On Wed, 01 Nov 2006 13:03:49 -0000, frank theriault <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> On 11/1/06, graywolf <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: >> I have only rode bicycles for a short while, less than sixty years, but >> I have never fallen off and landed on my head. Most of my contemporaries >> managed to get through at least childhood without wearing a helmet too. >> I imagine those laws sure do make a lot of money for the helmet sellers, >> however. >> >> I have my own opinion about who is a stupid git in this issue, people >> who fall on their heads all the time! > > I'm always amused when I hear the money issue brought up WRT helmets. > Just last night, on my way home in the dark, I passed another cyclist > who had no lights, thus breaking the law. I wondered why one would > spend from several hundred to several thousand dollars on a bike > wouldn't spend another $15 on a headlight - at that price theyr'e > almost disposable. > > The same goes for helmets. One can be gotten for as cheap as $30US or > less. I doubt that many helmet makers are making a whole hell of a > lot on their cheapest helmets. > > All that being said, perhaps I'm a stupid git. I've had at least > three occasions in the past few years where I fell from my bike and > struck my head. I believe that on at least two of those occasions my > helmet saved me from a concussion, or worse. Seems to me that being a > stupid git, I have to jealously guard the few brain cells I have left, > so a helmet's a pretty good idea for the likes of me. > > Then there's always the possibility that a cyclist may be completely > in the right, and that a car might be in the wrong and hit a cyclist. > Since cars have a mass of some 20 times that of a bicycle and rider, > physics tend to be on the side of the car in collisions. I'll take > whatever protection I can, especially if it's unobtrusive and > inexpensive. Here lies the body of Michael O'Shay, Who died defending the right of way. He was right, dead right, as he sailed along, But he's just as dead as if he'd been wrong. I don't tend to wear a helmet, though common sense dictates that I should. On the other hand, I don't like the nanny state telling me what to do. The only dead person I have seen in the UK, outside a coffin, was a cyclist who had just been knocked over. John > OTOH, it is a personal decision, and I wouldn't think less of someone > who has perhaps decided that they don't want or need a helmet... > > cheers, > frank > -- Using Opera's revolutionary e-mail client: http://www.opera.com/m2/ -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
