What irks me most is the public attitude about helmets. It is basically treated as the first and last word in safety, responsibility, and whether you are a good person or not.

If you are not wearing a helmet, expect drivers to give you lectures at stop lights, expect yells of "Where's your helmet?!" from complete strangers. I know people who will not ride with someone who doesn't wear a helmet. Online you mostly get comments like, you are stupid, or you are guaranteed to end up brain damaged if you don't wear a helmet. I mostly think of a helmet as an anti-heckling device nowadays.

If you want to voice your opinions about other peoples' risk and choices, start heckling fat people on the street. I have never heard of someone refusing to ride with a cyclist that chooses to eat red meat because they might have a heart attack.