The second hit mentioned by Brian above (after my helmet had shattered) left me with a cut that had to be closed by three staples. It's the first time I've ever had staples put into my head. It's apparently the newest method for trauma units to close stitches. The funny thing is that when I pressed the center staple, I would get very dizzy, almost like vertigo. When I mentioned this to the doctor three day later, he immediately removed the staples.

Bikerider and Bandit above had good points about helmets leading to a false sense of security. I've never maintained that helmets were the only safety measure to use. But they are a very important one.

Concerning me not using any of the accident theories in my comments, that's because this is about helmets, not accident prevention. Helmets are personal protection, like other pieces of equipment. 'Sorry if you couldn't follow the analogies from other situations, but I was not the first to bring up other situations (walking, being in a shower, etc.). I will use accident theory to analyze my own accident in the future (when I have figured out a few more technical details, like placing my photos into this forum). I think then you will get a better idea of what can be done.

But to summarize many of the above posts, the "to helmet or not to helmet" question is mostly answered--if you value your head, put on a helmet. If you value your personal freedom from "regulation" more, then take your risks. By the way, these risks are not of the stupidity levels shown in the Darwin Awards (go to the web, and read them--they are unbelievable). We have an engineer who never wears a helmet, but commutes daily to my worksite by bicycle. Some people have mentioned to me that someone should talk to him about his habit of not wearing a helmet. I told them that he had never been to the Emergency Room, and I had twice in four years, and that maybe I could learn something from him. In short, I'm not an evangelist for helmets, but I am an advocate of them; mine did save my life!

There are studies available on many web sites which point to the value of helmets, and a few which contend that helmets are not what they are cracked up to be. Each side can point to their own stats. But the real story is that almost no one now says helmets won't help in an accident scenerio.

To those who say that bicycling is not dangerous, and helmets therefore are not necessary, I would say the following. The bulk of the information, and my own personal experience confirms, that bicycling is one of the more hazardous activities you can you can participate in. Cars (drivers, cars don't steer into bicyclists, drivers do) are the main source of the hazards, but there are others. These hazards can be minimized by training, use of protective equipment, selection of routes, riding techniques, etc.

I continue to ride, and I get flak from my wife for doing so. "I don't want another call from the Emergency Room," she tells me at every opportunity. She was very much effected by my accident in May, and all the measures I have taken to change (to be detailed later) have not reassured her.

John