Do you wear a helmet?

[cuervo]

In Mexico it's not mandatory on the street or at roads, only at competitions, but almost every serious rider wear one all the time.

I started as mountain biker, so I get used to one and now I never, never, NEVER ride with out one, I even use it going to the grocery.

 

[davidmc]

Originally posted by davidputty
I amost always wear mine I was just wondering about you guys

it seems like a hassle. I have a 1994 bell image pro. I remember when i got it, it was leading edge---shell molded,not taped to the core. Wore it a couple times & have it on my shelf as a sort of futuristic sculpture. Ridden 1000's of miles since then & am still among the living.

 

[kingoftheroads]

I must h ave my helmet or i dont feel like a cyclist i feel like a dead one.

 

[steve007]

Always. I hate wearing it. But i guess I'd hate watching my brains burst out of my head even more.

 

[gntlmn]

Originally posted by less'go
Kind of off the subject, but do you ever see those people who let their kids ride in the car with no seat belt, because they're "not going very far"? Pardon my French, but WTF is that about?

Worse yet is when they insist on carrying the child in their laps "to protect them." I won't even drive them anywhere like that, if I'm the driver. That's about the worst spot for a kid, in the arms of an unbuckled adult. The kid would be crushed by the adult in a head on collision.

 

[gntlmn]

Originally posted by davidmc
it seems like a hassle. I have a 1994 bell image pro. I remember when i got it, it was leading edge---shell molded,not taped to the core. Wore it a couple times & have it on my shelf as a sort of futuristic sculpture. Ridden 1000's of miles since then & am still among the living.

I like to wear mine because it keeps the sun from beating down on my head in the summer and keeps my head warm over the top of my warm hat in the winter. I just take the straps in a little in the summer. Actually, if you want to be technical, I don't think it takes any extra time because I put it on while I'm walking toward the door.

 

[steve007]

Originally posted by gntlmn
Worse yet is when they insist on carrying the child in their laps "to protect them." I won't even drive them anywhere like that, if I'm the driver. That's about the worst spot for a kid, in the arms of an unbuckled adult. The kid would be crushed by the adult in a head on collision.

Yep its crazy. I once said i hate cars, but its not the car, but the irresponsible MF's who drive too fast, too close, without seatbelf,using a mobile(cellphone).

 

[davidmc]

Originally posted by gntlmn
I like to wear mine because it keeps the sun from beating down on my head in the summer and keeps my head warm over the top of my warm hat in the winter. I just take the straps in a little in the summer. Actually, if you want to be technical, I don't think it takes any extra time because I put it on while I'm walking toward the door.

My main issue is, i commute & i have enough accessories to stow when i get to my job- rain pants, rain jacket, booties, shoes, ect...enough w/o having to stow my helmet too.
One day i wore my helmet in an placed it on a shelf. When i came to "collect it" at the end of the day, it was lying on the floor, shell down & one of the visor snap attchmnts was missing. Justifyably, i exploded to the heavens my rage against non-riders & riders alike & thier inepptitude & flagrant disregard for cycling equipment. I have & never will wear my helmet to work again. I do wear it, now & then; when i go for a "day-off" ride. Sound rational?

 

[Greg-O]

Originally posted by davidmc
My main issue is, i commute & i have enough accessories to stow when i get to my job- rain pants, rain jacket, booties, shoes, ect...enough w/o having to stow my helmet too.
One day i wore my helmet in an placed it on a shelf. When i came to "collect it" at the end of the day, it was lying on the floor, shell down & one of the visor snap attchmnts was missing. Justifyably, i exploded to the heavens my rage against non-riders & riders alike & thier inepptitude & flagrant disregard for cycling equipment. I have & never will wear my helmet to work again. I do wear it, now & then; when i go for a "day-off" ride. Sound rational?

you could just never take it off. it would look stylish!

when i was younger i went through a phase of never taking my helmet off. now i always wear one. perhaps when i raise youngins of my own i'll duct tape it to their scalp so they will wear it all day and get used to it like i did

 

[R1Racer]

I ride hard on the street and track on my motorcycle and am a gear freak on that. Never go anywhere without $800 in leather and a top of the line $600 Arai helmet. But as much as I protect myself when doing 150 or dragging a knee I never have and never will put a helmet on to ride a bike. I'm willing to take my chances when I'm never going to hit a speed where I would need one. Seriously how many people get serious head injuries riding bikes every year? Probably about the same that lose limbs in freak accidents. I love my head and when I'm on my real bike I use the best but some people take safety a little too far.

By the way I'm not riding as hard as many of you so maybe the risk is just lower but I have hit my head a couple times and my skull did it's job fine.

 

[davidmc]

Originally posted by R1Racer
I ride hard on the street and track on my motorcycle and am a gear freak on that. Never go anywhere without $800 in leather and a top of the line $600 Arai helmet. But as much as I protect myself when doing 150 or dragging a knee I never have and never will put a helmet on to ride a bike. I'm willing to take my chances when I'm never going to hit a speed where I would need one. Seriously how many people get serious head injuries riding bikes every year? Probably about the same that lose limbs in freak accidents. I love my head and when I'm on my real bike I use the best but some people take safety a little too far.

By the way I'm not riding as hard as many of you so maybe the risk is just lower but I have hit my head a couple times and my skull did it's job fine.

I don't know, some people get serious injuries while going 2 mph on a bicycle, like 4 instance if a child comes zig-zagging down the trail. My mother got her arm broke bcause of that & had 2 have a rod put in so that it will work. She was going < 5mph !!!

 

[birdman23]

Originally posted by R1Racer
I ride hard on the street and track on my motorcycle and am a gear freak on that. Never go anywhere without $800 in leather and a top of the line $600 Arai helmet. But as much as I protect myself when doing 150 or dragging a knee I never have and never will put a helmet on to ride a bike. I'm willing to take my chances when I'm never going to hit a speed where I would need one. Seriously how many people get serious head injuries riding bikes every year? Probably about the same that lose limbs in freak accidents. I love my head and when I'm on my real bike I use the best but some people take safety a little too far.

By the way I'm not riding as hard as many of you so maybe the risk is just lower but I have hit my head a couple times and my skull did it's job fine.

Maybe you took a harder hit than you think. That is the only rational thought that I can come up with that explains your opinion on wearing a helmet while riding a bicycle.

Food for thought:

BICYCLE-RELATED INJURIES
UNITED STATES

¨ 850-900 bicyclists die each year.

· 2 of 3 bicycle-related deaths involve head injury.

· 1 of 3 bicycle-related injuries involve head injury.

¨ 600 bicycle-related head injury deaths occur each year.

· 1 head injury death occurs every 15 hours.

¨ 12,000 persons are hospitalized for a bicycle-related head injury each year.

¨ 181,000 persons are treated in emergency departments for bicycle-related head injuries each year.

· 1 emergency department-treated head injury occurs every 3 minutes.

¨ 37% of all bicyclist deaths occur to children age 16 or younger.

¨ The male to female ratio for all ages is 6 to 1.

¨ Bicyclist deaths are more likely to occur during the summer months, especially in July and August.

· About 58% occur between noon and 9 p.m. with a peak time period from 3 to 6 p.m. (after school hours).

¨ The majority (61%) of bicyclists are killed in crashes in urban areas on roadways, but not at intersections.

¨ Helmets have been found to be 88% effective in reducing or preventing traumatic brain injury (TBI).

¨ Universal helmet use could:

· Save 1 life every day;

· Prevent 1 head injury every 4 minutes;

· Save at least $70 million annually.

http://www.health.state.ok.us/PROGRAM/injury/factsheets/bicycle_related_injuries.htm

 

[R1Racer]

Are you trying to make my point for me? 600-900 deaths per year???????? OH MY GOD it's an epidemic!!!!!

Someone with a calculator come up with the ratio for 900 deaths per 275 million people, or let's say 150 million who aren't elderly or little kids. 900 out of 150 million and you people act like you're in grave danger from riding a bicycle.

I bet those figures are close to lightning strikes, spontaneous combustion, and getting hit by busses as far as deaths per capita. Why not just wear a helmet in the car or while walking down the streets if you really think 900 out of 150 million is a number that should instill fear. I'm still willing to take my chances.

 

[keydates]

Deaths aren't the only thing to look at when looking at x thing. For example, chlamydia infects about 3 million people/year in the US. It doesn't kill many people...I would guess maybe a couple thousand die per year. Does that mean that it's safe to be promiscuous as you want AND not use protection? Only a couple thousand out of say, 100 million people in the US die from chlamydia. Still, common sense would tell you that if you want to have safe sex, use a condom or make sure your partners are tested. If you don't, you run the risk of contracting the disease. If you get chlamydia, you probably won't die. However, due to the nature of the disease, you may become sterile. Not as bad as death, but not good either.
The same goes for biking. Most cyclists will not get into an accident (since they don't bike much), and those that do will probably end up with little more than road rash and/or broken bones. While you may get a concussion from a head injury by wearing a helmet, you could end up with long term brain damage without it. Thus, death-case ratios are only so good.
If you don't want to wear a helmet, that is your decision. Chances are, you won't get into an accident worse than a couple broken bones. But, if you do sustain a head injury, you are at much greater risk of sustaining severe brain damage.

 

[Mattdaniel]

Yo not wanting to sound too grinchish against R1Racer, but, er people who don't wear helmets do waste so much hospital money and time. I wasn't wearing one when I went out power kiting (I know it's not biking but anyway) and got caught in a freak gust and dropped out of the sky pretty badly. I had to go to hospital on a spinal board and get about a billion x rays. I wasn't wearing a lid, but if I was, I probably wouldn't have been nocked out and concussed as I was. Seriously man, I have a gimpish helmet cos I'm too skint to buy a new one for biking but I still wear it. If you have an injury and get to hospital your wasting our taxes!!!! That money could be spent on INCUBATORS (sorry nicked that one out of private eye...rofl) I know it cos I've done it before!!! But anyway man I still guess it does come down to your own opinion.

 

[R1Racer]

Off topic but I went down at 70 yesterday and was up before I stopped rolling, only injuries were road rash on my legs. Helmet was gouged on the front and back, if I hadn't been wearing it or my other gear I would be in a hospital or worse. Makes me wonder how some people can be so stupid and not use it. But again 70 and 20 are a different story.

 

[Jettison]

Sorry to hear you went down. I'm glad you're ok but I know what a shitty feeling that is having gone down myself. I cared more about my busted up motorcyle than my broken ankle.
About the bicycles being slower than motorcycles argument. The problem is the cars speeding passed you. If one hits you you'd be better off wearing a helmet!

 

[Columbia]

Okay, I know I'm in the wrong here, but I almost never wear a helmet while training. I wouldn't wear one while racing either if they didn't make us.

The only exception to this is if I'm using aerobars, where I feel extremely vulnerable to crashing.

I'm, um, not exactly what you would call "careful" or "alert" either. But I figure if not wearing a helmet is really such a sin, I'll get whats coming to me eventually. After all, my father was a cyclist for years, before most guys wore helmets, he had several big crashes and seems perfectly fine (for a dad ).

 

[willk24]

Not wearing a helmet is just asking for trouble. Same people probably drive w/o a seat belt. Accidents should not be covered the same by insurance if your not wearing a helmet.

 

[birdman23]

Originally posted by R1Racer
Makes me wonder how some people can be so stupid and not use it. But again 70 and 20 are a different story.

A lot of cyclists say the same thing. Is there a difference between 70 and 50+? I regularly hit speeds in excess of 45 MPH and have hit close to 60 on my road bike. Needless to say, helmets are a good thing.