Originally Posted by OldLion
I have found this an interesting thread to follow, but I'm not sure as someone without an axe to grind (someone looking for good answers), I've found much go on in terms of making a decision on the helmet or not.
Being back "into it" now, though, I do sometimes wonder. I've already been buzzed by SUV's going quite close and at what seemed to me to be a high rate of speed. If they or myself (afterall, we all make mistakes sometimes) mess up and I get clipped, would a helmet help me?
Getting "buzzed" can usually be avoided by proper lane positioning. You may be making the mistake of riding too far to the right...this invites overtaking vehicles to attempt to pass you when it's not safe.
You might also want to consider a mirror. I use one, and it allows me to exercise a degree of control over overtaking traffic. If I see someone coming up who's not moving over enough, I move my bike *left* a bit to force them to move further left. This works 99% of the time, especially when you do it early enough. Even *ssholes who just want to buzz you will move left, because their intent is to scare you, not kill you. In the rare event that the overtaking car does not move left, you then still have room to the right to bail out. A good quality cycling mirror (e.g., the Take a Look) makes this an easy maneuver.