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
10-12-11, 06:18 AM
#101
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10-12-11, 06:32 AM
#102
Senior Member
It could be, and you have to consider how long he has kept his quest up, but I'm still leaning towards the old zealotry angle.
My main concern is that what he does runs against cycling advocacy and spreads unfounded myths about riding bicycles
My main concern is that what he does runs against cycling advocacy and spreads unfounded myths about riding bicycles
10-12-11, 06:55 AM
#103
Senior Member
Have you tried this? I know many will not regard it as neutral because it is very clear about the flaws in the pro-helmet position, but it does offer a fairly dispassionate analysis of the available evidence.
If you insist...
Head injuries and bicycle helmet laws
D. L. Robinson
AGBU, University of New England, Armidale, NSW 2351, Australia
Accepted 6 February 1996. ; Available online 26 February 1999.
Abstract
The first year of the mandatory bicycle helmet laws in Australia saw increased helmet wearing from 31% to 75% of cyclists in Victoria and from 31% of children and 26% of adults in New South Wales (NSW) to 76% and 85%. However, the two major surveys using matched before and after samples in Melbourne (Finch et al. 1993; Report No. 45, Monash Univ. Accident Research Centre) and throughout NSW (Smith and Milthorpe 1993; Roads and Traffic Authority) observed reductions in numbers of child cyclists 15 and 2.2 times greater than the increase in numbers of children wearing helmets. This suggests the greatest effect of the helmet law was not to encourage cyclists to wear helmets, but to discourage cycling.
Author Keywords: Bicycle; Head injury; Helmet; Legislation
D. L. Robinson
AGBU, University of New England, Armidale, NSW 2351, Australia
Accepted 6 February 1996. ; Available online 26 February 1999.
Abstract
The first year of the mandatory bicycle helmet laws in Australia saw increased helmet wearing from 31% to 75% of cyclists in Victoria and from 31% of children and 26% of adults in New South Wales (NSW) to 76% and 85%. However, the two major surveys using matched before and after samples in Melbourne (Finch et al. 1993; Report No. 45, Monash Univ. Accident Research Centre) and throughout NSW (Smith and Milthorpe 1993; Roads and Traffic Authority) observed reductions in numbers of child cyclists 15 and 2.2 times greater than the increase in numbers of children wearing helmets. This suggests the greatest effect of the helmet law was not to encourage cyclists to wear helmets, but to discourage cycling.
Author Keywords: Bicycle; Head injury; Helmet; Legislation
A far more realistic site that addresses the helmet issue is the first one I provided on this new version of the thread,
https://bicyclesafe.com
If one is interested in studies and analysis, far more qualified anaylsis and opinions can be found at https://cyclehelmets.org/
------------------------------
a worthwhile read is the wiki entry
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bicycle_helmet <-- Grand-daddy/mommy mother/fatherlode of helmet study linkage in the text and references at the bottom
...I would suggest going to this site, which provides objectively collected data, some pro-helmet interpretations and links to sites which counter their views:
https://www.bhsi.org
For researched rational responses to many of the negatives about helmets I would suggest this site:
https://www.bhsi.org/negativs.htm
https://www.bhsi.org
For researched rational responses to many of the negatives about helmets I would suggest this site:
https://www.bhsi.org/negativs.htm
It's not common to receive head injuries on bikes any more than it is to receive them off a bike, which is, not not common.
Here's another link....
Here's another link....
[helmets/helmet advocates] promote injury.
If the scalp helps reduce rotational injury to the brain by helping the head slide along pavement rather than catch, and a helmet reduced this effect, doesn't it stand to reason that at least in these sorts of accidents a helmet mitigates the effect of the scalp?
Again, why do you think they are now trying to replicate this "scalp effect" in new helmets? What would be the purpose if it were not effective?
"It has been suggested that the major causes of permanent intellectual disablement and death after head injury may be torsional forces leading to diffuse axonal injury (DAI), a form of injury which usual helmets cannot mitigate and may make worse.[68]"
"A bicycle helmet with its own synthetic "scalp" has been designed with the aim of mitigating rotational injury.[71]"
Again, why do you think they are now trying to replicate this "scalp effect" in new helmets? What would be the purpose if it were not effective?
"It has been suggested that the major causes of permanent intellectual disablement and death after head injury may be torsional forces leading to diffuse axonal injury (DAI), a form of injury which usual helmets cannot mitigate and may make worse.[68]"
"A bicycle helmet with its own synthetic "scalp" has been designed with the aim of mitigating rotational injury.[71]"
...read the links I provided: Focusing on helmets distracts people from what's more likely to actually save their lives: Learning how to ride safely. It's not that I'm against helmets, I'm against all the attention placed on helmets at the expense of safe riding skills.
Here's another link for you to read and consider...
one of the most powerful laws in the universe is the law of unintended consequences
Here's another link for you to read and consider...
one of the most powerful laws in the universe is the law of unintended consequences
...an Australian judge sided against a helmet law and with a cyclist who argued wearing a helmet caused more harm than it prevented
''Having read all the material, I think I would fall down on your side of the ledger,'' the judge told Ms Abbott after she had spelt out her case against the laws that exist in few countries other than Australia and New Zealand.
''I frankly don't think there is anything advantageous and there may well be a disadvantage in situations to have a helmet - and it seems to me that it's one of those areas where it ought to be a matter of choice.''
He found Ms Abbott had ''an honestly held and not unreasonable belief as to the danger associated with the use of a helmet by cyclists'', and quashed her conviction...
''Having read all the material, I think I would fall down on your side of the ledger,'' the judge told Ms Abbott after she had spelt out her case against the laws that exist in few countries other than Australia and New Zealand.
''I frankly don't think there is anything advantageous and there may well be a disadvantage in situations to have a helmet - and it seems to me that it's one of those areas where it ought to be a matter of choice.''
He found Ms Abbott had ''an honestly held and not unreasonable belief as to the danger associated with the use of a helmet by cyclists'', and quashed her conviction...
C'mon, you sissies, you got more links to helmet studies than this... Quit holding back. And no, I'm not going to comb through the other three threads to do this. I don't care enough about it any more than some noob posting here.
Last edited by mconlonx; 10-16-11 at 10:22 AM.
10-12-11, 09:22 AM
#104
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What is his funding source? Pardon me if this is already common knowledge.
The website claims he is "100% consumer funded" which I find hard to believe because I don't think consumers feel that strongly about helmets, for or against.
The website claims he is "100% consumer funded" which I find hard to believe because I don't think consumers feel that strongly about helmets, for or against.
10-12-11, 11:04 AM
#105
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Perhaps Randy the Helmet Proselytizer one day will tell the world who these "consumers" i.e. unnamed co-conspiritors, are.
10-12-11, 12:59 PM
#106
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10-12-11, 06:49 PM
#108
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Which brings up a question...do they make helmets for pointy heads?
__________________
"Let us hope our weapons are never needed --but do not forget what the common people knew when they demanded the Bill of Rights: An armed citizenry is the first defense, the best defense, and the final defense against tyranny. If guns are outlawed, only the government will have guns. Only the police, the secret police, the military, the hired servants of our rulers. Only the government -- and a few outlaws. I intend to be among the outlaws" - Edward Abbey
"Let us hope our weapons are never needed --but do not forget what the common people knew when they demanded the Bill of Rights: An armed citizenry is the first defense, the best defense, and the final defense against tyranny. If guns are outlawed, only the government will have guns. Only the police, the secret police, the military, the hired servants of our rulers. Only the government -- and a few outlaws. I intend to be among the outlaws" - Edward Abbey
10-13-11, 11:10 PM
#113
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Words We Shalt Not Say; rhymes with stupid and idiot.
C'mon, you sissies, you got more links to helmet studies than this... Quit holding back. And no, I'm not going to comb through the other three threads to do this. I don't care enough about it any more than some noob posting here.
C'mon, you sissies, you got more links to helmet studies than this... Quit holding back. And no, I'm not going to comb through the other three threads to do this. I don't care enough about it any more than some noob posting here.
10-14-11, 01:23 AM
#115
Bicikli Huszár
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).
10-14-11, 08:21 AM
#118
Senior Member
Yeah, let's do ourselves a favor and not make it easy for people just jumping in here. And then harangue them for not having read through how many hundreds of pages of threads?
10-14-11, 02:07 PM
#123
Senior Member
yup. So are anecdotes.
have you considered, when helmet use skyrocketed... head injuries went up... Helmet-wearing may actually promote injury.
(read the link and check out its sources)
have you considered, when helmet use skyrocketed... head injuries went up... Helmet-wearing may actually promote injury.
(read the link and check out its sources)
Last edited by closetbiker; 10-14-11 at 02:19 PM.
10-14-11, 02:55 PM
#124
Senior Member
Always love Dave's blog.
Today, he writes another great one.
Today, he writes another great one.
Irrational Fear
Thu, October 13, 2011
If I do a search on the web for cycling related stories, as I often do, it is most times depressing; many of the stories are related to cycling deaths.
If one is not careful this can give a person a totally distorted view of cycling and the risks cyclists take. It is probably the reason many people who would ride a bicycle, are afraid to do so.
If you are a cyclist you cannot allow fear to take over your thoughts, and one has to constantly push negative thoughts from your head. Most people believe in the power of positive thinking, and that success and good things happen to those who constantly think good thoughts.
By the same rule, if every time you ride your bike you think, “Is today the day a car will hit me,” chances are at some point a car will hit you.
It is not so much thinking those thoughts; one has a hard time not to sometimes with all the stories of cyclist killed on a daily basis. The important thing is to be aware of those thoughts and constantly push them from your mind.
One has to get the whole picture in perspective. 32,788 people died in automobile accidents in 2010, the lowest figure since 1950. That is still almost 90 people a day who got out of bed in the morning climbed in their car without a second thought, and by the end of the day were dead.
In that same 24 hour period less than two cyclists were killed. The difference is most of the 90 people who died in their cars did not get a mention in their local newspapers, but the two cyclists did.
For the last decade the number of cyclists who die on US roads each year has fluctuated around 650 and 700. (Less than 2 per day.) That is about the same as the number of people die in the US every year from accidental gun discharges.
Is there any gun owner who wakes in the morning to wonder, “Is today the day I will accidentally shoot myself?” Does anyone consider any one of us could be accidentally shot by someone else; of course not.
Also close to the cyclist death rate is the number of people who choke of a piece of food and die. Over 500 people drown each year in swimming pools. Over a 1,000 die from falling down stairs or steps.
So the next time you prepare for a bike ride and a nagging little thought that you might get hit enters your head; ask yourself, would I have these same thoughts of death and doom, as I walk down a flight of steps, or that I might choke while I am tucking into a nice juicy steak in a restaurant?
I refuse to let irrational fear stop me from doing what I love, that is to ride my bike on the road. I don’t take chances, and I choose the safest routes. I also look at statistics and I like my odds of survival.
If I consider the odds of getting hit by a car today is about the same as being accidentally shot; maybe I should wear a bullet-proof vest along with my helmet.
Thu, October 13, 2011
If I do a search on the web for cycling related stories, as I often do, it is most times depressing; many of the stories are related to cycling deaths.
If one is not careful this can give a person a totally distorted view of cycling and the risks cyclists take. It is probably the reason many people who would ride a bicycle, are afraid to do so.
If you are a cyclist you cannot allow fear to take over your thoughts, and one has to constantly push negative thoughts from your head. Most people believe in the power of positive thinking, and that success and good things happen to those who constantly think good thoughts.
By the same rule, if every time you ride your bike you think, “Is today the day a car will hit me,” chances are at some point a car will hit you.
It is not so much thinking those thoughts; one has a hard time not to sometimes with all the stories of cyclist killed on a daily basis. The important thing is to be aware of those thoughts and constantly push them from your mind.
One has to get the whole picture in perspective. 32,788 people died in automobile accidents in 2010, the lowest figure since 1950. That is still almost 90 people a day who got out of bed in the morning climbed in their car without a second thought, and by the end of the day were dead.
In that same 24 hour period less than two cyclists were killed. The difference is most of the 90 people who died in their cars did not get a mention in their local newspapers, but the two cyclists did.
For the last decade the number of cyclists who die on US roads each year has fluctuated around 650 and 700. (Less than 2 per day.) That is about the same as the number of people die in the US every year from accidental gun discharges.
Is there any gun owner who wakes in the morning to wonder, “Is today the day I will accidentally shoot myself?” Does anyone consider any one of us could be accidentally shot by someone else; of course not.
Also close to the cyclist death rate is the number of people who choke of a piece of food and die. Over 500 people drown each year in swimming pools. Over a 1,000 die from falling down stairs or steps.
So the next time you prepare for a bike ride and a nagging little thought that you might get hit enters your head; ask yourself, would I have these same thoughts of death and doom, as I walk down a flight of steps, or that I might choke while I am tucking into a nice juicy steak in a restaurant?
I refuse to let irrational fear stop me from doing what I love, that is to ride my bike on the road. I don’t take chances, and I choose the safest routes. I also look at statistics and I like my odds of survival.
If I consider the odds of getting hit by a car today is about the same as being accidentally shot; maybe I should wear a bullet-proof vest along with my helmet.
10-14-11, 03:52 PM
#125
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yup. So are anecdotes.
have you considered, when helmet use skyrocketed... head injuries went up... Helmet-wearing may actually promote injury.
(read the link and check out its sources)
have you considered, when helmet use skyrocketed... head injuries went up... Helmet-wearing may actually promote injury.
(read the link and check out its sources)
There is nothing anecdotal about that injury, people's scalps all offer the same resistance to pavement.