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My father used to race bikes and when he was training one time he took a nasty spill and if he hadnt been wearing a helmet he would have been much worse off. With that said, if he was just riding around the neighborhood with us kids helmets were not used. As soon as he was racing or training the helmet was on. Such as for me, I have a mountain bike. Light off roading, or around the neighborhood I do not wear a helmet. I recently was up in NH and was able to rent a bike and ride down one of the ski slopes. It was required to wear a helmet but I would have worn one anyways.
Ill be the first one to say it....im not singling anyone out...but our society has become a bunch of weenys who are so scared to get hurt that they go overboard with protection. In my opinion there is no need to where a helmet around town. Its ok to fall down, and get some bumps and bruises.
Im not against people wearing a helmet, if you want to go for it. I just think that our society is becoming to overly cautious. Whats next...helmets for walking down a busy road? Just like skiing, I see an ever growing number of people wearing helmets on the ski slope....why? But thats for another thread.
Safety is good....but lets be honest riding a bike was not considered unsafe 30 years ago by anyone and suddenly today it is...so we need to wear helmets. If you went back in time and wore a helmet while riding your bike people would think you were crazy. I know times are changing, but....
Well thats my 2 cents.
We evolve as a species. We used to think it was safe to smoke too. Many will argue that it still is safe.
I was going to post this in the fashion forum but settled on posting it here. I don't know what it's like where you are, but despite the laws, I still see many people of all ages not wearing helmets while cycling.
I'm just wondering what, you think, could be the main reason for this.
No idea, if this was posted... long watch, but it sums up my feelings succinctly in 16 minutes.
The guy lecturing in this video believes if he speaks in a confident and somewhat sarcastic manner, his logic must be correct.
He makes fun of how automobile insurance companies support bicyclists wearing helmets.
Hey speaker ... get a clue.
Of course insurance companies want people wearing helmets because the use of helmets result in less serious injuries, and therefore lower accident payouts by the insurance companies.
Would you prefer the opposite, and have bicyclists with more serious injuries?
The speaker mentions his background is literacy ... maybe he should just stick to reading fiction, and not pretend to be some sort of bicycle safety expert.
wikipedia - Undesirable effects of helmet use Assessment of current bicycle helmets for the potential to cause rotational injury Wearing a helmet puts cyclists at risk, suggests research HELMET LAWS: A SUMMARY OF THEIR EFFECT
There is plenty of evidence contrary to cycle helmets, this is just a sample of some I have reasearched in the past (I have a lot more, just think this is a large enough sampling to start anyone off with).
Yes I know there are studies proving both sides of the debate and this is a sample only of negative helmet research and assessments, it just seems everyone who is advocating helmets and judging me for not wearing one have only seen the beneficial studies or only hear the oft repeated, "stay safe, wear a helmet" slogan.
If you want to wear a helmet and believe they make you safer, please wear one, but please don't try to force your viewpoint on me. I have read both sides of the research and have made my own choice based on my cycling lifestyle.
I have had two helmets save my life, and neither instance involved motor vehicles. But last night, it was saved by having a fresh set of brake pads. ;-) It is unfortunate if when some noob is only told to be safe, wear a helmet. Helmets are merely one arrow in your quiver of defensive measures taken during cycling.
wikipedia - Undesirable effects of helmet use Assessment of current bicycle helmets for the potential to cause rotational injury Wearing a helmet puts cyclists at risk, suggests research HELMET LAWS: A SUMMARY OF THEIR EFFECT
There is plenty of evidence contrary to cycle helmets, this is just a sample of some I have reasearched in the past (I have a lot more, just think this is a large enough sampling to start anyone off with).
Yes I know there are studies proving both sides of the debate and this is a sample only of negative helmet research and assessments, it just seems everyone who is advocating helmets and judging me for not wearing one have only seen the beneficial studies or only hear the oft repeated, "stay safe, wear a helmet" slogan.
If you want to wear a helmet and believe they make you safer, please wear one, but please don't try to force your viewpoint on me. I have read both sides of the research and have made my own choice based on my cycling lifestyle.
Sounds like the motorist who says they were saved by not wearing a seatbelt. Thank God I was ejected from the car through the windshield before the car erupted in flames! Yes there are times a seatbelt will do more harm than good. But many, many more instances where the seatbelt saves a life or reduces injury. Same thing with helmets.
AND NO HELMETS DO NOT MAKE YOU SAFER!!!
They can minimize or prevent head/brain injuries if you hit your head when you fall.
It IS your decision. I just scoff at the rationalization because I know prevention is always better than a cure. But then again, if your puttering around at 5MPH on a mellow path the chances are a lot slimmer than me cruising the road at 19-30MPH
wikipedia - Undesirable effects of helmet use Assessment of current bicycle helmets for the potential to cause rotational injury Wearing a helmet puts cyclists at risk, suggests research HELMET LAWS: A SUMMARY OF THEIR EFFECT
There is plenty of evidence contrary to cycle helmets, this is just a sample of some I have reasearched in the past (I have a lot more, just think this is a large enough sampling to start anyone off with).
Yes I know there are studies proving both sides of the debate and this is a sample only of negative helmet research and assessments, it just seems everyone who is advocating helmets and judging me for not wearing one have only seen the beneficial studies or only hear the oft repeated, "stay safe, wear a helmet" slogan.
If you want to wear a helmet and believe they make you safer, please wear one, but please don't try to force your viewpoint on me. I have read both sides of the research and have made my own choice based on my cycling lifestyle.
If a mandatory helmet law gets the "less than desired" riders off bikes, good. If someone would quit riding just because of a helmet then I'm ok with that.
So last night on the group ride in the slower group, an inexperienced rider signaled to pull out from pulling/leading the peloton. Instead of accelerating a bit as he moved to the left and out of the way, he stayed in line and just decelerated. Guy right behind him had no where to go and braked suddenly and the rider behind him touched his rear wheel, went down and his wife behind him went right down. Husband is more experienced, did a tuck and roll toward the grassy side shoulder wife just went down HARD on the pavement. He was bleeding from the head, probably due to helmet rubbing his scalp upon impact. He is OK, wife has concussion.
So now all you against helmets will be able to say "See, it doesn't matter, she got a concussion" and all of us pro-helmet types are thinking, "I shudder to think how much worse it would have been without the helmet" They were going about 22MPH when it happened.
As a side not to another link, the vehicles all around were super courteous, super thoughtful and really helpful. We had cars positioning themselves around the fallen rider on the road to keep another vehicle from hitting her, others stopping and directing traffic and others stopped to render aid. Wasn't there to witness it but just reinforces why road riding without helmet is just stupid. Also reinforces needing to be super-careful and attentive with paceline technique and etiquette.
So last night a bunch of riders were drifting each other just inches off of the riders rear wheel in front of them in a line and the first rider let up the rest were not paying attention and a crash happened.
Been there at 40mph still have the scar 24yrs latter.(road rash/grader to the bone on a elbow.)
No helmets were being used by the 9 participants in the crash who were sprawled out from the ditch to 2 lanes of traffic and not one of us hit our heads on the pavement.
Nearly all bicyclist deaths (92%) occurred as a result of crashes with motor vehicles. Alcohol involvement (car driver or bike rider) was reported in 34% of 2010 deaths.
More than one fifth (23%) of the cyclists killed were drunk. (Blood alcohol concentration over .08 g/dl)
5.1% The bicyclist exited a driveway in front of an on-coming vehicle.
4.3% The bicyclist turned left in front of a passing vehicle.
3.9% The motorist was overtaking the bicyclist, cause of the accident unclear.
2.7% The bicyclist was struck while traveling on the wrong (left) side of the road.
1.4% The bicyclist, on the wrong side, turned right in front of a vehicle.
1.3% The motorist was overtaking the bicyclist and failed to see him.
1.2% The bicyclist lost control and swerved into the path of the vehicle.
.8% The bicyclist made a normal left turn but ignored on-coming traffic.
.6% The motorist lost control of the car and struck the bicyclist.
.5% The motorist struck a play vehicle (big wheel, bike with training wheels).
here are some other bits of significant information that can be learned by calculating these odds. Bicycle collisions with automobiles (odds: 1 in 113) are more than twice as survivable as collisions with pickups, SUV's, and vans (odds: 1 in 47) which are three times more survivable than collisions with trucks (odds: 1 in 14). On which part of the motor vehicle the collision occurs makes a dramatic difference; when the front of an automobile and a cyclist collided, which happened 25,000 times in 1997, 346 cyclists died (odds: 1 in 72), but when the right side of an automobile and a cyclist collided, which happened 12,000 times, only 13 died (odds: 1 in 926). Women cyclists (odds: 1 in 110) survive vehicle collisions nearly twice as often as men (odds: 1 in 66). Older cyclists (odds: 1 in 30 at age 65) have less than half the chance of surviving a collision as younger ones (odds: 1 in 88 at age 21). The odds of surviving a bicycle-motor vehicle collision at night (between 6 PM and 6 AM), when half of all cyclists die, range from 1 in 63 (weekdays, 6 to 9 pm) to well below 1 in 20 in the wee hours on the weekends. A recent Johns Hopkins study in Maryland indicates that many cyclist fatalities are alcoholics who have lost their driving licences, which might explain the large numbers of fatalities during the wee hours. The majority of nighttime fatalities happened to cyclists who were not properly equipped with headlights and taillights, whether drunk or not. In fact, Riley Geary says that 56% of adult fatalities were caused by riding at night without lights.
we discover a very low danger from cycling. Let's say the a cyclist rides 250 hours per year, say 3,000 miles, somewhat higher than the amount for a regular cyclist. And we'll say that this person rides 60 out of the normal 75 years of life, or 15,000 hours and 180,000 miles total. Using the Failure Associates figures, this person is going to have to have a 1/256 chance of getting killed while cycling during his lifetime. Michigan Bicycle Crashes, 2004 – 2009
Degree of injury ......with Helmet....... No helmet
Killed..........................1.4%.......... ... 1.5%
Non-incapacitating ........38% ................37%
Incapacitating......... .....13%................ 11%
There isn’t much difference in injury severity between those wearing a helmet and those that are not.
There’s a slightly higher fatality rather for non-helment wearers but helmeted cyclists do suffer from higher injury rates probably from the false scene of security the helmet gave them.
Last edited by snofarmer; 07-27-2012 at 08:48 AM..
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last night a bunch of riders were drifting each other just inches off of the riders rear wheel in front of them in a line and the first rider let up the rest were not paying attention and a crash happened.
