Get a good helmet, and wear it.

This subject made me get the best Troy Lee Helmet I could find, an A3 MIPS…….and I have no idea when I will get my bike! Looking to get Luna Cycle Apollo….but they have no idea when they will be available!
 
chunk said:
How is this even a debate? Logic and science dictate that helmets are the most important piece of safety gear a person can use when on two wheels.
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I sometimes ride down to my local Sports Bar to catch a game and have a few beers. I would never do it without my helmet. I had a good friend die on a bicycle in 1980 when a car made a left in front of him. He wasn't wearing a helmet and not many people did back then for leisure. It was in a bike city too, Boulder CO...
 
Sorry to read about your friend….The left turning car is so typical of most motorcycle accidents….cars/drivers just don’t see the bikes….which is why motorcycles have had always-on headlights to help get drivers attention for the last 3 decades.

How do you keep an eye on your bike while your watching the game…bike lock? Sounds like good fun!
 
I've been using these hi-viz yellow colored helmets for awhile now, both on my MC's and bicycle helmets. The color does seem to shock the cagers out of there distracted, zombie like state. Purely anecdotal, but they seem to make a big difference in visibility, I see drivers look away and then refocus on me and stay put, instead of pulling out in front of me.
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hiViz yellow helmet.jpg
 
chunk said:
I've been using these hi-viz yellow colored helmets for awhile now, both on my MC's and bicycle helmets. The color does seem to shock the cagers out of there distracted, zombie like state. Purely anecdotal, but they seem to make a big difference in visibility, I see drivers look away and then refocus on me and stay put, instead of pulling out in front of me.
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I am all about HI VIS stuff even though it may look geeky. I am too old to care about looking cool. I have an Endura Hi VIS helmet rain cover that really stands out and a HI VIS ( IKEA ) vest and Hi VIS panniers. These may save my life without me ever knowing .
 
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LarryMagoo said:
Sorry to read about your friend….The left turning car is so typical of most motorcycle accidents….cars/drivers just don’t see the bikes….which is why motorcycles have had always-on headlights to help get drivers attention for the last 3 decades.

How do you keep an eye on your bike while your watching the game…bike lock? Sounds like good fun!
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I take it inside with me and activate my alarm as well
 
steve mercier said:
I am all about HI VIS stuff even though it may look geeky. I am too old to care about looking cool. I have an Endura Hi VIS helmet rain cover that really stands out and a HI VIS ( IKEA ) vest and Hi VIS panniers. These may save my life without me ever knowing .
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Same here. My shirt is neon, my helmet is neon and I got more lights going than Vegas floorshow!
 
RunForTheHills said:
Head injuries are the leading cause of fatalities and disabilities suffered by pedestrians. Could wearing a helmet while walking save your life or would you rather take your chances? I won't judge you either way.

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13588265.2019.1633817
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5201391/

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That right there is a perfect sign that people are dumber and more useless than ever before in history, the real pandemic isn’t the cough and cold, it’s stupidity
 
wife and I finally got our lumos helmets off the kickstarter. I won wear it till it starts getting dark and rainy don't really need it when the weather is nice and its full light.
 
RunForTheHills said:
Head injuries are the leading cause of fatalities and disabilities suffered by pedestrians. Could wearing a helmet while walking save your life or would you rather take your chances? I won't judge you either way.

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13588265.2019.1633817
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5201391/

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It comes down to probabilities and percentages. If you suffer from seizures you may want to wear a helmet as a pedestrian ,otherwise you may not.
 
steve mercier said:
It comes down to probabilities and percentages. If you suffer from seizures you may want to wear a helmet as a pedestrian ,otherwise you may not.
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It comes down to personal choice. An estimated 675 cyclists were killed in accidents during 2020. An estimated 6,721 pedestrians were killed in traffic accidents in 2020. Pedestrians accounted for 17% of all traffic fatalities in 2019. Cyclists accounted for 2%.
 
RunForTheHills said:
It comes down to personal choice. An estimated 675 cyclists were killed in accidents during 2020. An estimated 6,721 pedestrians were killed in traffic accidents in 2020. Pedestrians accounted for 17% of all traffic fatalities in 2019. Cyclists accounted for 2%.
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yes but I bet there are 1,000,000% more or far higher pedestrians.
 
fooferdoggie said:
yes but I bet there are 1,000,000% more or far higher pedestrians.
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I don't know. If you are talking about outdoors on the street only, I don't think it is that much. Maybe there are a lot of pedestrians in dense urban areas, but if you have 100 people crossing at the light at the same time they are not likely to be hit by a car. Most people will walk from their car to the store, but not much further.
 
Also, if it is not obvious, I was using sarcasm to make a point. People who think it is goofy to wear a helmet while walking or driving a car seem to be very quick to judge and condemn anyone who would ride a bike without a helmet. Yet the risks aren't that different. And if you are hit by a car driving 50 mph, pedestrian or cyclist, a helmet probably isn't going to save you. You can find the odd example of the woman hitting a curb on a MUP and getting thrown into some rocks, but that isn't that common. You can find a lot of examples of people getting inured while texting and walking.
 
RunForTheHills said:
Also, if it is not obvious, I was using sarcasm to make a point. People who think it is goofy to wear a helmet while walking or driving a car seem to be very quick to judge and condemn anyone who would ride a bike without a helmet. Yet the risks aren't that different. And if you are hit by a car driving 50 mph, pedestrian or cyclist, a helmet probably isn't going to save you. You can find the odd example of the woman hitting a curb on a MUP and getting thrown into some rocks, but that isn't that common. You can find a lot of examples of people getting inured while texting and walking.
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I don't buy such a reasoning.

Regarding cars:
  • There is the traffic law that is being enforced
  • The driver has to make the driving license
  • At least the driver and the person taking the shotgun seat are protected by air-bags
  • There are safety belts and numerous other safety features inside the car.
Regarding pedestrians:
  • Pedestrians move at very low speed. Even a runner can stop very quickly.
  • There is the pedestrian only zone by name "sidewalk"
  • There are zebras and traffic signals
  • The pedestrian's obligation is to watch around you, especially when they cross a street.
While the majority of car drivers/passengers or pedestrians have never participated in a crash or road accident, there are many cyclists who had at least one crash:
  • The bicycle is inherently unsafe
  • Bicycles can move with traffic, on multiple-use-paths, and almost anywhere at pretty high speed
  • A bike crash above 30 km/h leads to serious injuries, of which brain injuries are the worst at such speed
  • A bike can even crash when almost stationary (sudden braking), leading to serious injuries
  • "Over-the-bars" doesn't happen to cars or pedestrians
  • Bike and cyclist are often not visible in the traffic
  • While most of drivers understand and respect the rules (and I think pedestrians have been taught how to behave already as young school kids), cyclists (and especially e-bikers) often behave as if they were above rules and laws:
    -- "Nobody enforces e-bike laws. What can they do to me?"
    -- "Can I change a Class 3 to Class 1 e-bike with a switch?"
    -- "Will disconnecting the throttle from my 1500 W e-bike make it Class 1?" (A 1500 W throttle e-bike is simply illegal).
To put that simple: The helmet is the cycling thing. Ones who advocate for not wearing the helmet may stop advocating on some day because they have had a crash and are either dead or disabled due to brain injury. (And... Isn't it the same same way with anti-vaxxers?)
 
Per trip, pedestrians are 1.5 times more likely than passenger vehicle occupants to be killed in a car crash.

Risk per lifetime (US)

Risk of death during lifetime
Heart disease
1 in 5
Motor vehicle accident
1 in 84
Pedestrian accident
1 in 626
Motorcycle accident
1 in 1,020
Bicycle accident
1 in 4,919

https://www.calbike.org/urban-transportation-research-bike-fatalities/

"The researchers calculated the fatality rates per 100M kilometers walked. From 2016 to 2018, the US saw 11.2 pedestrian deaths per 110M km. Compare that to the UK with 2.2, Denmark with 1.7, and Germany’s 1.4. The US has eight times as many pedestrian deaths per mile as Germany.

The study found that the fatality rate for bike riders is also obscenely high in the US at 6 deaths per 100M kilometers. The UK saw 1.6 bike fatalities, Germany 1, and Denmark 0.9. The US has nearly seven times as many cyclist deaths per mile as Denmark."
 
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