Originally Posted by jwc
I am opposed to their being used as an excuse to ride with a feeling of invincibility. town ordinances that do not address real safety issues of riders, and I really do feel that their advocacy is backed by the manufacturers that provide them and profit from these laws. Add-on sales are one of the first things they teach you in retail. If helmets are that important to safe cycling...then every bike should be required to come equipped with one or a coupon should be provided so that they are free.
ok. First- name of thread: "Do helmets work?" I think we've come to the conclusion that bikers who crash tend to hit their heads, and when you hit your head, you'd rather have a helmet on it than not.
It wasn't "should hemet laws be pursued to the exclusion of all other types of bike advocacy?" Nobody here was arguing that. Take that to the advocacy forum.
Second- nobody who's crashed even once feels that helmets make them invincible. Road rash alone is strong adversive conditioning, not to mention anything more severe.
On the contrary, look at how many of the crash stories here do not involve a helmet.
In addition, there are crashes that are very difficult to avoid. For example, i was waiting at a stop light, when the driver coming up behind me hit the gas instead of the brake & bounced me off their hood. I ended up with a sprained wrist and a destroyed helmet.
Third (strawman)- most bike shops do cut people a deal on the purchase of helmets with a new bike, & encourage people to get one. Helmet fit is individual. I really don't want a stack of cheap, ill-fitting helments acumulating in my closet, 1 for each new bike, nor do i want to have to pay a surcharge for something which is not going to fit on my head.