I love the appeal at emotion in yet another variation on "What about the children?" In the real world, however, where facts are more important than emotional statements about heart-broken parents cradling the mangled corpses of their little ones screaming WHY OH GOD WHY!!! to the cold, empty and uncaring heavens, cycling helmets seem to do a pretty poor job in preventing death and severe injury. So Lil' Timmy would probably be just as dead/vegetable-ish but slightly more dorky looking with a helmet.

I wouldn't advise the helmet thread to anyone, but there's a lot written on the subject. I don't necessarily want people to be against helmets, but it would be progress if people stopped to mindlessly repeat that nonsense that bicycle helmets are the Holy Grail of cycling safety.