Couldn't have said it better myself. We should change this to the "why you should wear a helmet thread"
It's funny how so many people on this thread have reacted to riding brakeless... I guarantee 90% of them ride like they are drunk on a regular basis. I've ridden brakeless for years. Every now & then i come across a rider who is obviously got something to prove & rides like an @ss, but typically the brakeless riders i encounter in NYC & Brooklyn, S.F., Chicago, etc. are hands down more skilled than their braked counterparts. It's not an argument about brakes or no brakes, it's a conversation about careless vs. focused riding. The guy that started this thread was obviously on the side of careless.
My whole thinking is, if you are going to take the risk of learning how to ride a fixed gear bike without the use of brakes, don't be a j@ck@ss... take it slow & tune into the flow of a city. And for fuxx sake, always have a way out of a given situation (don't ride directly behind vehicles).
bring it.