Here's mine: The woman I saw bicycling the wrong way up Charles Street last week. Without a helmet. Texting.

Most recent encounter:

Cyclist on the wrong side of the road... until traffic came, and then he'd shoot over 4 lanes of traffic to get into the right spot for cyclists... until traffic cleared, and then he'd shoot over the four lanes again to go back to the wrong way.

Maybe she was calling 911 to give a head start to the ambulance she will undoubtedly need when she gets flattened by oncoming traffic.

Guy obviously in his 50's, wearing fully color coordinated spandex shorts and shirt. His socks even matched. Red shoes and not only wearing a helmet, but a red one. He looked like the retired superhero on sponge bob. Pot belly and boobs too.

EWW.

Last night I was driving to return some movies when a cyclist went by in the opposite direction. It was fully dark out, no lights, no helmet, single lane road, gravel shoulder, steep ditches, 80 kph speed limit (~50 mph), and no streetlights on that section. I only saw him about half a second before I passed him. I was looking for the ambulance lights on the way home, but I guess he cheated death that time.

Puh! I've seen three girls, riding abreast, all texting at the same time on a cycle path in Copenhagen. And it's a 500Kr fine for three abreast! Other cyclists were going up on the sidewalk, down onto the road, to get around.

Here in America, too much is made of riding without a helmet. I rode to work on a hot day a while back without my helmet but instead wore my cycling cap on my head. I have ridden since about 1963 all the way to 1980+ without a helmet and for several years recently, as do millions of others around the world.

I had to laugh the other day while riding without a helmet, I saw two cyclists, both with helmets, riding without their hands on the handlebar. That seems way more risky than not wearing a helmet. I am definitely not a Dutch hater and I applaud their use of the bicycle in everyday life and I think their lack of helmet use along with millions of Asians and other Europeans says quite a bit about their healthy mindset regarding cycling.

I would nominate people who ride the Minuteman bikepath in MA at night with no lights, but that's more like endangering everyone else.

(The Minuteman bikepath has no overhead lighting for most of it's 11 mile run, and is also mostly tree covered, so it gets pretty dark at night.)

in the usa you have to wear a helmet because the cars are doing their best to hit you. flip over your bars a few times because some one ran you off the road and you'll be glad that you are wearing a helmet.

also its legal to not wear a helmet in PA on a motorcycle now too and alot of people choose not to but those people idiots so emulating them isn't the best idea.

Yeah, a helmet is overrated. Just like that seatbelt I wear in a car. I mean, I've never had it really help me because I've never been in a bad car accident.

That it can be extremely useful in some situations does not mean that it is overrated. I've been in a high speed bike accident where I was knocked out despite wearing a helmet (ironically, I'd just started wearing a helmet the month before because my cousin was put in a coma for a month after a high speed crash without one).

I still think they are way overrated. Nothing even comes close to contributing to safety in a car or bike like an attentive pilot. But in the US, we only focus on mechanical safety features.

I buy the best ventilated helmets I can find, but I still hate them. Wearing a beer cooler on your head on a steep climb or extended distances in heat contributes to overheating. However, I'll be danged if I'm going to fly down a twisty road at more than 40mph without one.

Most people ride at such slow speeds that they contribute far less value. Sure, it is possible to get hit by a car or fall at 15mph and cause severe head injury, but I can do that running, walking down the stairs, falling off a roof, or taking a shower for that matter. However, the vast majority of those accidents -- including those related to mechanical failure -- can be avoided if the rider isn't clueless.

Wherever I ride, I am blown away by how little awareness people have of their surroundings and equipment. This is particularly true in town where cyclists often make no effort to be visible and act as if huge chunks of steel that could crush them aren't even there.

Awareness of surroundings, proper riding technique, and ensuring a bike is properly adjusted and maintained (headsets nice and tight, tires and brakes in good condition, etc) contribute far more to safety than the helmet.

The helmet is but a single method for enhancing safety. If you wear one and do all of the above wrong, people will think you are safe. Get all the other stuff right and skip the helmet, they'll think you're nuts. This sort of logic belongs in the same category as thinking that riding on the sidewalk is safer.

Well stated.

I've never seen girls with three breasts

Watch Total Recall and you will.

I was under the impression that helmets are useful at low speed, not so much at high speeds. I figure if you take a spill and hit your head at 40 mph, you're toast, helmet or no helmet. But at low speeds, a helmet can really take the edge off.

But I'm no expert.

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How is this a darwin candidate?

Because he makes a good target?

I would rather wreck at 10mph not wearing a helmet than at 40mph while wearing a helmet

1/2*m*v^2

but that's just me

I don't remember where I read this, but most head impacts are the same regardless of speed, usually the equivalent of standing up and falling over like a bowling pin. Which makes sense because the forward motion and downward motion are two separate forces. This is of course ignoring the possibility of hitting a stationary object with your melon.

I dunno... I'd rather slam my hand down on an anvil than on a running sander. There's a degree of scrape when you are moving. You may be going downwards at the same velocity, but the ground is moving in one and not the other.

Well, one wears a helmet to prevent concussions and brain damage not to prevent abrasion, abrasion will heal. I was making light of the statement, "Well, I'm not going to be riding that fast, so I do not need a helmet." You are going to fall the same distance regardless of speed, and have near equal head impact force except during impact with stationary object, or if you are going fast enough to start tumbling upon unexpected dismount (which is unlikely.)

I was a candidate once. My brake pads failed on a long, steep road with a T intersection at the bottom of the hill controlled by a stop light. I was still doing 30 when I reached the light. Thank Darwin it was green.

I dunno. I always saw the helmet as to reduce abrasions and not impact. I mean, it's not that cushioning. Or, doesn't appear to be. I just always figured it was to reduce abrasion.