Nam

I was in Shore road, Bay Ridge in Brooklyn, NY about an hour ago and saw a dead cyclist on the road. I wasn't there when it happened but I overheard the eyewitness told the police that he was trying to pass a little kid who was going left and right, he confused and hit the fence that seperate the highway and the Shore road, his head smashed right into the fence, blood was coming out the whole lane. The ambulance guy said that if he had had the helmet, he'd probably still alive. His bike is Trek bike, from the look I guess it's about $1500-$2500 range, every was intact except the lower frame has little bent, I didn't ask how fast he was going. But I know for sure that he's much more pro cyclist than me.

God bless him, I feel so bad for him. I used to wear helmet all the time but stop wearing 2 weeks recently, but after seeing this accident, I better start to put it on again. So to all you guys out there, please wear the helmet, you will never know what will happen. I've ridden that Shore road a thousand times, it's dedicated bike and walking lane, so it's 100% safe more than any road out there, you just never know, so be careful.

Sprocket Man

So true.

R600DuraAce

WTF........this shows you that when you are out riding keep things in perspective. For crying out loud, you are passing a kid on a bike. How freaking fast you must go ???? I had a similar incidence at Prospect Park on Sunday around 4 PM. I was coming back from my 5 hours training ride to NJ. I was at the downhill section of the park and this kid was riding without hands. I guess he was testing his balance. He kept on veering left-right and right-left. I decided to pass him on the right. Well, he decided to veer right too, not by much. I still had plenty of room to pass but I did hit the brakes just in case. Once I passed him and I turned my head and looking him. I gave him the what the hell are you doing look. It was a close one. With kids, you will never know.

1955

No matter how hard I'm going I crawl past kids. They're just kids and don't always know what's going on around them. Man I would just hate myself if I injured some little kid out for a good time with his or her parents. My heart rate and training ride won't be affected at all if I ease up for a moment to pass some kid.

phinney

Nothing gets my attention faster than kids in the road on bikes. We were out on the tandem just the other day enjoying a nice downhill when we came up on a couple of kids (maybe I should mention we were on a, lets say, 6 hour training ride - our second that day ). I cut the speed back and told my wife "nothing is more unpredictable than kids on bikes". Sure enough, even though they were coming our way on the opposite side of the road and knew we were there, at the last second one of them cut across in front of us and into a driveway and I could tell the second one was considering doing the same. My wife was surprised at my correct appraisal of the situation. Not sure why she was surprised.

Looneytuna

I ride Prospect Park and it's not just the kids we need to slow down for, but the many adults are unpredictable.. I've been going downhill and they will cut across from the right side to the left side with out looking.. So be careful not just when passing kids, but passing anyone.

bunnyrabbit

RIP. The flesh is weak.

This little piece of foam saved me from spilling the contents of my head onto a curb over the weekend. Not only did it save me a trip to hospital, but I got to ride another 200 miles for the rest of the day. So why the F**K you wouldn't wear a helmet is beyond me. At the risk of sounding discompassionate, this is natural selection. Be one of the smart ones and survive.

AroW

Yeah, I figured wearing a helmet wouldn't hurt. And plus it doesn't get my hair blowing in the wind, which annoys me.

slvoid

Holy crap... Nam, you really need to go to prospect to ride, shore road is pretty crappy compared to prospect park. We've been missing you around here.

gcasillo

I used to be sheepish about calling out "On your left!" to other cyclists, but I've recently gotten into the habit of it. Mainly because I've had other cyclists give me the same curteousy, and I grew to appreciate it. No malice in letting other people know where you are in space. With a youngin', you gotta prepare for the worst. No telling what he might do even if you call out your presence.

And I'm no Fabio, so wearing a lid isn't really going to kick me down the totem pole of style. Just can't imagine not wearing one. I feel naked without mine on, kind of like not wearing a seatbelt after you've clicked it so many times.

Condolences to this dude's family, but he should have covered his gourd.

puddin' legs

Very sad news, and a tough thing to have to witness first hand.

Kids are indeed unpredictable. A few years ago I ended up on top of one when he dashed out off the sidewalk and into a heavily trafficked street. I was already on the brakes and basically fell over the little lad, but if I hadn't 'cut him off', surely a car would have. A couple people saw what happened and came to help us get untangled. Everyone was OK, and we walked him to his nearby home and told his mother what happened. We left a contact addresses, etc... in case there were any problems. All's well that ends well.

The helmet thing... Risk mitigation has a strong cultural component and N. America is observably more concerned with wearing lids than many other places on the globe. Why don't people always wear helmets? Habit, heat, local road rules and cultures, perceived risk, etc.. Anyone catch the photo of a Tour rider cruising for a moment before the stage start with his kid riding his handle bars? Neither had a helmet. A Jackson'esque risk? Somehow I don't think so in this case given the speed and level of ability of the rider, but if had happened in the US, there may have been quite an outcry. Helmets are good, but let's be honest. Most folks who were cycling before the mid/late 80's rarely if ever rode with helmets. 99.9% are still alive and cycling even after crashes and continue to ride and enjoy the sport. Like most these days, they're all wearing lids now that there are so many great offerings on the market and/or law dictates. Why not combine the best of both worlds? Ride with a helmet and make decisions like you aren't.

H2OChick

Maybe it's the mother in me, but I'm thinking of that poor kid who probably witnessed the whole thing. Not a day s/he'll forget. So sad. All around.

Nam

Yeah I know it's crappy, but it only takes 3 mins from my house, compare to almost 30 mins (including traffic lights) to get to PP. That's why I go to Shore road most of the time, to get quick work out.

But oh boy, after what I was seeing, I stopped continue my normal routine, I went home after that. I can't believe somebody die on the road that consider the safest of all (absolute no cars). And by looking at his expensive bike, he should have worn the helmet. I'm sure he had one like most of us but just didn't bother to wear. And don't worry about the kid, he/she wasn't there, I'm sure that kid just continue to ride without any idea what had happened behind his back. But gosh, the image of a guy under white sheet with blood all around his head scare the sh*t out of me.

I hope to ride with you guys in PP this weekend.

TexasGuy

You never hear about the ones who die with the helmet

RiPHRaPH

i used to live on E 18th St, and know exactly where that is.
i cracked my helmet after going down after crossing some train tracks and catching a rut in the road during a drizzle. A guy in a car stopped and ran out with a first aid kit and asked "what day is it" >> when I said 'Sunday' he said 'good', you're fine.
Who wouldn't wear a helmet? I feel naked driving without one, honestly.

martin_j001

The thing I don't understand in the helmet debate is why you wouldn't wear one at all? I understand from the perspective of pro's racing in the '80's and all--helmets sucked back then--they were hot and heavy at best. Today's helmets though, weight about as much as a powerbar, and have more holes in them than a pair of fishnet stockings. I also understand that if you get broadsided by a car going 30mph that a helmet isn't going to do too much for you, but what about when you fall over trying to clip into or out of your pedals going 2mph and your melon hits the ground--which I'm sure most, if not all of us have done (or any of the other incidents most of us encounter where we hit the ground and ask ourselves why we didn't see that coming)? IMO, it just seems nuts to not wear one--its not going to hurt you to wear one at all, but it possibly could save your life.

As far as "You never hear about the ones who die with the helmet"--many, if not most posted incidents of cyclists being killed on these forums is related to cars hitting cyclists and things of that nature--where even a bike helmet more than likely won't help you too much as there are so many other injuries sustained at the same time. Its a ridiculous claim to say you never hear about the ones that die with a helmet, since these stories are posted regarless of what they were wearing. If someone is hit by a car while wearing a helmet and ends up fatally wounded, you can't say something like "we should all learn to not ride with traffic"--but in cases where someone dies from specifically head injuries while not wearing a helmet, you can almost always say that maybe, just maybe, the outcome would have been different if they were wearing a helmet.

baj32161

Jeez..I NEVER go out riding without a helmet...even to the store around trhe corner. I don't care who thinks I am a dork.

Everyone who rides helmetless should see a story like this.

daver42

Dorkiness is the last thing I think of when I see someone in a bike helmet. To be so vain and give up protecting your noggin is still beyond me. You truly never know what the other guy is going to do, regardless of your cycling abilities. And every cyclist should know that kids are the most unpredictable. Heck, who didn't screw around on their bike as a kid?

puddin' legs

Just to clarify, I wasn't advocating riding w/o a helmet. Be honest, how many of you older than 25 or so rode with a helmet when you were a wee one? How many of you who cycled before 1985-90 wore one? Love my helmet and only take it off on long hot climbs, but never wore one except to race before about 1993. Anyone race with a leather hairnet way back when?

mrballistic

perhaps this is the backstory?

https://www.boingboing.net/2005/07/12..._keith_al.html

otherwise, there were 2 people in nyc that died of bike-related injuries last weekend, which is something that i don't want to think about.

martin_j001

I started riding a bike when I was around 5 or 6 I think, as we had recently moved into the house I did most of my growing up in--that was 1983 or so. I remember the big ugly Bell helmet that my dad made me wear all the time. I hated that heavy thing, but I wore it every time I was on my bike, and thankfully too as I know I hit my head several times (that may explain some things!! LOL ) when I fell and tried to jump things.... My next helmet was actually a cool one (at least back then) and cost my dad $100--the Greg Lemond Giro helmet with the black/white/yellow. Damn that thing was cool--looking and temp. wise compared to the old Bell that barely had a vent in its 3" thick styrofoam shell. Compared to today's helmets, all those things were certainly horrible....but I always wore one....

TexasGuy

Umm because some of us are lucky? I can see it as being a safety issue if you do stunt racing or ride a road bike really fast but I find myself surprised that people have such a vehement distaste for people who don't wear helmets. I'm pretty sure smoking, over eating and unprotected sex has a much much higher fatality rate.

I personally have ridden all my life - 14k miles in 2 1/2 years and never had an accident without wearing a helmet. Do i wear a helmet now? Yes because I now ride a road bike and now go 20-25 miles per hour. I used to do 40 mph down a hill on a mOngoose without any fear of wearing a helmet. Has a helmet yet protected me from an accident? I've fallen approximately 6 times and been in 1 car accident. in the car accident i was not wearing a helmet. landing on the hood and sliding up to her windshield and then rolling off, I had no concussion, broken clavicle and damanged shoulder blade. Have fallen off the bike turning too fast in rain slick and had the bike slide from under me. No helmet helped my butt land smoother. Took a pole at 25mph and stopped on a dime on it. Blunt of the blow went to my shoulder. Didn't ding or scratch up the helmet. If i would have hit the pole with my head, i would have been dead, helmet or no helmet. Falling off a bike sideways - The 2 times I've fallen off a bike because it crashed I have thrown my weight to towards the grass so I land disconnected from the bike and on the grass. Not head long into traffic or onto cement.

In my honest opinion - while wearing a helmet is a decent safety precaution - its much like smoking, drinking or unprotected sex. Understand "your" limitations, advocate what you believe but try not being too racist/vehement against people who choose not to.

ke422azn40

omg, someone died in new york city? No way......

ke422azn40

omg, someone died in new york the state? no way....

Tien

I wear my helmet on AND off my bike. Better safe than sorry! Ok, not really, but I did wear my HRM to work yesterday, out of curiosity.