I've got a good friend, a former cat 4 racer, He's as fast a rider as I know, comfortable on his bike, and skilled at handliing it. He doesn't like helmets and never felt he needed one. About 18 months ago, he was put in the situation of choosing between being hit by a car and hitting a sign post. He chose the post. It took forty stitches to close his head back up. He still suffers short term memory loss. He wears a helmet now, reluctantly. It isn't a matter of personal freedom for him. It's a matter of avoiding another injury. Head trauma is not good.

I'm not saying that he would have escaped uninjured if he'd been wearing a helmet. I am sure that he would have had less serious injuries, though.

The time I cracked a helmet, I had a ringing in my ears and a serious headache for a day. It was, I'm sure, a mild concussion. It would have been worse without the helmet. I won't ride without one.

If you want to argue personal freedom, I'll grant you that. I just hope we don't have the same insurance company. I don't want your injury to cost me money. And, yes, there are all sorts of risks each of us takes every day. Riding a bicycle is inherently risky. That doesn't stop me from doing it. Wearing a helmet is a simple way to minimize some of the risk.