On Fri, May 21, 2010 at 5:53 PM, John Francis <jo...@panix.com> wrote: > > It's tempting to point to statistics that show a (slightly) lower > rate of injury amongst helmet wearers. But this is a self-selecting > population; it's quite plausible that the sort of person who elects > to wear a helmet is less likely to engage in risky activities, and > thus would have a lower chance of an accident even without the helmet.
You have the self-selecting part right, though I'm not convinced the pro-helmet crowd takes fewer risks. Rather, the folks who insist on wearing a helmet are probably more concerned about a bump on the noggin, and therefore more likely to seek medical treatment. Whereas people who wouldn't go to see a doctor for any but the most serious head injuries are likely among those who refuse to wear a helmet. I put on a helmet when it rains. It keeps the hood of my rain jacket on my head. -- Scott Loveless http://www.twosixteen.com/fivetoedsloth/ __o _'\<,_ (*)/ (*) -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
