Commuting - to helmet or not to helmet

I've been commuting without a helmet. I looked at a few because riding everyday increases my probability of needing it. Now I'm wondering if I can get away without one. I took a few spills on asphalt when I was in college and I always was able to get my hands down first. A few scars on the palms but I never even tapped my head.

Anybody else out there like to live dangerously?

Living dangerously? ...or stupidly. It only takes one good hit to put you in lala land. Do you have lots of insurance to take care of your family and an attendant for you?

Wearing a helmet is as much for your protection as theirs. I think you should reconsider your selfish attitude.

Be careful to judge lest you be judged. The average person would have the same attitude towards you for riding your bike in traffic.

My bike is trained to not move without its rider wearing a helmet. I actually started zooming in on a bike-commute one day not so long ago and I felt something very odd. My hair (that which remains ;)) seemed to move a little more freely. About 0.5 miles into the ride I realized I had no helmet, turned around, and got the baby !!!

http://newbie.tscentral.net/images/ignidiot.gif


seriously though, wear a helmet.

You are right. You're entitled to gamble with your life exactly as you see fit. But if you have a family you're gambling with their lives too. Is that fair?

If you're single, it makes no difference what you do at all. Do whatever makes you happiest.

Someone once made fun of me for automatically putting on a seat belt when I was just moving the car in the driveway to wash it.

The helmet is just as automatic. I don't want my wife to have to answer the question "Was he wearing a helmet?" it a "No" should anything untoward happen.

Just because it is possible to be killed even with a seatbelt or a helmet on, doesn't, to me anyway, justify the risk.

Carl

I only ride without a helmet when Im feeling lucky.
Well
Are you
Punk....

I've been hit 3 times on my bike, none of which could have been avoided, and none where my fault. In each of these instances, I ended up on the ground tumbling and in each, my helmet sustained significant damage. To the point that I sent it back for a "crash replacement". If I hadn't been wearing a helmet, I would tpue lik dis, cuz Id be 2 stoopid to funksion.

New helmets are cooler due to vents and even stylish, not worth the risk of not wearing one in my book!

L8R

Originally posted by a2psyklnut
I've been hit 3 times on my bike, none of which could have been avoided, and none where my fault. In each of these instances, I ended up on the ground tumbling and in each, my helmet sustained significant damage. To the point that I sent it back for a "crash replacement". If I hadn't been wearing a helmet, I would tpue lik dis, cuz Id be 2 stoopid to funksion.

L8R

The only response worth a flip. Thanks for the input.

To the others,

There is a line we walk in everything we do between risk and convenience. When you drive/ride in a car do you insist on a full roll cage, racing helmet, frontal and side impact airbags, 5 point harness? When there is a T- storm in the forecast do you bunker down in your local tornado shelter until it's over? I don't really care what line you walk or how you feel about people who don't act just like you. I wanted to see if anybody else on the forum commutes without a helmet. If you have some real world knowledge of where a helmet has helped you or someone you know, that's cool too. If you have no first hand knowledge you are just being ignorant. I'm not insulting you, it's just the definition of ignorance.

Originally posted by ljbike
You are right. You're entitled to gamble with your life exactly as you see fit. But if you have a family you're gambling with their lives too. Is that fair?



When I went to look at helmets my wife's response was "why?"

Originally posted by JDP


When I went to look at helmets my wife's response was "why?"

Hmmm...is she the beneficiary on your life insurance policy?

And thank you for giving serious consideration to becoming an organ donor.

I've cracked a helmet and rung my chimes. It is amazing how fast you can go down.

.This coming from the guy who worries about having fenders..... (http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?s=&postid=95358#post95358)

It's simple.

Buy a crash helmet

You may wear the Crash helmet the first time, then leave it at home the next, you'll then start questioning yourself wether the ride your going on would be safer with a helmet or not and you'll pick the helmet up, then before you know it you'll feel naked without a crash helmet and you'll wonder how you ever cycled without it.

Try it.

William, I think you should reread the forum guidelines.

JDP, obviously you had no idea of the can of worms you were opening when you posted your question. The best reason to wear a helmet is to avoid the hostile glare of these self-righteous individuals.

What amazes me is the change in perception that has evolved over helmet usage. When I was a kid, no one wore helmets. Now kids under 13 in NJ are required to wear one. Sometimes I ride without a helmet and other cyclists will give me looks because of it. Why would I ride without a helmet? Because I want to. It's not illegal and It's nobody else's business but mine.

For those members that feel the need to insult cyclists who ride without helmets, I ask you? If you're in a restaurant and see a obese man scarfing down a steak, do you go over and berate him because he is endangering his life and the welfare of his family? Do you ream out motorcyclists because their activity is so stastically dangerous and therefore they are just being ignorant idiots and a*******s? I doubt It.

It's called personal freedom. How much is it worth to you?


Ken kifer has the most intelligent article on helmet usage that I have read. http://www.kenkifer.com/bikepages/advocacy/mhls.htm

By the way, I'm not advocating riding without a helmet. I'm just saying it's your own choice to make.

Hey, it's a free country. Or close. But to me it really is inconceivable how a bike-commuter would elect, choose, opt to not wear such a safety device.

But I won't flame someone who doesn't agree with me.

In my experience, however, the "no-helmeters" are also the same types that travel the opposite direction, have no lights in the dark, ride on sidewalks, and generally act like absolute rookies.

Originally posted by thbirks

JDP, obviously you had no idea of the can of worms you were opening when you posted your question. The best reason to wear a helmet is to avoid the hostile glare of these self-righteous individuals.

You are right about that. I didn't intend to start a flame war for my own amusement although some of the responses from the pro- helmet militia have been pretty funny. I just wanted to see how common it was among forum members. I know that most cyclists that I see don't wear helmets. Of course here in Texas people don't even wear helmets on their motorcycles (except for sport bikes).

Excellent article, BTW. You can find statistics in there proving that it is more important to wear a helmet while riding in a car than when riding a bicycle. I doubt that anyone on here wears a helmet everytime they get in a car.

Propaganda can achieve amazing things especially when it's "for the children."

Originally posted by thbirks
[B]William, I think you should reread the forum guidelines.

Thanks. I did, and removed the offensive portion.

I will disagree with you. I believe he had full knowledge of the results he would attain. In fact, with the exception of me, he was responded to in full civility, I'd say.


The best reason to wear a helmet is to avoid the hostile glare of these self-righteous individuals.

No, the best reason for him to wear a helmet is to protect himself. If he wants to be a political statement, all the power to him.
But as you know,
Courage or stupidity will be defined by history.


For those members that feel the need to insult cyclists who ride without helmets, I ask you? If you're in a restaurant and see a obese man scarfing down a steak, do you go over and berate him because he is endangering his life and the welfare of his family? Do you ream out motorcyclists because their activity is so stastically dangerous and therefore they are just being ignorant idiots and a*******s? I doubt It.

I don't think the obese guy post in a forum saying "I love cholestral and I think that it's my choice to risk cardiac arrest". If this was a fact, point a link to us all.


It's called personal freedom. How much is it worth to you?
Yes. No one was suggesting taking away his personal freedom. I don't see that here. Not by anymeans. So far 10 years of my life have been devoted to freedom.


By the way, I'm not advocating riding without a helmet. I'm just saying it's your own choice to make.
So, let's ask the question: do you wear a helmet when you commute?

And also, it's somewhat a mute point. It's my choice not to be hit when I'm in the bike lane. Yet, if I get hit, what happens? A violation of my choice. Stuff happens.

Originally posted by Andy Dreisch
In my experience, however, the "no-helmeters" are also the same types that travel the opposite direction, have no lights in the dark, ride on sidewalks, and generally act like absolute rookies.

That may be an accurate generalization but I follow all the rules of the road as if I were a car except in places where I must act as a pedestrian.

Originally posted by JDP
the pro- helmet militia
You can find statistics
I doubt that anyone
Propaganda can achieve amazing things especially when it's "for the children."

You speak in circles very well.

Ah, the good old helmet wars revisited. JDP, assuming your question was sincere and not a troll (yes, the subject is that touchy), I suggest that you search Google Groups for threads in rec.bicycles.misc regarding helmet usage (or nonusage). You will find no shortage of reading material with many good arguments (and personal attacks too, of course) from both sides. Armed with the knowledge of what helmets are designed for and what their limitations are, you as an adult in a (hopefully) free country can make the decision for yourself.

To the others who have seen fit to flame JDP, (even without bothering to formulate a written reply), I would suggest you read the forum guidelines. Most of the responses were vastly more idiotic than the initial question and follow-up could ever be accused of.

Indeed, there have already been some misconceptions and fallacies regarding helmets already come up in this thread. I'm not going to bother correcting them here as it is a topic more controversial than abortion, religion, politics, gun control and bottom bracket taper-greasing combined.

Here is an interesting article which appeared in the NY times last year, showing how head injuries are increasing, despite increased helmet usage.

http://www.topica.com/lists/massbike/read/message.html?mid=800435738&sort=d&start=4140

The Bicycle Helmet Safety Institute (pro-helmet)
http://www.bhsi.org/stats.htm/

Another site (anti-helmet):
http://www.magma.ca/~ocbc/hfaq.html

Now, to answer your initial question, yes I wear a foam hat when I ride. No, I don't think you are playing russian roulette simply by not wearing a helmet - how you ride your bicycle is a far, far more important criteria for your risk of injury or death. Yes, I think you should research the subject like so very few people do and make up your own mind. I submit that someone who makes decisions without doing any research on the subject is far more deserving of being called an 'Idiot'.

Now, as a helmet wearer, the differences between a helmet nazi and myself are:

1. I have a realistic idea of what the limitations are (and there are many), what the statistics show (taking the slant from both sides) and I am under no illusions about the amount of protection which exists (if any).

2. I am in favour of personal choice in general. I am not a busybody and I try to avoid telling people what to do. Naturally, I would prefer that any legislation on the topic be based on facts with supporting evidence, rather than an emotional and irrational knee-jerk reaction.

Originally posted by bikerider
Now, to answer your initial question, yes I wear a foam hat when I ride. No, I don't think you are playing russian roulette simply by not wearing a helmet - how you ride your bicycle is a far, far more important criteria for your risk of injury or death. Yes, I think you should research the subject like so very few people do and make up your own mind. I submit that someone who makes decisions without doing any research on the subject is far more deserving of being called an 'Idiot'.


This is my first and last post in this thread. I largely agree with the above. Wearing a helmet will protect you against certain kinds of injuries, but not all of them. How you ride is far more important. I believe I ride carefully enough to avoid being killed (I've done it so far OK), but we all make mistakes, hence I choose to wear a helmet.

Incidentally, Can I ask why this thread needed all the cheap insults that people were going on with in the early part? It all seems a little unnecessary to me.

Originally posted by JDP

If you have some real world knowledge of where a helmet has helped you or someone you know, that's cool too.

I've got a good friend, a former cat 4 racer, He's as fast a rider as I know, comfortable on his bike, and skilled at handliing it. He doesn't like helmets and never felt he needed one. About 18 months ago, he was put in the situation of choosing between being hit by a car and hitting a sign post. He chose the post. It took forty stitches to close his head back up. He still suffers short term memory loss. He wears a helmet now, reluctantly. It isn't a matter of personal freedom for him. It's a matter of avoiding another injury. Head trauma is not good.

I'm not saying that he would have escaped uninjured if he'd been wearing a helmet. I am sure that he would have had less serious injuries, though.

The time I cracked a helmet, I had a ringing in my ears and a serious headache for a day. It was, I'm sure, a mild concussion. It would have been worse without the helmet. I won't ride without one.

If you want to argue personal freedom, I'll grant you that. I just hope we don't have the same insurance company. I don't want your injury to cost me money. And, yes, there are all sorts of risks each of us takes every day. Riding a bicycle is inherently risky. That doesn't stop me from doing it. Wearing a helmet is a simple way to minimize some of the risk.

I'm with a2psyklnut. Hit head-on in 1994 (by a bicyclist!) and sustained a concussion DESPITE the helmet. I was doing nothing wrong, going all of ~8 miles per hour up a hill, and there was nothing I could have done to prevent it.

The concussion took a while to set in, so the guy who hit me had already left when I went to pieces (so my friend Chad tells me, I have no memory of it). Chad went to find a phone and call my parents, and some other cyclists found me lying in the grass with my crumpled-up bike, and covered me up with their jerseys in the meantime. The first thing I remember clearly is being put into a neck brace by an EMT an hour later, and rolled onto a body board. What I'm driving at here is that some things happen so fast you don't have any chance to react.

Hit again last year by a car turning left as it came towards me. Nasty grind marks on my face (but no teeth lost, thank goodness), a crunch to the left temple of the helmet since I was thrown face-first onto the pavement... again, I was doing nothing wrong and there was nothing I could have done.

I can't see any reason to not wear a helmet. They're not expensive (US$30 for a light, well-ventilated Bell). Besides, I need something to attach my 3rd Eye mirror to. :)

For my 2 cents I wear a helmet. If you want to ride without one so be it. I know that if I can do something that might keep me from becoming a drooling vegetable or dead I'm going to do it. 'nuff said

Wear one!!

see this threadhttp://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?s=&threadid=11331&highlight=saved

Whilst I accept that a helmet may not save my life in the event of an accident, it's not going to do me any harm, will probably help prevent some head injuries,and is hardly a great hassle to wear.

Thanks for the input, everybody. Sorry to bring up such a touchy friggin' subject. Honestly, I had no idea that this was such a rehashed topic. I guess that's what the search function is for. Also sorry for any offense caused (real or perceived). I just got a little defensive there after being insulted for asking a simple question.

Originally posted by JDP
I just got a little defensive there after being insulted for asking a simple question.

You know what an insult is?

It's the price of helmets!! Helmets cost (where I live) over a 100 dollars sometimes. Granted there are a few ones for around 40, but C'mon!!! It's styrafoam and plastic with a few pieces of strap materail. If I had any buisness sense, capital, production capabilities, logistical planning capabilities, training, and time, I'd make my own!!

But they do overcharge for what you get. Shoot, it's almost enough to make me not want to buy one.. almost.

Although the issue is beat to death here are my feelings on wearing a helmet. I wear one all the time, I don't believe it will be much help in a serious accident, it may prevent scratches if I were to fall over or crash at a very slow speed. I wear one for two reasons, the least important being, the helmet has air tunnels that actually cool my head, the most important reason is the children. When I'm riding on my flashy, high tech bike, wearing a good fitting jersey, shorts and shoes. I look like a cyclist, The children in their yards and along the roads see me and notice me, they ride bicycles and tricycles. They have undeveloped bone structure that will benifit from the protection of a helmet if they were to tople over. I have been told a number of times by parents that it's easier to explain to a child that wearing a helmet is benefitial and the right thing to do and is part of riding a bike. I ride responsibly and try to set an example for the up and comming cyclist to wear the proper gear, ride responsibly, enjoy the sport and live to tell about it.
Oh and it keeps the sun off the bald spot.

Aplogies if people took my Dirty Harry quote as a cheap insult.
Im a pretty competant rider. I know all the usual dangers to avoid and most of the unusual ones. I dont just fall off, and in my 30 years riding I have had 1 self inflicted crash, a couple of scary moments and 1 car-inflicted crash. The worst injury was a grazed knee.
Still, I am aware that sometimes things just go wrong. When several things go wrong together you just got unlucky and are probably going to crash. A helmet may help in some cases to reduce life-changing injuries.

A lot of safety advocates put helmets at the top of the cycling agenda. I put them at the bottom, quite literarally your last resort after everything else hs failed to protect you.

Originally posted by William Karsten


You know what an insult is?

It's the price of helmets!! Helmets cost (where I live) over a 100 dollars sometimes.

mmm, try shopping for car helmets :)

At the moment, I'm putting a 6 point roll cage and 4 point harnesses into my car. That should give you an idea of my views on safety. I put my seatbelt on whether i'm driving 50 miles or 50 inches.

A helmet is definately a good idea, and a good one won't be uncomfortable.

Btw, for anyone that thinks i'm crazy for putting all that into my car, I drive a 240sx and i'm hoping to get into track racing, so I do have a reason for it :D

I guess a helmet would be a good thing, especially when you read about those who's life they've saved, I don't wear one right now, sweat and aggravation are my rationalization for not wearing one at the moment, I'll need to look into these expensive ones that fit better and are cooler temperature wise as I'm not that vain that I don't wear it because of the ~Cool~ factor.

BUT, if you don't ride in heavy traffic and are very careful and don't take chances I don't see the immediate need for wearing one...in my riding career, not a racer, I've taken a couple of tumbles, turned a complete somersault in the air once trying to get back onto the highway, hit the ashpalt that had built up into a curb and the front tire sort of halted my motion forward...the feet strapped in the pedals made for me to ride that pony to the ground but my head came no where near getting a beating in that, shoulders and legs took the brunt. Now I ride with toe clips that are strapless that allow me to quickly dismount if need be, I know...I can't lift with it but I do some amount of pulling with that style.

I'll need to evaluate this more, I think the thing that also has me not running out and getting a helmet right away is the way our Safety department at work reigns down on the people all in the Safe Name of Safety, it truly leaves no room for discussion, you just adhere or you're in deep trouble, there are places for safety gear and places that are over kill...

One thing I noticed is that during the Tour De France you'll see a lot of the riders not wearing helmets all the time, now THERE would seem to me to be a HIGHLY LIKELY place of wrecks to occur and you know these guys have ridden a few miles in their lifetime...

Sorry for the long rant but I am getting more and more into the healthy aspect of riding, building stamina and endurance and things like the helmet battle does nag at me, I've read that other thread and glad to hear that lady Sandra took advantage of wearing the helmet and possibly saved her life, Hind sight is almost always 20/20 vision...

Off to ponder, thanks for the thoughts guys/gals,
G2

I young and just started biking & I wear one ALL THE TIME. It's not about looking cool or anything. I just rather be safe than sorry.

The positives of a helmet definitely out-weighs the negitives.

Another thing, I think the #1 reason why people don't wear one is because they think they will feel uncomfortable and and hot. Someone mentioned about large vents in helmets nowadays, and it is true. I got used to my helmet just after a week of riding. After it's on my head for 3 minutes, I don't even feel it anymore.

Do it for yourself, do it for the people you love. :beer:

If I had been unlucky, and had not been wearing a helmet, the doc says I would have lived. With luck, and no helmet, May 17, 2002 would have been on my tombstone as the end date. But I'm here, posting this and have a helmet in more than ten pieces--it does its job.

I have seen many rationalization on this thread about not wearing a helmet, about competencies, about sweat, etc. But rationalizations will not bring back life. That's what my helmet has done for me. I still have it in my garage, pieced back together so people can see the impact it took, and I can tell them that I'm here because it is in pieces.

Thanks Giro!

And just remember, if and when that accident does come, you may not know--may never know for sure what happened or why.

John

you can buy a helmet for as little as $12. Helmets are like bikes, you can spend as much or little as you want. Fortunately, with the ANSI/SNELL regulations, a $12 helmet maybe nearly as good as a $50 one.


Originally posted by William Karsten


You know what an insult is?

It's the price of helmets!! Helmets cost (where I live) over a 100 dollars sometimes. Granted there are a few ones for around 40, but C'mon!!! It's styrafoam and plastic with a few pieces of strap materail. If I had any buisness sense, capital, production capabilities, logistical planning capabilities, training, and time, I'd make my own!!

But they do overcharge for what you get. Shoot, it's almost enough to make me not want to buy one.. almost.

For the record I have hair down to the middle of my back and live in FL. If a helmet is going to bother anyone by being too hot or sweaty it's gonna be me. But strangly enough it doesn't bother me in the slightest. in fact the directed ventilation is a very nice touch and the brow pad keeps the sweat out of my eyes very well. SKID LID = GOOD CRACKED BRAINCASE = BAD

Originally posted by transient



Btw, for anyone that thinks i'm crazy for putting all that into my car, I drive a 240sx and i'm hoping to get into track racing, so I do have a reason for it :D

Sweet, man. I also have a 240SX and am buying a 350Z come September. I have plans to turn one into a track car eventually. Preferrably the 240 since I spent way less money on it and the lighter weight is an advantage.

You guys auto-X? I was thinking about it too.

Originally posted by Raiyn
For the record I have hair down to the middle of my back and live in FL. If a helmet is going to bother anyone by being too hot or sweaty it's gonna be me....

I'm with you on this one... heat shouldn't be an issue with helmets and I've got the same hair and live in the south too. I do wear one. I won't even sit in the saddle without it on. Although I've never really banged my head hard in the bike wrecks I've had, I splatted into the street a couple of weeks ago and noticed some scuff marks at various points around the helmet. Perhaps that accident could have been worse had it not been for the helmet? I'd rather not take the chance of finding out.

Originally posted by transient
At the moment, I'm putting a 6 point roll cage and 4 point harnesses into my car. That should give you an idea of my views on safety. I put my seatbelt on whether i'm driving 50 miles or 50 inches.

Inches make all the difference in my non bike activities:

You can see why I think a roll cage is important.

Originally posted by Bikes-N-Drums


I'm with you on this one... heat shouldn't be an issue with helmets and I've got the same hair and live in the south too. I do wear one. I won't even sit in the saddle without it on. Although I've never really banged my head hard in the bike wrecks I've had, I splatted into the street a couple of weeks ago and noticed some scuff marks at various points around the helmet. Perhaps that accident could have been worse had it not been for the helmet? I'd rather not take the chance of finding out.

Bikendrums, you have long hair?

Who knew?:D

rockcrawling in the TJ-cool. You need some more articulation! :D


Originally posted by William Karsten


Inches make all the difference in my non bike activities:

You can see why I think a roll cage is important.

Originally posted by RacerX
rockcrawling in the TJ-cool. You need some more articulation! :D


I need longer front shocks, and there is a big wish for the Currie folks to come out with a rear version of the "anti rock".

Really, some people put to much in to articulation. You can build one with all kinds of articulation, but if you've got no downward presure on the axle (ie. from springs), what good is it?

Lockers, now there's the tickette. Now that I've got lockers, I don't spin much tire at all.

35's, flat skid, ARB's, works pretty well.

You have a TJ?

Another plus point for crash helmuts is the fact it gives Flies something to aim for other than my mouth:D . those vents can suck those beauties in like nothing else.

A good helmet protects also against the sun rays, as it has the visor.

It is also usually made from bright colored + reflective plastics, what makes you more noticeable to motorists.

One hears more and more about exposure to sun rays and resulting health problems. It means one has to wear a cap or hat anyway. So why not a bicycle helmet for that matter?

I could stick a yellow reflective stickers on my helmet and they hold there OK. Can you stick reflective stickers on a textile cap?

Let me put it another way. Imagine such a crazy situation, like one is to be hit on his head by a club, say, as punishment for some crime in an exotic country. One has a bike helmet and a textile bike cap to wear. Anything can be put on one's head. Tell me honestly, what would you wear? Or what is your guess - what Ken would put on in such a situation?

And what makes you so optimistic that a crash will not be similar to a hit with a cudgel on the head?

Update: I bought a helmet yesterday although it was for a different purpose than biking. I'm getting a freebord this week and I know that I'll be falling off of it alot. http://www.freeboard.com . It's a BMX helmet because I need a little more durability in minor crashes. I am trying it out on my commute today and it didn't seem too hot this morning. The afternoon ride will really be the benchmark, though.

like i always tell my 7 year old: because that is where you keep your brain. i've cracked two shells in all the years..... my limited thinking powers are intact for now.

always always always always always wear a helmet. even though you think you are a good cyclist stuff happens...

i.e. my front forks come APART while riding on a flat in the mountains.

or

i.e. your crank arms break while riding, you go down.

you just never know what can happen to you out there, better to be overly safe then to regert that you were not safe enough.

I’m pretty sure I’d be riding a wheelchair instead of a bike if I hadn’t worn a helmet for the last 12 years.