View Poll Results: Helmet wearing habits?
I've never worn a bike helmet
178
10.66%
I used to wear a helmet, but have stopped
94
5.63%
I've always worn a helmet
648
38.80%
I didn't wear a helmet, but now do
408
24.43%
I sometimes wear a helmet depending on the conditions
342
20.48%
Voters: 1670. You may not vote on this poll
The helmet thread
#5276
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razr
In Australia you claim that there is no decernable decrease in injury. Easily explained. If while wearing a helmet a cyclist has an accident and his helmet saved him from injury, he probably just went on about his life WITHOUT reporting it.
In Australia you claim that there is no decernable decrease in injury. Easily explained. If while wearing a helmet a cyclist has an accident and his helmet saved him from injury, he probably just went on about his life WITHOUT reporting it.
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If that were the case then there would have been a sizable decrease in the number of fatalities and hospitalizations among cyclists - i.e. a discernible decrease in the injury and fatality rate.
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Ok, so since cycling is way up in Australia, wouldn't that account for the fact that more cyclists just went on without reporting it and thus the flat line of incidents?
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I read through the last 10 pages. Interesting. I wear a helmet always and hope none of you non-helmet wearers are in my health insurance pool and if so..I've some DNR's you can happily sign. Otherwise...I could care less if you wear/don't wear. One exception is kids under 16, maybe 18.
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BUT what if 90% + of the bicyclers in the country were already volentarially wearing helmets? How would that change the ultimate outcome? (Hint, it wouldn't.)Just because it becomes a law that you "must" wear a helmet...? What was the difference in the helmet wearing or not wearing numbers before and after the law came into effect?
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I read through the last 10 pages. Interesting. I wear a helmet always and hope none of you non-helmet wearers are in my health insurance pool and if so..I've some DNR's you can happily sign. Otherwise...I could care less if you wear/don't wear. One exception is kids under 16, maybe 18.
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chasm
Actually stupidity is the anti helmet cult members that are trying to talk people they dont even know out of wearing helmets. What is their logical gain??? Why not let people decide for themselves.
Actually stupidity is the anti helmet cult members that are trying to talk people they dont even know out of wearing helmets. What is their logical gain??? Why not let people decide for themselves.
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Because there are people out there who love to argue and fight about stupid things, these forums are representative of that and it goes on up the chain to world politicians.
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BTW, I'm not part of a cult. I'm not anti helmet. I even wear one most of the time. I just don't believe helmets are as great as they are made out to be. Unfortunately people rather call each other names instead of having a constructive discussion. And I'm wondering why I'm a https://randominsultgenerator.com/ and still bother to reply on this thread.
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That being said...my contrarian and cynical view basically puts the consequence of not wearing a helmet directly on the user (the exception being children). In a libertarian driven marketplace solution..if you are head injured while riding a bike and not wearing a helmet why should any insurance pool cover you? At the least raise premiums based on actuarial tables, injury risk, injury, etc.
In my charmed life I've had three motorcycle wrecks and two bicycle wrecks. Out of the five there was one where I wasn't wearing a helmet (bicycle) and it was shear luck I didn't crack my skull. Out of the five...four were potential skull crackers. That was a hard lesson and being of an evolutionary ecologist bent..the odds spoke to me pretty loudly. If there is no legislative solution (state laws) and no marketplace solution (insurance) then the alternative appears to be rants where people call people stupid. I'm fine with that, I just don't want to pay for an adult non helmet wearer's stupidity. Education helps...doesn't stop people from smoking, etc. The people I talk to regarding non-helmet use have two main excuses; Vanity and "I can't be bothered". Let the skull cracking begin.
A final thought. The poll would be interesting if it included a category of helmet users in wrecks where the helmet was worn and damaged as a consequence of the wreck.
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#5287
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In a libertarian driven marketplace solution..if you are head injured while riding a bike and not wearing a helmet why should any insurance pool cover you? At the least raise premiums based on actuarial tables, injury risk, injury, etc.
In my charmed life I've had three motorcycle wrecks and two bicycle wrecks.[SKIP] I just don't want to pay for an adult non helmet wearer's stupidity. Education helps...doesn't stop people from smoking, etc. The people I talk to regarding non-helmet use have two main excuses; Vanity and "I can't be bothered". Let the skull cracking begin.
A final thought.
In my charmed life I've had three motorcycle wrecks and two bicycle wrecks.[SKIP] I just don't want to pay for an adult non helmet wearer's stupidity. Education helps...doesn't stop people from smoking, etc. The people I talk to regarding non-helmet use have two main excuses; Vanity and "I can't be bothered". Let the skull cracking begin.
A final thought.
Would you also be fine with insurance being prohibited to be written for anyone who rides a bicycle or motorcycle? Why not Mr. Libertine? You are all about raising premiums on cyclists w/o helmets based on your "thoughts" and in the absence of any "thoughtful" actuarial tables indicating increased risk.
BTW, what type of insurance premiums do want increased for helmetless cyclists? Life, health, homeowners? All premium rate increases of course being unrelated to actuarial data but instead to people with the same thought patterns as yourself.
Or perhaps you would prefer that cyclist injuries suffered in a collision with a car not be compensated by the driver's insurance no matter who is at fault, since your thought is that the cyclist asked for it.
Last edited by I-Like-To-Bike; 05-17-13 at 10:24 AM.
#5288
Senior Member
Beware of people that don't use qualifiers.. they're usually trying to sell you a a helmet.
Interesting that you, too, are interested in moving to the personal and avoiding the central point that yet another country fails to show that helmets prevent concussions and other brain damage.
Interesting that you, too, are interested in moving to the personal and avoiding the central point that yet another country fails to show that helmets prevent concussions and other brain damage.
You want to talk about that particular study, that situation? How 'bout when they claim in the study that helmets do help prevent or mitigate injury where moderate and light head injury is concerned? Y'know, the type of injury where helmets actually do help...? I think it's great that there's finally a study out there regarding less than serious head injury, and what medical experts consider less than serious and what you might consider less than serious are two very different things...
#5289
Senior Member
For less than serious injuries, there is now at least one study indicating that helmets have been effective in preventing and mitigating moderate to light head injuries.
#5290
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I'm still waiting for the first thoughtful thought.
Would you also be fine with insurance being prohibited to be written for anyone who rides a bicycle or motorcycle? Why not Mr. Libertine? You are all about raising premiums on cyclists w/o helmets based on your "thoughts" and in the absence of any "thoughtful" actuarial tables indicating increased risk.
BTW, what type of insurance premiums do want increased for helmetless cyclists? Life, health, homeowners? All premium rate increases of course being unrelated to actuarial data but instead to people with the same thought patterns as yourself.
Or perhaps you would prefer that cyclist injuries suffered in a collision with a car not be compensated by the driver's insurance no matter who is at fault, since your thought is that the cyclist asked for it.
Would you also be fine with insurance being prohibited to be written for anyone who rides a bicycle or motorcycle? Why not Mr. Libertine? You are all about raising premiums on cyclists w/o helmets based on your "thoughts" and in the absence of any "thoughtful" actuarial tables indicating increased risk.
BTW, what type of insurance premiums do want increased for helmetless cyclists? Life, health, homeowners? All premium rate increases of course being unrelated to actuarial data but instead to people with the same thought patterns as yourself.
Or perhaps you would prefer that cyclist injuries suffered in a collision with a car not be compensated by the driver's insurance no matter who is at fault, since your thought is that the cyclist asked for it.
I do not see a national law towards helmets (on bicycles or motorcycles). States get to make up their own mind in the current era. I could see cities mandating children wear helmets when using city infrastructure (might already be the case in city parks, etc). But is appears to be left up to adults to decide. Events sure require them and fun events could be part of helmet education I suppose. But if people won't wear them because of any number of issues (vanity, weight, heat, bother, etc) and if persuasion, education is not working and if cycling grows as a trend and if there are low speed head injuries attributable to lack of protection (and again, requires data), under those circumstances, insurance companies might compete for the helmeted and ding the non-helmeted. I've no issue with that.
If you as a cyclist don't wear a helmet..that's your choice and your risk. You might suffer a debilitating neck/back injury that a helmet wouldn't prevent, you may never suffer any injury in your life. Good for you. I wear a helmet because of personal experience. If your in my insurance pool...and you don't wear a helmet..why should I pay for your additive risk (assuming there is an actuarial table that defines that)?. What potential source of risk might be bicycle messengers (and bike rentals companies, LLC's, etc) who work out of a co-op and that co-op buys insurance coverage for all members and it stipulates equipment (happens all the time in the real world of logging, roofing, bridge building, construction in general where safety helmets, harnesses, etc are mandated). Why? Because companies want to to lower claims.
So bike rental companies, bike messenger companies (if such exist) may have policies on helmet wear to reduce insurance claims against them. That would be the location of some interesting stats on telling us what the marketplace is already doing.
Any bike messengers here? I'd be curious if you/they wear helmets by personal preference or policy?
Here's an interesting map and clearly a state trend towards a risk pool is being legislated for protection..that group is childern.
https://www.iihs.org/laws/mapbicyclehelmets.aspx
And this
Not all options for improving bicyclist safety involve paint on pavement.
Helmets, for instance, have been estimated to reduce the risk of head injuries
to bicyclists by 85 percent, but no state requires them for adults. Such a require
-
ment would improve safety, but some worry it would discourage biking. Only 15
percent of fatally injured bicyclists in 2011 were wearing helmets.
Twenty-one states and the District of Columbia require young bicyclists to use
helmets. Helmet laws for children don’t lead to increased helmet use among adults,
studies show. However, one question that hasn’t been answered is whether children re
-
quired by law to wear helmets are more likely to wear them when they become adults.
In this: https://www.iihs.org/externaldata/srdata/docs/sr4801.pdf
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Why? Because you say so?
Since I have had no personal experience with insurance claims due to my riding, how 'bout the suggestion that YOU be cast out of MY "insurance pool" into the liability wilderness because YOUR record ("three motorcycle wrecks and two bicycle wrecks") shows that you are the accident-prone type. Then again how 'bout all bicyclists and motorcyclists getting their insurance put into a separate pool reserved for those who engage in "risky" activity. Let's include fisherman, boaters and swimmers too with their increased risk of drowning. And don't forget to include all hunters in your "high risk" insurance pool because you know what they have access to!
Since I have had no personal experience with insurance claims due to my riding, how 'bout the suggestion that YOU be cast out of MY "insurance pool" into the liability wilderness because YOUR record ("three motorcycle wrecks and two bicycle wrecks") shows that you are the accident-prone type. Then again how 'bout all bicyclists and motorcyclists getting their insurance put into a separate pool reserved for those who engage in "risky" activity. Let's include fisherman, boaters and swimmers too with their increased risk of drowning. And don't forget to include all hunters in your "high risk" insurance pool because you know what they have access to!
Last edited by I-Like-To-Bike; 05-17-13 at 01:59 PM.
#5292
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Insurance pools have (in the past) reduced premiums based on exactly that...accident record, good grades, etc. I had no claims thus the pool was never affected (my HS and college grades reduced premiums for auto insurance).
In a strictly libertarian universe..you pay based on risk and the absurdity would extend to DNA analysis. I'm not for that, I'm not a libertarian either.
But I did spend some quality Internet time studying the helmet no helmet debate. Fascinating. The debate rages on though the data for children appears to support children (~16 and under) wearing helmets and i didn't say anybody ranting that childern shouldn't wear helmets. I suspect as more aging boomers enter cycling, there will be more accidents of the low speed type and it'll be interesting to see those results and I'd predict that helmets will help protect some head injuries though there could be other (arm, etc) due to aging bone structure. Increased use always drives new law and I suspect that if there is a bike growth spurt, trend, whatever...you'll see more MHLs.
I wear a helmet because it makes sense, just as it made sense wearing one while operating a crane, backhoe, chainsaw, supervising a construction site, etc. Maybe I'm in a higher risk accident prone pool or just lucky or know how to fall and roll or stay out of serious trouble. I did not wear a cycle helmet until fall of 1976 and then I bought the best highest rates one on the marker (MSR) and I still have it. My excuses for not wearing back then were "ugly, hot, can't be bothered, heavy". My technical rock climbing friends wore them. I started wearing (back then) because of one accident that I escaped serious injury on.
Locally, we are starting a club and to get insurance...we will likely have to adopt and ensure policy that some won't like..like wearing helmets. So I'd say that the marketplace is inexorably moving towards that despite the minority who don't wear helmets. But I doubt state legislation will mandate helmet use by adults on bicycles. Cities maybe, states no.
I'm a serious advocate for MUP construction and road safety improvements and those have outstanding positive safety benefits to the cycling community irrespective of helmet use.
Given the evolution of study around football helmet use and a greater awareness of concussion, I suspect there is a lot more to learn about bicycle accidents and concussions. The irony of the helmet thread is it appears to be mostly a helmet no helmet rant....appearantly that's what it's for.
I predict that the bean counters ultimately win based on a growth trend in cycling that arises as a consequence of the baby boomers retiring. That rise will have a commiserate rise in low speed accidents by aging hot dogs and tort claims against municipalities (I fell because of your ..........., (enter one: street, road, path, stop box) hurt me.
The non helmet users will merge with the NRA to protect their freedoms and attempt to pass mandatory carry laws. Then one town will pass mandatory carry and helmet laws. Political nirvana will have been reached.
In a strictly libertarian universe..you pay based on risk and the absurdity would extend to DNA analysis. I'm not for that, I'm not a libertarian either.
But I did spend some quality Internet time studying the helmet no helmet debate. Fascinating. The debate rages on though the data for children appears to support children (~16 and under) wearing helmets and i didn't say anybody ranting that childern shouldn't wear helmets. I suspect as more aging boomers enter cycling, there will be more accidents of the low speed type and it'll be interesting to see those results and I'd predict that helmets will help protect some head injuries though there could be other (arm, etc) due to aging bone structure. Increased use always drives new law and I suspect that if there is a bike growth spurt, trend, whatever...you'll see more MHLs.
I wear a helmet because it makes sense, just as it made sense wearing one while operating a crane, backhoe, chainsaw, supervising a construction site, etc. Maybe I'm in a higher risk accident prone pool or just lucky or know how to fall and roll or stay out of serious trouble. I did not wear a cycle helmet until fall of 1976 and then I bought the best highest rates one on the marker (MSR) and I still have it. My excuses for not wearing back then were "ugly, hot, can't be bothered, heavy". My technical rock climbing friends wore them. I started wearing (back then) because of one accident that I escaped serious injury on.
Locally, we are starting a club and to get insurance...we will likely have to adopt and ensure policy that some won't like..like wearing helmets. So I'd say that the marketplace is inexorably moving towards that despite the minority who don't wear helmets. But I doubt state legislation will mandate helmet use by adults on bicycles. Cities maybe, states no.
I'm a serious advocate for MUP construction and road safety improvements and those have outstanding positive safety benefits to the cycling community irrespective of helmet use.
Given the evolution of study around football helmet use and a greater awareness of concussion, I suspect there is a lot more to learn about bicycle accidents and concussions. The irony of the helmet thread is it appears to be mostly a helmet no helmet rant....appearantly that's what it's for.
I predict that the bean counters ultimately win based on a growth trend in cycling that arises as a consequence of the baby boomers retiring. That rise will have a commiserate rise in low speed accidents by aging hot dogs and tort claims against municipalities (I fell because of your ..........., (enter one: street, road, path, stop box) hurt me.
The non helmet users will merge with the NRA to protect their freedoms and attempt to pass mandatory carry laws. Then one town will pass mandatory carry and helmet laws. Political nirvana will have been reached.
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If you are head injured while driving a car and not wearing a helmet why should any insurance pool cover you?
If you are neck injured while riding a bike and not wearing a neck brace why should any insurance pool cover you?
If you drown while swimming in your pool and not wearing a life jacket why should any insurance pool cover you?
If you are injured in any way while performing any activity in a way that someone, somewhere thinks you shouldn't, why should any insurance pool cover you?
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I wear a helmet because it makes sense, just as it made sense wearing one while operating a crane, backhoe, chainsaw, supervising a construction site, etc. Maybe I'm in a higher risk accident prone pool or just lucky or know how to fall and roll or stay out of serious trouble. I did not wear a cycle helmet until fall of 1976 and then I bought the best highest rates one on the marker (MSR) and I still have it. My excuses for not wearing back then were "ugly, hot, can't be bothered, heavy". My technical rock climbing friends wore them. I started wearing (back then) because of one accident that I escaped serious injury on.
Locally, we are starting a club and to get insurance...we will likely have to adopt and ensure policy that some won't like..like wearing helmets. So I'd say that the marketplace is inexorably moving towards that despite the minority who don't wear helmets. But I doubt state legislation will mandate helmet use by adults on bicycles. Cities maybe, states no.
Given the evolution of study around football helmet use and a greater awareness of concussion, I suspect there is a lot more to learn about bicycle accidents and concussions. The irony of the helmet thread is it appears to be mostly a helmet no helmet rant....appearantly that's what it's for.
The non helmet users will merge with the NRA to protect their freedoms and attempt to pass mandatory carry laws. Then one town will pass mandatory carry and helmet laws.
Locally, we are starting a club and to get insurance...we will likely have to adopt and ensure policy that some won't like..like wearing helmets. So I'd say that the marketplace is inexorably moving towards that despite the minority who don't wear helmets. But I doubt state legislation will mandate helmet use by adults on bicycles. Cities maybe, states no.
Given the evolution of study around football helmet use and a greater awareness of concussion, I suspect there is a lot more to learn about bicycle accidents and concussions. The irony of the helmet thread is it appears to be mostly a helmet no helmet rant....appearantly that's what it's for.
The non helmet users will merge with the NRA to protect their freedoms and attempt to pass mandatory carry laws. Then one town will pass mandatory carry and helmet laws.
Non-helmet-wearers are not IN the minority, 'professor'; and the passage of MHL's is NOT 'inexorable', or inevitable. States have been trying to pass MHL's for motorcycles for decades, with little success. The REASON for this isn't knee-jerk emotionalism, but cold hard FACT: motorcycle helmets are ineffective above 30-35mph. This is a PURE PARALLEL to bicycle helmets, which are only tested to 11mph, the speed your head achieves when falling over WHILE WALKING! Further, the bike helmet offers NO protection below the temples (full-face downhiller's helmets have no CPSC rating above that of a commuter's helmet, BTW).
Your pathetic strawman of NRA equivalence is beneath contempt, and you are fast approaching that status.
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Ignoring political reality is no strategy. Given the states adoption or non-adoption of laws regarding motorcycle helmets tells me that the only group likely to be protected are children.
That being said...my contrarian and cynical view basically puts the consequence of not wearing a helmet directly on the user (the exception being children). In a libertarian driven marketplace solution..if you are head injured while riding a bike and not wearing a helmet why should any insurance pool cover you? At the least raise premiums based on actuarial tables, injury risk, injury, etc.
In my charmed life I've had three motorcycle wrecks and two bicycle wrecks. Out of the five there was one where I wasn't wearing a helmet (bicycle) and it was shear luck I didn't crack my skull. Out of the five...four were potential skull crackers. That was a hard lesson and being of an evolutionary ecologist bent..the odds spoke to me pretty loudly. If there is no legislative solution (state laws) and no marketplace solution (insurance) then the alternative appears to be rants where people call people stupid. I'm fine with that, I just don't want to pay for an adult non helmet wearer's stupidity. Education helps...doesn't stop people from smoking, etc. The people I talk to regarding non-helmet use have two main excuses; Vanity and "I can't be bothered". Let the skull cracking begin.
That being said...my contrarian and cynical view basically puts the consequence of not wearing a helmet directly on the user (the exception being children). In a libertarian driven marketplace solution..if you are head injured while riding a bike and not wearing a helmet why should any insurance pool cover you? At the least raise premiums based on actuarial tables, injury risk, injury, etc.
In my charmed life I've had three motorcycle wrecks and two bicycle wrecks. Out of the five there was one where I wasn't wearing a helmet (bicycle) and it was shear luck I didn't crack my skull. Out of the five...four were potential skull crackers. That was a hard lesson and being of an evolutionary ecologist bent..the odds spoke to me pretty loudly. If there is no legislative solution (state laws) and no marketplace solution (insurance) then the alternative appears to be rants where people call people stupid. I'm fine with that, I just don't want to pay for an adult non helmet wearer's stupidity. Education helps...doesn't stop people from smoking, etc. The people I talk to regarding non-helmet use have two main excuses; Vanity and "I can't be bothered". Let the skull cracking begin.
A final thought. The poll would be interesting if it included a category of helmet users in wrecks where the helmet was worn and damaged as a consequence of the wreck.
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