Uh, yea they are... if you have a permit, or have had your license less than a certain amount of time and didn't take the safety course you MUST wear a helmet... Ben only had a permit.
He legally should have had a helmet on, of course the helmet may have saved his face, but the added weight of it also might have caused his neck to snap too... Helmets aren't some panacea.
Great post ....... # 2.
;-)