You're right about helmet laws being a whole other discussion and I apologize for opening that can of worms, but that wasn't my intention. I thought the analogy was sound. Sometime it would be interesting to compare real data on head injuries between states with and without helmet laws. Like I said, though, I would never get on a motorcycle without one even if they weren't required. Perhaps I should have gone with the seat belt analogy (I don't think they should be mandatory, either)...

Similarly, if I were climbing Mt Hood in winter I would probably bring a PLB along as a precaution. I tend to think the majority of people that engage in this activity would have sense enough to not let the presence of a PLB affect their preparation for the climb. If they don't, well I tend to look at that as natural selection in action.