dynodonn 

In, before the mods get a hold of this thread.

-=(8)=-

I agree with the article. Always have.
Unfortunately, "cars r god" mindset is as american as fat, violence and bad tv

FBinNY 

Let's not make this a helmet debate. There's a helmet thread for that. Let's focus on the broad safety issues, in which helmets may play a part, but only a part.

10 Wheels

No debate from me....just my 2 cents after 57,000 miles.

10 Wheels

Too late...helmet wearing Mod.

dynodonn 

Ah, I see how it is.

Spld cyclist

He thinks that segregated cycling infrastructure *should* be in the top 10. What are the other 9? It would be nice if he would fill us in.

njkayaker

(It's another anti "mandatory helmet law" argument.)

The "top 10 of things that keep cycling safe" don't really exist in many places in the US.

What does a long-range future "paradise" do for cyclists now?

It might make sense to work towards that "paradise" but it isn't relevant cyclists should (or shouldn't) do today. (Unless he thinks that people should not cycle until those things are implemented).

Looigi

Given the article, what else could this possibly be? The article is a one sided anti helmet rant. Not only is he anti helmet, he blows of any discussion of helmets as a waste of time.

I-Like-To-Bike

"In" with what?

dynodonn 

You can be real slow at times.

CbadRider

Helmet discussion belongs in the helmet thread.

Merged.

Six jours

Which proves - as if we needed further proof - that no helmet discussion is allowed at Bike Forums. Any mention of helmets (a least, any mention of helmets that is less than 100% pro-helmet) gets dumped into the A&S cesspool as soon as it is seen by the moderation team. (And FWIW, I think the moderators generally do a very good job here.)

It's sad, though, because Boardman brings some much needed reality to the whole issue, and it's also sad that the blindly pro-helmet crowd sees it as "anti-helmet" rather than "bicycling just isn't that dangerous, or at least doesn't have to be" as Boardman (and a bunch of other cyclists) is trying to point out.

rydabent

Six

Yup we agree on one thing, cycling is not that dangerous. At least for me. I ride a LWB recumbent that cant flip me over the handle bars, and I wear a helmet. Common sense and logic go a long way to make a person a safer rider.

CB HI

Every time you post this, you remind me of Arte Johnson tipping over on his tricycle on Laugh-In. Seems you really do need a helmet, so that when you tip over on your bent, you do not cave in the side of your head on the curb.

FBinNY 

Overzealous moderation. I started this thread separately because Boardman spoke about moving bicycle safety discussion away from helmets to a bigger picture. As such it was DEFINITELY NOT a helmet thread, and should have been left where it was.

Question to the mods and everybody here. Is it IMPOSSIBLE to discuss bicycle safety here on BF without making it about helmets (one way or the other)? Or does that violate some kind of religious dogma that says that the only way to be safe is to wear a helmet, and any discussion of safety without saying "wear a helmet" is heretical?

If so, BF should drop the Safety out of A&S and call it the A&H forum.

rydabent

10

In the photo you posted, I see a damaged helmet, but I DO NOT see any damage to your head. Again this is real world proof that helmets in many cases do exactly what they are designed to do. The anti helmet crowd absolutely hate real world situations like that. They will post 50 research papers that say that wouldnt happen. It is kind of a deal where we have the real world vs the easter bunny.

njkayaker

The article mentions helmets about 15 times. It's also a standard (often repeated) anti MHL argument.

rydabent

cb

I do not tip over when I am riding my trike.

mconlonx

Boardman says helmets not even top 10 regarding safe riding; LAB puts helmet use last of five in their list of safe riding attributes.

Helmet =/= safe riding. May help in a crash, but not very meaningful in the greater category of safely operating a bicycle on roads or trails.

rekmeyata

Same is true with seatbelts and airbags...may help in a crash but not very meaningful in the greater category of safely operating a motor vehicle on roads or highways.

FBinNY 

Don't waste your breath (or fingers). The helmet thread is like an old fashioned religious revival with testimony by those who've seen the light and been saved. These people see ANY discussion of safety that does not say that helmets are the best way to be safe as anti-helmet heresy.

They've also created a fictitious "anti-helmet" straw man to shut down any discussion as the ravings of "anti-helmet" zealots.

My Chris Boardman thread was not started on the helmet thread, and was intended to spark consideration of the bicycle safety bigger picture. However the helmet true believers couldn't resist jumping in with their "my helmet saved my life comments (including a mod who should have known better) and hijacked it, causing it to be merged here, where intelligent discussion is impossible.

To the helmet zealots here. Please wear your helmets, and continue your preaching if you wish. But please also allow those of us who feel that there are other (maybe better) ways to improve bicycle safety to post elsewhere without censoring by jumping in with your helmet commentary and causing the mods to merge them into the helmet thread.

MMACH 5

Oh please. This happens on both sides with equal vigor.
When someone posts outside of this thread with a thread along the lines of, "Which helmet should I get?" or "Is this helmet better than that?" or even, "What color helmet should I get?" The true believers who have been liberated to follow the Bare-Head Brigade mantra, descend on them with a vengeance. And those thread get relegated here, as well.

mconlonx

Except seatbelts and airbags are verified to provide way more protection in car wrecks than helmets regarding bicycle crashes. Apples, oranges, and absolutely nothing to donwith either bicycle safety or bicycle helmets. Nothing. False equivalence.

FBinNY 

Except that "which helmet to buy" is a legitimate helmet issue, whereas how best to improve bicycle isn't one.

Part of the irony here is that Mr. Boardman was addressing the MHL question, not helmets per se. It seems that many here claim very vehemently to be opposed to MHLs, yet somehow declares anyone else who speaks against them to be anti-helmet. With friends like those, opponents of MHLs don't need enemies.