Helmets For All? Or Just Some?



oportosanto said:
Helmets are something that are not practical, but that can save our life. Sure, if we are used to ride without an helmet it's hard to gain that habit, but I think we should do it for our own health and to give the example to others.
Then again some people would be willing to wear helmets but may not have the cash to get any at the moment. It would mean that those who are poor would not be able to head out on any bicycles that were given to them as gifts, not until they got an helmet.
 
I don't live in America so I pretty much don't care. I rode my bike in whatever country I lived in (and I lived in quite a few) and I never even owned a helmet. I hope I don't learn the hard way that I should've done differently, but I consider myself very vigilant and aware of my surrounding when I'm riding on the road (which is really rare). I prefer bike paths though, it feels a lot safer there.
 
Well when riding will small children or younger ones helmets are really important. But to wear one myself somehow feels like whatever, why is that? Are we not concerned for our safety?
 
I suppose in USA you can get maybe arrested or pay some fine for cycling without a helmet, but in my country, it is still not a must. In bigger cities, like the capital, where the traffic is quite chaotic and pretty fast and constant, one is required to wear a helmet by the law, otherwise, they can pay some fine if they get caught.
In my little town, due to less commute on the streets, meaning less people,thus less traffic, one can ride his or her bike, without a helmet, and that is what you will usually see if you viist.
I wear my helmet sometimes, but mostly I don't, which is a big no-no, because helmets are there for a reason, to protect us from injuries. One can never predict if they are going to get hit by a car while cycling, or just fall off their bike. It can happen to everyone, everywhere. Thus, it is not really important if wearing a helmet is mandatory or optional, you have to bear in mind that your own personal safety is what matters here. If I rode my bike in the city, with a lot of traffic, I would never go without having a protection on my head. :)
 
We might very well be the safest people in the roads but that still won't stop you getting hit by somebody who is less careless.

At the end of the day, it's not an actual law that you have to wear a helmet so the choice is obviously down to the individual, I'd just rather not take that risk seeing as I don't have to.
 
Helmets are for our safety, not just by law, that is what we usually forget. I do find a helmet to be resisting the free flow of air thereby making me to sweat than when I do not put my helmet on. Sometimes I do not put my helmet resulting from influence from friends. It is when we are involved in an accident that we remember the importance of helmets.
Helmets must be put on by every rider. I don't see the reason why we should avoid putting on our helmets or why that should be optional. You will never know when you will get involved in an accident.
 
It's a matter of creating awareness at this point. The same happened with seat belts, it took a while for people to get accustomed to them, now the same is happening with helmets.
 
I personally don't like wearing helmets nor do I like the idea having someone tell us to wear them But i definitely do think that safety is the utmost priority when you're out there riding on the streets or trails on a bike especially in Los Angeles where i live and where the drivers sometimes are careless.
 
Yep, I am with you rezonate, I don't like it either, but I am at a point I need to give the example to my kids or at least tolerate that they wear it like their mother demands. :D
 
Helmets should be for all, Its an expense Id rather of avoided if Im honest. But I think after I had a fall from my bike a few months back. The first in years. (I got caught out cycling off a curb on to the road in which they took off what must of been a thick layer of tarmac and it was enough for me to over the handle bars. Just a couple scratches, hurt pride and hole in my new trousers. But it could of been worse.

It kind of made me realize its not just motorists that could do me in, something as innocuous like my fall described above or something more dramatic like a front wheel disassembling itself from the frame (Ive seen it happen before to someone) could do some real damage.
 
The more I think about it, the more I wonder as to why the wearing a cycling helmet is not enforced more in a similar way as to how motorcycle helmets are. Bicycles might not be able to go as fast as motorbikes but they are certainly put in danger when riding at speed.
 
Well, life matters more than anything else. A helmet is a must considering that anything can happen on the road no matter how careful you or other drivers are. Because by that logic accidents would never happen. So, I think Helmets should be mandatory by law if needed.
 
I believe in freedom.

Those who are deficient in white matter should be free to take themselves out of the gene pool and ride without a helmet.

I ride w/o a helmet once per year on isolated country roads celebrating the first warm, beautiful day of Spring. Almost as good as sex for the first time. Worth the risk.
 
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Those that argue that mandatory helmet laws are a restriction of ones freedoms should be required by law to use birth control during every single sexual encounter.

Do we really need to legislate common sense though? What about enforcement, now the police budget is going to get even bigger because we need constables to see if people are wearing helmets? We should focus police usage on real problems, not if bike riders have a helmet on. When will the non-sense end? Do I need the state to send a squad car to ensure I am tucked in nice and tight and read me a bedtime story? Nanny-State nonsense.
I wear a lid 50% of the time. If I am going to go grab a pint down the road or am just going a short distance I don't need it and I don't wear it. Sometimes I just plain forget it somewhere, a few times I lent it to someone. Does that mean I am now a criminal who should be brought down by the law and fined?
 
Helpmate are useful as safety gear to prevent injuries in an uncontrolled environment. If you can't prevent a crash or impact, but you know it will occur, a helmet can prevent or minimize injury to the head and brain.
Human brains can be injured by impact, of course, or by exceptionally violent rotation of the head, when the brain remains stationary, giving blood vessels and nerves a yank. Internal blood vessels and nerves yank parts of the brain around too in different ways, straining the vessels and nerves in the process.
Helmets designed to handle major crash energy generally contain a layer of crushable foam. When you crash and hit a hard surface, the foam part of a helmet crushes, controlling the crash energy and extending your head's stopping time by about six thousandths of a second (6 ms) to reduce the peak impact to the brain. Rotational forces and internal strains are likely to be reduced by the crushing.
 
I believe in freedom.

Those who are deficient in white matter should be free to take themselves out of the gene pool and ride without a helmet.

I ride w/o a helmet once per year on isolated country roads celebrating the first warm, beautiful day of Spring. Almost as good as sex for the first time. Worth the risk.

lol, I think that saying that only deficient in white matter (isn't it gray matter the good one? :)) ride without a helmet is maybe going a little too far. Safety first sure, but weren't we safe decades ago?
 
lol, I think that saying that only deficient in white matter (isn't it gray matter the good one? :)) ride without a helmet is maybe going a little too far. Safety first sure, but weren't we safe decades ago?

I didn't say "only'....I was thinking of disconnect and meant white but does it matter. Good cholesterol, bad cholesterol, bad fat, good fat. Good carbs, bad carbs. Why is stuff labelled good or bad? Why safety first? Can we ever be completely free from risk and if so, what is the price? What are the unintended consequences? Despite all kinds of safety laws and rules, the number of head injuries has skyrocketed over the last two decades, but it can't be the good ole carbs or MSG or aspartame or other goodies in our food.

Helmets while riding a bicycle should be personal choice.
 
Yep, we are never risk free, anything can happen anywhere. And I agree that helmets should be a personal choice, except when mothers are around because they see it as mandatory. :D
 
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