Re: [RBW] Why Wear a Helmet?

My loose "rules": If you are trying to set a record while riding, consider a helmet. If you go over 30 mph, consider a helmet. If you ride close to others, like in a pack, consider a helmet. If you ride fast on single track, consider a helmet. Otherwise, treat it like you do other forms of tra

Re: [RBW] Why Wear a Helmet?

I started wearing a helmet when I started mountain biking in wooded/ brushy areas. It was nice to be able to put my head down and have the small branches and brush deflect off the helmet. I would put it on to ride to the trails and it just sort of became habit. Is it safer/ less safe, who knows.

Re: [RBW] Why Wear a Helmet?

I'm with you Jim, I can't ride without my mirror On Tuesday, May 20, 2014 9:45:42 AM UTC-5, JimD wrote: > > I wear a helmet as insurance. Besides it's where I mount my mirror. > > I'd ride without the helmet before I rode without the mirror but, as it > is, they are inextricably linked. > > Maybe

Re: [RBW] Why Wear a Helmet?

I wear a helmet as insurance. Besides it's where I mount my mirror. I'd ride without the helmet before I rode without the mirror but, as it is, they are inextricably linked. Maybe we can have a 'discussion' about the use of mirrors? As to helmets and horses go watch the cross country portion of

[RBW] Why Wear a Helmet?

Based on the evidence it I think it's hard to say what to do because there is so much conflicting evidence. However, this site has lots of good info: http://www.bhsi.org I recently read an article on that site (can't seem to find it now though) where they describe using caution in ascribing life/

Re: [RBW] Why Wear a Helmet?

Bicycles in our country are still an anomaly on the road, unlike the other countries mentioned here, where a significant bicycle contribution to traffic is the norm. You need to do everything you can to alert drivers of your presence - Blinkies - and to protect yourself - helmet. But back to

Re: [RBW] Why Wear a Helmet?

I remember my little brother at age 4 on his old-fashioned, 20" wheel, high and tippy tricycle, sprinting down our concrete driveway (which had a slight slope), going for gold. Not invariably but very often he'd gradually tip over forward and sideways and, since he had a big head on a stick body, u

Re: [RBW] Why Wear a Helmet?

I (a helmet wearer) think of wearing helment in 3 different ways. 1. it has proven working for me personally in 2 occasions; both times the helmet cracked but my skull remained intact; they were medium-speed collision, once when I ran into the back of a dump truck and fell to the ground, second

Re: [RBW] Why Wear a Helmet?

I am 100% against helmet laws. That is not 100% against helmets, just against the laws which require persons to wear them. I wear my helmet every time I ride on a pay-to-play ride where they require them. Past that I'll take some fresh air thank you. The pie chart really just makes me laugh.

Re: [RBW] Why Wear a Helmet?

Patrick, thanks for bringing up skiing/snow sports: >From NYT (http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/01/sports/on-slopes-rise-in-helmet-use-but-no-decline-in-brain-injuries.html?_r=0): > > Although skiers and snowboarders in the United States are wearing helmets > more than ever — 70 percent of all p

Re: [RBW] Why Wear a Helmet?

I think Edwin is on the track of the right question: exactly how dangerous is cycling? From the statistics I've read, not that dangerous, less dangerous than walking, IIRC. Is cycling more dangerous than skiing? Do skiiers wear helmets? What about people showering in poreclain-covered bathtubs? Or

Re: [RBW] Why Wear a Helmet?

my, what a confident, dashing, GQ-catalog-tv-personality-quality idiot. On Monday, May 19, 2014 8:42:50 AM UTC-5, Eunice Chang wrote: > > Here's a counter-link: > > http://www.vox.com/2014/5/16/57207

Re: [RBW] Why Wear a Helmet?

I think we can all agree that just being reasonable about this whole thing is at least somewhere to start. To wit, VIA Bike Snob http://www.kentreporter.com/news/258036131.html On Mon, May 19, 2014 at 9:56 AM, Bruce Herbitter wrote: > The EMTs I know refer to riders without helmets (and here we

Re: [RBW] Why Wear a Helmet?

The EMTs I know refer to riders without helmets (and here we are talking riders out where there is traffic) as "organ donors." Yes, it's a choice, and you shouldn't be forced either way. Having fallen at 13 mph and been surprised with how hard my head whipped down and struck the asphalt (wearing a

Re: [RBW] Why Wear a Helmet?

I agree that the data are irrelevant-- but, the reason that I wear a helmet is that if I'm in a collision, then I don't want the excuse to-be "the cyclist wasn't wearing a helmet". In virtually all of the bike/auto collisions covered in the Boston-area media, there's a statement "Cyclist was/wa

Re: [RBW] Why Wear a Helmet?

Here's a counter-link: http://www.vox.com/2014/5/16/5720762/stop-forcing-people-to-wear-bike-helmets At this point, I think it's more important that we encourage people to bike, rather than scaring them out of biking. That alone will help awareness and hopefully change transportation infrastructur

Re: [RBW] Why Wear a Helmet?

The data is irrelevant. It doesn't matter how many helmets you're wearing if you go head-to-head with an automobile in a collision. But by yourself on a bicycle, 12 mph with just the wrong impact will kill you. All of us are going to flip our bikes at some point. Wearing a helmet then will m

Re: [RBW] Why Wear a Helmet?

I would love to see the same chart for car wrecks. Walking deaths. Stair falls. For biking in the Netherlands. I know a guy who was in a bike crash. He lived, with no head injury. He was not wearing a helmet. I'm not convinced that is why he lived, with no head injury, but it is a correlation.

Re: [RBW] Why Wear a Helmet?

I'm of the camp that wears a helmet. I'm keeping the one I trashed this winter when I slipped and washed out on the slime of condensation and salt drippings from cars in the parking garage at work. I was rattled but fine to go on, when home and examining the helmet, it clearly snapped at an ener

Re: [RBW] Why Wear a Helmet?

Also, the data were cherrypicked. For some reason, the number of helmeted riders who died was up sharply in 2010, 2011 and 2012. But the pie chart left out 2011 and 2012. And what is going on with that rise? The total cyclist deaths stayed about the same. Maybe some type of riders started wearing h

Re: [RBW] Why Wear a Helmet?

There are more factors involved that can be squeezed into this sort of presentation, and analysis of the data is all but completely lacking on that page. One rather important item apparently missing is the percentage of cyclists who died from head injuries versus other injuries or health proble

Re: [RBW] Why Wear a Helmet?

Here is what might have been the source: http://www.iihs.org/iihs/topics/t/pedestrians-and-bicyclists/fatalityfacts/bicycles And, I guess I now have to believe the numbers in the pie chart, because there they are. Although the assumption that helmet-wearers and non-helmet-wearers are otherwise simi

Re: [RBW] Why Wear a Helmet?

I don't believe those numbers. When you click on their alleged source, the Institute for Highway Safety, you get nothing. Moreover, I don't think the Institute for Highway Safety knows the helmet status of all (or almost all) of the cyclist fatalities. On Sun, May 18, 2014 at 8:45 PM, Christopher

[RBW] Why Wear a Helmet?

Definitely a cool graphic but can it REALLY be that simple?!?! I am skeptical (and a devout helmet wearer for the record). Wear a helmet or die and carbon fiber is terrible are two of my favorite topics! ;) Cheers! Chris -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google G

[RBW] Why Wear a Helmet?

Came across this as I was following links from a post in my Twitter feed. Let the debate begin. FWIW, I wear a helmet when I ride. http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/innovations/wp/2014/05/15/why-you-should-always-wear-a-bike-helmet-in-one-chart/ (Source: https://twitter.com/velovoice/status/4