And they're off.......

"You only wear a helmet if you plan on using it". Think I heard that at a Guns and Bikers show...

Beg to differ, I have had my bike fall over more than a few times over the years... But, other than a few scratches it was OK, and I am still riding that same bike... I, on the other hand, I have, crashed and... 1; I lost a weeks worth of memory, 2; I had crossed eyes for 10 months and couldn't work for a year, and 3; I had a broken neck, but no "brain" injury... "maybe". :innocent: I was wearing a helmet on all three of those occasions... So, how much did that help..? I don't know, but I suspect it did NOT, hurt the outcome not one iota... ;)

And maybe it helped, but it cannot be "proven"... :p

I ride a trike, and it doesnt fall over, yet I still wear a helmet.

Why YOU sHOULD Waer a Bicycle Helmet.
 

i am writing this because I think EVERYONE SHOULD WARE a BIKE HELMET it Ride Bikes Because IN 2012 I was hit by a Car And I was not wearing a bicycle Helmet and now I am a TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURE SO PLEASE WEAR A BICYCLE HELMET AND Bright Colors so others can see you and so you dont end up like me.

Helmet wearing in the UK
 

I have recently seen headlines in newspapers in the UK about the introduction of laws to require cyclists to wear helmets. I think there are four basic facets to this:

1. a helmet is simply not adequate to protect you from all of the dangers on the road. There are many cyclists out there who will suggest that there is no point in wearing a helmet because, if the worst happens and you are in a collision, the juggernaut, pantechnicon, truck, locomotive, automobile or whatever will do much more damage than a helmet can protect you from.

2. However, a helmet will help protect you from the most common danger on the road. The biggest threat on the road is the road itself. If you have an accident on your bike, no matter what the circumstances are, the most likely outcome is that you are going to come in contact with the road. It is in a collision between your bonce and the road that a helmet is useful. And that is the most likely thing to happen. So wear one.

3. There is no point in wearing a helmet incorrectly. There are many cyclists on the road who would not fall foul of a law that required them to wear a helmet but would not be protected by the helmet that they are wearing. They wear them on the back of their heads with their precious, vulnerable, frontal lobes protruding from the helmet inviting all of their higher level sophisticated human brain function to be eliminated by contact with the tarmac.

4. Much of the demand for laws to require cyclists to wear helmets stem from a basic antagonism to cyclists from people that do not cycle. There is a good proportion of the population that are frustrated and irritated by cyclists on the road and feel that they break laws, act irresponsibly and take risks with their safety and the safety of others. This antagonism has increased in the UK since a cyclist killed a pedestrian in a collision this summer. Their desire to restrict cyclists and curtail their freedom can be hidden under the cover of concern for their safety expressed as a law to wear a helmet.

Aside from #3 you're listing some of the illogical reasons people give for one side or the other (deliberately I think?) but you're just scratching the surface IMO. I like this one:

"You're costing us, or society, too much in medical costs and/or insurance costs."

because both sides can use it!

Posting a question first time..?
 

I need an idea on a missing strap in an old Giro helmet. What do I do to post and add a photo of my problem? Specifically, there is a "Y" shaped plastic strap spreader in the inside, back of the helmet. I can't figure out what goes through that "Y" spreader. The other straps are working fine.
I tried adding a photo but it seems I am not allowed.

Let us first see years of data from the most common types of people who get hurt on hard surfaces: car drivers, walkers, runners and bathroom users. After those groups start wearing helmets and report back on their results perhaps cyclists will be interested... Really! There is zero sense in picking on an outlier demographic. Go for low-hanging fruit.

By activity and age group:

Percent Distributions of TBI-related Emergency Department Visits by Age Group and Injury Mechanism — United States, 2006–2010

Dang, get the old folks wearing helmets and report back!

Also, middle-aged/younger people really need to lid-up before going to the bar! ...Assaults is a big cause of head injury 15-44! ...Or maybe hang one on the front porch before going in the house?

I've thrown and laid down loads of bikes, and just a couple of years ago i must've got 9ft high when i cut a corner and got bucked by a lump in the grass - the resulting impact with the concrete, where i was due to join it on wheels, did most certainly hurt.. but i didn't bang my head. I've never hit my head, it's usually my hands that get damaged. This is probably due to it being second nature to protect my head.

I don't wear a helmet, and i won't. I did, once, and i hated it. It's not comfortable, i found it interfering, and i wonder if wearing one could actually contribute to a crash. Possibly even a head impact, if the false sense of security eventually changes the way i behave, ride or fall.

It is not my place to tell others what to ride or wear. I may have an opinion, i may point out my hydration or covered knees, if i want them to think about theirs. But if someone tried to dictate my choices to me, i'd stand up to that. I've never had to.

Yes, whenever I wear a helmet, I get the urge to do a cannonball into a sidewalk.

My bike helmet saved my life, for real... But the only reason I was wearing it when I had my accident was because a local State Park Ranger said he was going to pull me over and shake me down every time he saw me riding through his park without one. It was no biggy I kinda understood it was in my best interest anyway so I bought one and yes it did its job and saved my life.

But Should It Be A Law... Come on man... Don't we have enough laws?

Your helmet is just another piece of equipment. Do you ride your bike bare footed? Or without a tire pump or tool kit. When was the last time you saw someone ridding trail without tick clothing or a cell phone.

I wear a helmet because I choose to and for many years I chose not to.

Come on man... Don't we have enough laws?

Whats next? And you know its coming...

Mandatory Helmet...
Mandatory bicycle licensing...
Mandatory bicycle driving permitting...
Mandatory liability insurance...
Mandatory propriety maintenance and repair...
And all in the best interest of the collective...

Come on man... Don't we have enough laws?

Mandatory bicycle helmet for adults = NO (but you wont catch me on my bike not wearing one)

My helmet rules...

On a road with cars: ALWAYS! With a blinking red light on the back. No exceptions!!!!

Riding with my daughter around an empty parking lot on the weekends or down to the river or a variety of other places that I'm unlikely to see other people: ALWAYS, but mostly just to set a good example for my kids in an otherwise zero danger environment. But if I make her wear one, I should wear one.

On a rail trail by myself: I usually don't wear it, but I always have it with me. I usually have it strapped to the rear rack in case I want to take a detour down one of the cross streets and go exploring. And I might not wearing it one direction that's uphill when I'm averaging 7mph...but I'll put it on when I head home downhill going 25mph.

I wasn't wearing a helmet when I had a collision with a car 10 years ago, but I was wearing a baseball cap. I sustained a bump to the head but thankfully the cap saved my life!

Also, the doctors examined my head and found nothing! Go figure. :lol:

There is a bike helmet law here in B.C Canada but I don't own one. The police don't bother you. My children wear them. 35 years ago I had a motor cycle and was lucky to ride without a helmet as some states and provinces still didn't have helmet laws yet.
I don't disagree with the safety argument but life is risky unless you stay in your bedroom and then still you run the risk of muscle atrophy.
Anyways the precedent has been set. You can choose to smoke cigarettes or soon legal marijuana here in Canada. You can drink alcohol eat fast food engage in unprotected sex go mountain climbing hang gliding parachuting
and a plethora of other risky activities. It's your choice. Our forefathers worked hard to give us the freedom we now take for granted. Let's not take the freedom away from ourselves. If I get pleasure from riding around without a helmet why take that away from me?

Of all the times I have come off my bike, I have never hit my head.

Still wear a helmet though...:foo:

I think in a serious crash, like a collision with a car, a helmet won't serve to save your life - it may, but your whole body is involved not just your head. But a helmet can serve to prevent some injuries. I had a crash in 1991 helmetless where I hit a car that was crossing a bike path in Colorado. My speed was around 10 or 11 mph, and I received a moderate concussion when my head hit the cement. I didn't die "because I had no helmet", but the concussion was a PITA. My next crash was in 2003 in ELP, I was rounding a corner in a shopping center parking lot and encountered an unpainted speed bump (the enemy of all mankind) at probably the same speed - 10 or 11 mph - and hit the ground at about the same velocity. My helmet saved me from the PITA concussion this time. So I don't wear helmets because they might save my life, but they definitely do have a place.

Spot on. I'm still of the camp that believes safe infrastructure will save many more lives than helmets, but I don't think I'll get on a bike without one.

I don't understand why they have to look so ridiculous. Surely some armour plating in a beanie would suffice? Most cycling helmets i see are on the top of the head, or look that way, when the impact is likely to be on the side - unless you're cycling under scaffolding, of course...

Skateboard helmets actually look better, that's the style i bought for my daughter and insist she wears it. Me though, i still don't wear one. Just a thick beanie. I know this is wrong, but i'm really looking at a kid's skater one, and hollowing it out so it fits, and it's really gonna be more of a bump-cap.

I've had a lot of crashes, i've thrown everything from 70's shopper bikes to modern mountain bikes, but i know how to bail. My current ride though is a 50mph e-bike and if i get it wrong on that, it's not gonna be a bail job, it'll be an orbit one. So i know i need protection but i want something more like a discrete shell than a nerd display.

Maybe you should just get a Harley and wear a plastic Nazi helmet like many of them wear.

Does science class still do the egg drop from the roof? I'm guessing styrofoam usually produces the best results.

It really wouldn't suit me. Even if i still wouldn't look as ridiculous as i do with a cycle helmet on.