Mandatory helmet laws put cyclists at greater risk.. LOL..
Helmets...Wear Them!!!
- Thread starter Dirty Cash
- Start date
steve mercier
Well-Known Member
Yeah the jaw is going to get messed up but you cannot buy false brains
Latitude
Well-Known Member
Returning from my ride this morning on a paved highway-side trail, I came across a group of four people with analogue bikes... one woman was laying on the trail, with a bleeding bandage on her head. I stopped to offer my first aid kit, but they said she was OK and talking and an ambulance was on the way. Not a helmet in sight.
steve mercier
Well-Known Member
Is a helmet mandatory in Ontario ?
Latitude
Well-Known Member
Mandatory for e-bikes but for conventional bikes, only up to age 16. Adults are free to choose.
Interestingly, helmets are showing up in many activities where they would have been unthinkable not long ago; I'm thinking of horseback riding and skiing at the moment. There are probably others.
A couple of experienced (standard) bike riders I know told of introducing someone new to bike riding. They insisted this new person get a new helmet along with the new bike, which they did. In trying out the bike in the parking lot, they crashed and cracked the new helmet.
Doesn't prove anything, just an interesting story.
When I was riding motorcycles, I always wore a helmet (lawfully required in Washington State). I always thought the riders who refused to wear them (as an expression of their "rugged independence") were simply idiots. Still think that.
Latitude
Well-Known Member
I bought a new Lazer helmet at the hardware store in the spring for a couple of nephews who were stranded here, unable to return to Japan early in the Covid lockdown. Then when I got my new e-bike, I got a MIPs helmet which was better ventilated. Meanwhile, my wife tried out the new bike wearing an old helmet we had around. She fell on return, bruising her body and cracking the helmet (tossed out now). No head injury.
Which is why, fifteen years ago when I remodeled my bathroom, I put grab rails in the shower. Now, having become much more wobbly in my old age, I daily congratulate myself for this foresight.:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/Treehugger-Share-Image-9548915b4a574030b3b877572e8abe97.png)
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Latitude
Well-Known Member
I have an older brother who trains Standardbred race horses. He moved to the Meadowlands area with a next door neighbour, John Campbell, the most money-winning harness driver in history. They used to wear pretty basic leather-lined shell helmets. Following the death of some close friends racing, and a serious accident John himself barely survived, he led a campaign to enforce new helmet standards for the industry. It was successful, probably largely due to the fact that everyone had lost friends.
Latitude
Well-Known Member
Who would have ever thought that sailors would have to wear helmets? But the latest America’s Cup catamarans are so fast and unstable, they have to.
ChezCheese:)
Well-Known Member
- Region
- USA
- City
- Kitsap Co, WA
When I was young, nobody wore helmets on bikes of course. Then when they were invented, I didn't like to wear them because I would get helmet hair and look like a complete dork when I took it off. Now old age and covid have freed me from caring what others think about how I look. 
Now they have become so de rigueur that you look like a dope if you ride a bike without one.
Now they have become so de rigueur that you look like a dope if you ride a bike without one.
Iridebikez
Member
The shower comparison is not a good one. Almost everyone regularly takes a shower, but only a small percentage of the population regularly cycle. The Treehugger author is comparing raw numbers, not percentages. I don't have the stats on hand but I'd bet that, as a percentage of the population who engages in the respective activities, cyclists are much more likely to get head injuries than folks who take showers.
However, I know of two common arguments against helmets and one prevailing issue that I think all cyclists can agree on. The area of agreement is advocacy for more bike infrastructure so that cyclists are inherently safer. In most jurisdictions cars are legally required to share the road with cyclists, specifically in urban areas and on residential roads. But any cyclist (or motorcyclist, for that matter) can tell you that sharing the road with even the safest drivers can be a harrowing experience.
The first argument against helmets, that BSNYC likes, is that mandatory helmet laws (not helmets themselves) deter new riders from getting on a bike. By extension, if there are fewer cyclists then drivers are less likely to respect them and the roads are less safe. As an example, I recently had a conversation with a friend and recommended a Burley trailer to get him on a bike and his daughter to come with him (she's two). His response? She refuses to keep a helmet on, so it isn't worth the effort and he doesn't own a bike.
The second argument is more difficult to prove and I feel like I've read it from BSNYC as well. But, it goes that wearing a helmet makes riders feel safer and therefore they're more likely to take risks, increasing the likelihood that they need the helmet in the first place. I don't know how anyone would ever really prove that, but it was an argument that appealed to me for a while.
I used to wear a helmet when I went on rides for fun or exercise, reasoning that I was going faster and therefore any fall would be worse. But when I commuted in the city I didn't wear a helmet, reasoning that my average speed was slower and I spent a lot more time focusing on not getting killed. Eventually I realized I ride basically the same no matter where I'm going or what bike I'm riding. I don't think I take a huge amount of risk, but I also like to go fast. I ride my class 3 ebike the same way. So these days, I always wear a helmet.
However, I know of two common arguments against helmets and one prevailing issue that I think all cyclists can agree on. The area of agreement is advocacy for more bike infrastructure so that cyclists are inherently safer. In most jurisdictions cars are legally required to share the road with cyclists, specifically in urban areas and on residential roads. But any cyclist (or motorcyclist, for that matter) can tell you that sharing the road with even the safest drivers can be a harrowing experience.
The first argument against helmets, that BSNYC likes, is that mandatory helmet laws (not helmets themselves) deter new riders from getting on a bike. By extension, if there are fewer cyclists then drivers are less likely to respect them and the roads are less safe. As an example, I recently had a conversation with a friend and recommended a Burley trailer to get him on a bike and his daughter to come with him (she's two). His response? She refuses to keep a helmet on, so it isn't worth the effort and he doesn't own a bike.
The second argument is more difficult to prove and I feel like I've read it from BSNYC as well. But, it goes that wearing a helmet makes riders feel safer and therefore they're more likely to take risks, increasing the likelihood that they need the helmet in the first place. I don't know how anyone would ever really prove that, but it was an argument that appealed to me for a while.
I used to wear a helmet when I went on rides for fun or exercise, reasoning that I was going faster and therefore any fall would be worse. But when I commuted in the city I didn't wear a helmet, reasoning that my average speed was slower and I spent a lot more time focusing on not getting killed. Eventually I realized I ride basically the same no matter where I'm going or what bike I'm riding. I don't think I take a huge amount of risk, but I also like to go fast. I ride my class 3 ebike the same way. So these days, I always wear a helmet.
Mulezen
Well-Known Member
Except in the Netherlands where just the opposite occurs
BigNerd
Well-Known Member
I'd like to add some context to that pic of my helmet.
I wasn't mountain biking or doing anything extreme... rabbit jumped in my way as I was going down a moderate incline (paved), I swerved, it swerved back, I lost control and went into a cement ditch where both me and my bike went airborne and the next thing I remember was trying to sit up.
Never thought that type of accident would happen to me and my helmet/side of head/face weren't the only things that got banged up... neck, back, arm/elbow, knees, thigh... I was lucky not to break anything and spent a few hours in the ER doing CAT scans and x-rays.
No matter how casual/careful a rider you are, there are some things beyond your control (which is why I try to avoid riding on roads... yes, I'll use the sidewalk because I don't trust drivers)... and that's what the helmet is for. I had just bought that MIPS helmet a month ago... had I been wearing my cheaper non-MIPS helmet, not sure if would be able to post any pictures.
Also... bike gloves also protected my hands quite a bit because I had a few rashes but my gloves were way more torn up than my hands. Now I need to start looking at body armor.
I wasn't mountain biking or doing anything extreme... rabbit jumped in my way as I was going down a moderate incline (paved), I swerved, it swerved back, I lost control and went into a cement ditch where both me and my bike went airborne and the next thing I remember was trying to sit up.
Never thought that type of accident would happen to me and my helmet/side of head/face weren't the only things that got banged up... neck, back, arm/elbow, knees, thigh... I was lucky not to break anything and spent a few hours in the ER doing CAT scans and x-rays.
No matter how casual/careful a rider you are, there are some things beyond your control (which is why I try to avoid riding on roads... yes, I'll use the sidewalk because I don't trust drivers)... and that's what the helmet is for. I had just bought that MIPS helmet a month ago... had I been wearing my cheaper non-MIPS helmet, not sure if would be able to post any pictures.
Also... bike gloves also protected my hands quite a bit because I had a few rashes but my gloves were way more torn up than my hands. Now I need to start looking at body armor.
Dallant
Well-Known Member
- Region
- USA
All I can say is I’ve only gone down hard once on a bicycle just a couple of months ago. I was only doing about 5 mph and went down hard on my left side, including a solid hit to my head. I had very sore (though not broken) ribs, a painful left shoulder, but my head did not hurt in any way. My cheap $20 helmet did it’s job and kept me from serious scraping along the concrete and any impact damage. My opinion is even a cheap helmet can EASILY save you from serious head injuries. I think anyone who won’t wear a helmet deserves what he or she gets but should first ponder just what it might mean to his or her family!
Sierratim
Well-Known Member
- Region
- USA
- City
- Nevada City, CA & Paradise Valley, AZ
I've cracked 3 helmets in the last 5 years, all in lower speed collisions with other more careless cyclists. In all 3 accidents I rode on to my trail head and bought a new helmet. In one case the other rider wasn't wearing a helmet. The EMTs took him away.
Needless to say, I'm a believer.
I currently wear a Specialized MIPS helmet.
I still SCUBA dive a bit. I my younger years I was an enthusiast. The saying then was , "you can't buy gear that's good enough". Pretty much the same for cycling helmets...
Needless to say, I'm a believer.
I currently wear a Specialized MIPS helmet.
I still SCUBA dive a bit. I my younger years I was an enthusiast. The saying then was , "you can't buy gear that's good enough". Pretty much the same for cycling helmets...
