Shh. We don't really want that getting out to the drivers, or they'll get wise to it. It also helps to wear jeans and wobble every now and then.

We don't really know that the extra 3 inches (or even 3 feet from passing laws) reduces the chance of getting hit though. That would be a sideswipe as they're going by which is rare and not necessarily life threatening, but the real danger is them hitting from behind.

Summary: Dr Ian Walker's measurements show that under some conditions British drivers leave 3.3 inches more passing distance if the cyclist is not wearing a helmet, and another 2.2 inches if the cyclist is wearing a wig. The average passing clearance for all three cases was more than four feet. The cyclist's position on the road changed everything, canceling the difference at times.

thanks for proving my point so well.

Fig. 1 shows that the farther from the curb you bike, the smaller the overtaking distance. http://www.bhsi.org/walkerfigs.pdf. Interesting.

Or maybe the closer you ride to the curb the further you are away from traffic?

If you will.

So to be safest, according to Walker: don't take the lane; don't wear a helmet; wear a wig.

Not at all, you don't understand. It's "take the lane unless you have no helmet and wear a wig".

Or, possibly, " if you're a helmeted bald male, skulk around in the gutter".

I say wear one of those beer helmets, a wig and weave all over. safety first.

Maybe we had better do things avoiding hurting.

Statistics from Denmark and Holland as compared to the UK and USA agree. Okay, perhaps not about the wig.

Helmets

contestant - "I'll take safety gear for $500 Alec."

AlecTrebec - The answer is "It's made of 65 cents worth of plastic, and $1.10 in labor, the packaging costs75 cents and the liability insurance costs $4.40 yet sells for between $30 and $130"

contestant - "What is a bicycle helmet?"

Alec- "Correct!"

I'd be safer if more people were on the road on bicycles, which helmet laws are shown to prevent. I'll wear mine regardless, but I'm not interested in telling someone they can't ride 10 blocks without a few inches of ridiculous foam on their head.

What an exercise in futility. At least 4 threads, and this one has 79 pages, and still the anti helmet posters have not talked anyone out of wearing a helmet. When will they realise they are wasting their time????

Besides they fly in the face of the fact that helmet use is up and deaths down in the last 10 years.

okay guys, if you stop wearing your helmet I'll give you candy. . .
there's is no way to prove we haven't talked anyone out of wearing a helmet. because nobody here cares if you wear a helmet or not. I couldn't careless if you rode in a suit of armor or buck neked. sounds like you're frustrated your statistics are failing to sway the non-helmet wearing (anti-helmet is a bit much) crowd. I still contend that drivers are the reason deaths are down, I've seen a vast improvement in that 10 years.
besides when people cite statistics I always remember . . . there are lies, damned lies and statistics.
now if I've converted anyone to the darkside please remember to post it here so we can keep track statistically.

for a limited time, if you can convince one or more of your family or friends to stop wearing a helmet, I'll give you more candy.

Just ignore him. He's not talking to you, he's talking at you. His posts never change much.

Look what I bought today!

http://i1217.photobucket.com/albums/...421_151844.jpg

Good for you.

So when was the last time you practiced your bike handling drills?

I'm sorry, I don't follow?

You're obviously interested in safety. Your little foam hat is a small part of that picture. So what else are you doing?

Oh, easy now, all bike equipment is "good" whether we think it's useful for someone or not. Enjoy the helmet!

Mine is just about to be replaced due the the condition from being worn so many miles.

My daughter at five had an accident that broke her helmet. The Nero Specialist at Childrens Hospital shook my hand and thanked me for having my daughter wear a helmet. After the CAT scan he explained the story would be very different had she not worn a helmet.

She is 17 now and has more miles under her belt than anyone else in my extended family save myself. She often observes cyclist without helmets and wonders why. She once commented that she thinks they don't wear helmets because they probably think they look cool without one. In her opinion they just look stupid.

I will never chastise one on the road without one as it is their choice. I do agree with my daughter however.

I will never let a kid in my neighborhood ride without one. (small cul de sac and all the parents are friends I know the kids)

I will never ride without one.

My kids automatically get helmets and gloves before riding. Just like Dad, part of the ride.

Do as you will

gallo

I see you are new to this forum. You should know that there are a hand full of anti helmet trolls that think it is their duty to talk everyone out of wearing a helmet. Why I have never been able to figure out. Maybe they were scared by a turtle when they were very young.:)

Gallo;

As it happens, I agree that small children learning to ride should wear helmets. They are very likely to fall off, and because of coordination issues are more likely to bump their heads if they do. It is very unlikely to be a life-or-death issue, but kids should be protected from superficial scalp and facial,injuries, and their low-speed falls are exactly what helmets are good for.

Your neurosurgeon may have been mistaken, though. I used to run a hospital with an internationally-renowned neurosurgical unit, and very few if any of the neurosurgeons would make definitve statements about the efficacy, or lack thereof, of helmets. No matter, I'm glad your daughter is OK.

Those who don't wear helmets are not, however, necessarily stupid. The evidence appears to show that the mercifully low rate at which cyclists are killed or seriously injured has not been affected by increasing use of helmets. Since it seems unlikely that people are more likely to fall off now than they were in the eighties, that seems to indicate that in the past, most people who bumped their heads were fine.

And this is what one would expect. Cycle helmets are not designed to save lives. They are designed to protect against simple falls from seven feet onto a flat surface at zero forward speed. That is the standard they have to pass in the laboratory. Bt in the real world, the thing that is likely to kill a cyclist is a collision with another vehicle, and the forces involved in such collisions simply overwhelm the limited protection a styrofoam helmet can provide.

As you say, do what you will. But please don't make assumptions about those who choose differently.

^ This.

Yesterday a group of us were out riding. We approached a set of rr tracks. One of the ladies with us crossed at the wrong angle and went down, doing approximately 8-10mph. She scuffed up one of her hoods and one knee, but the worst of it was that she cracked her helmet.

Had that been her head, she could have been seriously injured, or worse.

So if you want to keep thinking helmets are silly, or just plain not cool, go ahead. But trust me when I say this, being in a wheel chair the rest of your life and unable to ride, thats not cool.

And to answer your question, this is the "Little Foam Hat" thread, correct?