Should wearing helmet be optional?
- Thread starter Timpo
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mrgold35
Well-Known Member
I always think its funny when folks don't like the "nanny state"; but, wear their seat belts in cars, obey the speed limits when cops are around, or obey no smoking rules in public indoor spaces. 
The most likely worst things that will happen to you wearing a helmet are:
- a bug getting caught in your helmet's open slot
- a little extra sweat in your hair (if you have hair)
- have to use a comb after your ride
This is compared to scars/stitches, concussion, or being knocked out without a helmet.
The most likely worst things that will happen to you wearing a helmet are:
- a bug getting caught in your helmet's open slot
- a little extra sweat in your hair (if you have hair)
- have to use a comb after your ride
This is compared to scars/stitches, concussion, or being knocked out without a helmet.
Enforcement would be difficult, especially on trails. Just look at how many car accidents still involve people not wearing a seat belt. I can see how a few people riding on streets without a helmet might get nailed, but I have yet to see a park ranger or any kind of enforcement official on our local bike trails.
I dislike wearing my helmet, especially when it is hot and the helmet pads get soaked up with sweat. But I never get on my bike without it. Accidents always occur without warning. I guess I am just not as "daring" as I was when I was younger. "Better safe than sorry" is the rule I go by.
I dislike wearing my helmet, especially when it is hot and the helmet pads get soaked up with sweat. But I never get on my bike without it. Accidents always occur without warning. I guess I am just not as "daring" as I was when I was younger. "Better safe than sorry" is the rule I go by.
lilrich
Member
A couple of times and survived them with abrasions. Had a friend who survived a direct faceplant with a deer (gutted it with his head) on a motorcycle. He swears a helmet would have broke his neck. With his head tucked down it just planted his head down into his shoulders and knocked him and his passenger (the bike owner) off the bike. Implanted deer hair in his face but that was an improvement. Always told him he didn't need a gun to deer hunt after that.
lilrich
Member
Situational awareness is the best defense. I hate the loss of peripheral vision and hearing with a helmet (motorcycle) . I know bicycle helmets are different but dealing with stage 4 cancer a hit in the head seems a blessing. If I am going to hit this old nut hard enough to crack it I doubt a piece of plastic and foam is going to help much.
Stromer2work
Active Member
oh god yes, more laws that restrict personal choices and personal freedoms. That's what we need, more lawyers, more civil codes, more enforcement, more fines !!! We'll fix this world by making laws !!!!
How did I ever survive childhood in the 70's ?
How did I ever survive childhood in the 70's ?
CodyDog
Well-Known Member
- Region
- USA
- City
- Colorado
I'm not for Nanny States. I believe in individual choice and freedoms or at least keeping the ones we still have. With that being said, I tend to use more safety equipment the older I get. Also, basic common sense when applied tends to keep one safer.
Here's some interesting bits of data I found on a google search:
The mortality rate for TBI is 30 per 100,000, or an estimated 50,000 deaths in the U.S. annually. Of those who die, 50 percent do so within the first two hours of their injury. Deaths from head injuries account for 34 percent of all traumatic deaths.
Common events causing traumatic brain injury include the following: Falls. Fallsfrom bed or a ladder, down stairs, in the bath and other falls are the most common cause of traumatic brain injury overall, particularly in older adults and young children. Vehicle-related collisions.Jan 17, 2018
Studies have shown that wearing a helmet can reduce your risk of a serious brain injury and death because during a fall or collision, most of the impact energy is absorbed by the helmet, rather than your head and brain. But just as important as wearing a helmet is wearing the right helmet.
Here's some interesting bits of data I found on a google search:
The mortality rate for TBI is 30 per 100,000, or an estimated 50,000 deaths in the U.S. annually. Of those who die, 50 percent do so within the first two hours of their injury. Deaths from head injuries account for 34 percent of all traumatic deaths.
Common events causing traumatic brain injury include the following: Falls. Fallsfrom bed or a ladder, down stairs, in the bath and other falls are the most common cause of traumatic brain injury overall, particularly in older adults and young children. Vehicle-related collisions.Jan 17, 2018
Studies have shown that wearing a helmet can reduce your risk of a serious brain injury and death because during a fall or collision, most of the impact energy is absorbed by the helmet, rather than your head and brain. But just as important as wearing a helmet is wearing the right helmet.
This is like taking a walk back in time! I live in victoria, Australia - so helmets became compulsory here in the late 80's - do you guys remember the " stack hat" ? That's why we stopped riding bikes as kids.....Morons making laws with very little evidence ( back then, the data was subjective - " do you think that expensive helmet you bought helped?" rather than asking the doc in the hospital)
So if you'd like a look at what the future holds after helmets become compulsory:
We have THREE KM speed tollerances , with speed cameras hidden in unmarked cars beside the road on roads where the speed limit has been dropped from 110 to 80 for no logical reason. Oh, and our limit is 50 km/ hr if nothing else is posted, or 40 if there is a school nearby ( so speeding on a non ebike is a real possibility) , Oh, and it's not just voluntary tax you pay - they give you points on the licence and more than 3 /4 fines means the licence is gone. This all started after a european study showing a speed discrepancy ABOVE or BELOW the average traffic speed of 5 k was associated with increased accident rates, but they can't police bad driving easilly....
Our law makers have just rolled out a nationwide online health database. WITH AUTOMATIC enrollment ( ie you have to opt out, not opt in) , and they get to keep the data for 130 years even if you opt out . Oh, the small print...they can use the data for law enforcement purposes! ( thankfully our AMA succesfully blocked that one)
Enjoy the freedom whilst it lasts.
Ps I'm ATGATT - knee , elbow, and back protection , gloves, helmet, glasses. I avoid driving amongst traffic, and carry an epirb when cycling. That's by choice.
So if you'd like a look at what the future holds after helmets become compulsory:
We have THREE KM speed tollerances , with speed cameras hidden in unmarked cars beside the road on roads where the speed limit has been dropped from 110 to 80 for no logical reason. Oh, and our limit is 50 km/ hr if nothing else is posted, or 40 if there is a school nearby ( so speeding on a non ebike is a real possibility) , Oh, and it's not just voluntary tax you pay - they give you points on the licence and more than 3 /4 fines means the licence is gone. This all started after a european study showing a speed discrepancy ABOVE or BELOW the average traffic speed of 5 k was associated with increased accident rates, but they can't police bad driving easilly....
Our law makers have just rolled out a nationwide online health database. WITH AUTOMATIC enrollment ( ie you have to opt out, not opt in) , and they get to keep the data for 130 years even if you opt out . Oh, the small print...they can use the data for law enforcement purposes! ( thankfully our AMA succesfully blocked that one)
Enjoy the freedom whilst it lasts.
Ps I'm ATGATT - knee , elbow, and back protection , gloves, helmet, glasses. I avoid driving amongst traffic, and carry an epirb when cycling. That's by choice.
Hey, I don't have to tell you that NM is one of the few states where motorcycle helmets aren't mandatory. It blows my mind, car drivers here are awful, why would anyone ride in traffic without one?
I'm kind of flaky about suiting up. I got a cheap reflective neon vest at the Kmart closeout sale on Carlisle. It looks funny, but when I ride after dark I want to be seen, but I'm stupid enough to ride with sandals and padded gloves. I get not wanting to be drenched in sweat on a hot day.
This is embarrassing to admit and not related to biking, but I slipped on wet concrete while gassing up my car on a road trip. I don't have medical insurance, but the hit was hard enough that I knew I had a concussion. The station employees let me park until morning- I had a difficult time keeping myself awake.
My point is that you never know when stuff like this will happen. Every hit to the head is bad.
Over50
Well-Known Member
Wednesday my wife and I driving home from work in a rainstorm. On a boulevard approaching a red light and traffic was slow to start with and slowing for the light. I'm in left lane of 3 lanes. A guy on a Harley somehow lost traction, spun out and laid his bike down in the middle lane right in front of me. He spun in circles travelling down the middle of the lane like 3 times and was trapped under the bike as it spun. He had helmet, chaps etc. He kept his head up and I didn't see it make contact with the ground. I'm still not sure how/why he wiped out because he didn't seem to be speeding and was travelling straight. Anyway, thinking about him sliding along the asphalt trapped under his bike gave me pause. Maybe it doesn't take much, perhaps just a moment of distraction, to lose it sometimes. My personal choice is to wear that helmet. And a good helmet at that. One item I won't skimp on as far as price.
Sure, I completely favor making helmets optional. But I also support the right of the insurance company to decline coverage for any head injuries sustained in an accident. I don't want to pay for their stupidity through higher premiums. Same goes for motorcyclists.
Then I guess you'd certainly be OK if insurance companies in our free market economy can decline paying for your head injuries in the event of an accident.
This seems to be popping up a lot in this thread. So back to the australian experience where helmets have been mandatory for decades and road users are automatically insured for medical costs / wages following road injuries - the insurers CAN AND DO refuse to cover the wage component if there is illegal activity involved in the accident - not wearing a helmet is illegal here. The initial medical costs are usually covered ( but they'd be covered under our health system anyway) , but on occasion the insurer also challenges ongoing medical costs when there is illegal activity involved.
And while we're at it why should insurance companies have to pay for obese people when a large percentage of them could just eat less and exercise more. Obesity costs insurance companies far than any bicycle accidents and I don't want to pay for their stupidity through higher premiums.
/s
In Australia, we tax lifestyle choices like alcohol, smoking, and will soon be taxing less healthy food choices via a tax pn sugar. The tax rate is part disincentive, part to cover for the expected increased public health costs of those choices. So rather than refusing cover, we have an indirect higher premium on a user based model.
Unfortunately you can't easilly tax stupidity, or at least our policy makers are too stupid to put a tax on text messages whilst using the road, or tax illicit substance users, etc. YET....
Well, for one, riding without a helmet is not a genetic propensity, though there's often a genetic component to obesity. There's a DSM code for obesity, and I'm pretty sure there's not one for "not wearing a helmet while riding a bicycle." So what I get from your argument is that that fat people are fat because their stupid, despite the fact that there's ample proof that some folks will be overweight no matter what their diet/exercise habits are.
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