Doesn't take much to get hurt. Standing still, then falling and hitting your head on cement could be life threatening.

Rules I broke today:

24, 27, 30, 31, 33, 34, 41, 45, 48, 50, 54, 56, 57, 62, 74, 91, 92, and 93.

...and that's without trying. I ate a bar at mile 30, and stopped at a coffee shop (where I drank a vanilla milk) during my 70-miler this morning (3 hours 58 minutes.) Aerobars on there, pump and Co2s, the whole shebang.

The Rules are entertaining yet at the same time mostly ridiculous.

I've seen half a dozen people crash getting on and off the bike. Just last week I saw a couple cross a road on the MUP and the lady hit the sand and went down like a stone at maybe 3 miles an hour. When she got up here was a nice scuff on her helmet.

I just hope your socks were not too high ;)

Way too high. I've got some over-the-calf stuff.

To put it into perspective: Runners often go more than 5km per hour and trip, pedestreans sometimes step off the curb. people getting out of showers slip, others fall off ladders... None wear helmets.

What makes you think a helmet that has suffered "damage" from being carried on the handlebars any less effective than a pristine version of same?

Quite simply, if helmets are so easily made ineffective at noggin protection and must be handled as if it were fragile glassware, the helmet probably has very little value for someone looking for serious head protection in real world use, especially if such critical "damage" is invisible to the user.

My helmet makes a great kickstand. But at the store I was very specific that I wanted a helmet made for gravel.

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...6d521ef2_c.jpg

Obvious points -- people don't wear "standing still then falling" helmets even though there's a non-zero chance of fatal injury, and a scuff on the helmet indicates she probably saved herself from a scratch but says next to nothing about the likelihood of serious injury. I'd bet money that you're far more likely to suffer a brain injury from falling down the stairs than getting off a bike, but we wouldn't be making snarky comments to a person carrying their bike helmet on the stairs.

Safety precautions are all about reducing probabilities, not for creating the impossible condition of zero risk. If you're alive, you are constantly facing a non-zero chance of fatal injury no matter what you're doing.

In fairness, though, the lady in the photo also has a basket on her handlebars. At low speed, that helmet isn't moving around much.

She landed on the grass. She was a rather large lady, 250# or more and went down like a stone. If she had no helmet and hit the concrete or a large rock, I suspect she would of gone to the hospital.

I also once saw a 4 year old on a bike with training wheels. She turned her head to see behind where her parents were and of course she also turned the handle bars. She went over the handle bars and landed on her head. Her mom ran up and I told her to check her teeth.. they were fine,. But she brushed away her bangs and he had a bump the size of an egg. I told her to get her to the hospital.

Trust me I was shaken to see a a 4 year old so injured and only wondered if she was wearing a helmet would she be in suich bad shape.

Adults can make their own decision and will have to live with them. But kids rely on their parents to protect them.

Helmets are like seat belts... they don't work if you're not wearing them.

In Connecticut, motor cyclists are not required to wear helmets and most don't. We call them organ donors.

This. OP maybe grew up wearing a safety helmet all the time though so doesn’t get it. All good.
I personally wear a helmet all the time but don’t feel the need to call out and/or shame strangers for not wearing one.

Cool story!

Like stated in the OP, don't wanna wear a helmet... leave it at home.

Really? :roflmao2: Remind me about the safety helmets for the era when I grew up. (reference: I'm 50 years old).

When did the Toad shame a stranger? All I see is an observation on a internet forum pointing out ironic behavior. But thanks for playing along with your inaccurate assumptions!

Your right, rattling around doesn't quickly render a helmet ineffective. But that really wasn't the point.

Again, if you see the value in a helmet to protect your skull, you take care of it and keep it on your head. If you don't see it as valuable, than leave it at home or simply don't buy one.

Or do whatever you want with it because it is your helmet :thumb:

:thumb:

The laws where I have lived have mandated helmets for children. Not really the issue as far as I'm concerned. If for nothing else, kids' heads are much larger in proportion to their torso than adults', so the likelihoods are quite different.


I always wear a helmet. As far as I can see, the theme of this thread is that it's ok to chide people you don't know for keeping a helmet on their handlebars because it's supposedly such a stupid thing to do. We can trade anecdotes all day long, but my point would remain the same--it's not ok to do so given that it's considered perfectly normal not to wear helmets doing things that are far more likely to result in brain injury without helmets.

If you want to be consistent and chide people for not wearing helmets while climbing ladders, engaging in competitive figure skating, pole vaulting, jumping hurdles, skateboarding, and walking on the escalator, fine, but don't expect the chiding to be applauded.

OP and I disagree on whether he is socially licensed to chide strangers because they violate his sense of irony.

Like stated multiple times--who the heck are you to tell people what to do?

Please allow me to repeat for your clarity:

:thumb:

Based on your posts, I'll assume you hang your helmet from you bars ... so I sorry that you felt like I was telling you what to do. Please continue to be ironic and I will continue to be amused. :innocent:

To be fair, I don't believe the OP actually "called out" or "shamed" the woman (unless anyone seriously suspects she's likely to be reading this thread). He's stated repeatedly he's just killing time and ranting a bit, to (more or less) like-minded people, on a discussion board... which is basically why these things exist.
No harm, no-foul.
If we start cracking down on threads that are casually conversational, frivolous, pointless, unnecessary, redundant, asked-and-answered, just-out-of-curiosity, etc.etc, then we'd probably reduce the forum's volume by 70% !
And as is often stated, but seldom heeded, "if you don't like the content, you don't have to read it, much less, comment". (Hey, that kinda rhymed ! Look, I'm a rapper now!)
And BTW, the OP makes a valid point. While people are admittedly free to do as they please, that doesn't negate the fact that it IS stupid to purchase, own, and then even carry a helmet, only to ride around in traffic with it hanging from your handlebars.

That silliness can go on forever. Who are you to tell the OP what to do? (or not do)

Mods, Dump this mess in the helmet thread already. Thanks.

Wow. Backpedal much?
You stated this:
‘If you don't see it as valuable, than leave it at home or simply don't buy one’
That’s clearly not just an observation. That is judgement.

In most states, bike helmets are required for children.

OSHA already does.
https://www.360training.com/blog/wp-...ls-508x250.jpg

See a lot of people wearing helmets while cleaning gutters at their homes, do you?