.

As already said, gizmos are no substitute for skills. They can help, but skills may keep you out of danger in the first place, and that is Whittaker's point-people who know how to carry enough gear, avoid bad weather, stay off sketchy routes, etc. don't need rescuing.

The first guy to set off a PLB once they were legalized a couple of years ago was exactly the kind of person Whittaker was talking about. I think he was canoeing in upstate NY in winter, got caught in bad weather, set off the PLB, got rescued, then went back the next week to get his gear and set it off again when he didn't feel like hiking out. He was arrested the second time for setting it off in a non-emergency. He was treating the rescuers like a taxi service and they didn't like that one bit.

There is an old thread on this somewhere.