Mother of the Year Award goes to...

[zoom-zoom]

...the woman who just rode by my house sans helmet, with her baby in a hiking baby pack. Baby (<1 year, I'd guess) also sans helmet.

Gah, I hate seeing stuff like that. Totally makes me sick to my stomach to think of what could happen if she fell or a car pulled-out in front of her. :(

[Tri Girl]

oh good gravy!!! I mean, maybe it's the only transportation she has but at least put a helmet on both of you... sigh....

[zoom-zoom]

Hmm. I don't have kids, but aren't people required by law to put a helmet on a baby's or child's head? At least in some states?

I'm guessing not here in MI, since helmets are rare.

Oh, and it's starting to get dark and she had no lights of any sort, so she'd likely not be terribly visible to cars, either.

[zoom-zoom]

oh good gravy!!! I mean, maybe it's the only transportation she has but at least put a helmet on both of you... sigh....

Right. Common sense isn't.

[zoom-zoom]

If I'd been outside I would have yelled at her and had her stop so that I could give her my son's outgrown helmet.

[zoom-zoom]

She probably would not have taken it. Most people don't like the insinuation that they are doing something wrong. I've found. :rolleyes:

True, unfortunately.

[westtexas]

Is it bad if the first thought that popped into my head was, "natural selection"?

[zoom-zoom]

Is it bad if the first thought that popped into my head was, "natural selection"?

Yeah...I had all but one class necessary for a minor in Anthro. That thought had come to my mind, as well.

[Rebekah H]

Things like this make me super sad that I'm all for preserving the right to breed.

[Owlie]

This drives me nuts on the trail. I don't think Ohio requires that children wear helmets (but then, this isn't something I pay much attention to, seeing as I don't have children). Several of the communities around me, though, do have helmet laws. And yet I still see people and their children with no helmets in sight. At least put a helmet on the kid!

[jelee1311]

Today I was riding saw a bike on the other side of a busy road young child in seat in front of mom helmet on,mom had no helmet,2 kids in trailer being pulled behind no helmets. I guess if they crash one of them will be ok. No helmet= a huge pet peeve!I. Have been known to say something on occasion but usually get blank looks.

[skhill]

I had a cringe moment on my run this morning, along these lines. I was coming through downtown, and stopped at a very busy intersection as the light had just turned yellow. Then a mother and son (maybe 7-9 years old) went flying by, even though the light turned red just as they entered the intersection. The confounding thing is that they were both wearing helmets, both had lights on their bikes, and they still were being recklessly stupid. This was at about 7:30 am, the start of morning rush hour, and visiblity wasn't that great so soon after dawn. What were they thinking????

[Sky King]

Doesn't it just start the blood to rise. I am going to do a blog post about helmet position as well. I see people who have a helmet on the head but positioned so crazy it won't do squat if they go down. A decent Helmets is so inexpensive and a certified kids helmets can be purchased at Walmart

[jessmarimba]

I don't understand people who wear helmets but don't buckle them. If they go flying, the helmet will just go flying off!

[Cynedra]

I know my children's helmets are certified and from Wal-mart, well at least two of the three are from there. The other was given to us by the county's health department. Here, in Florida, children ARE required to wear helmets, but you still see lots of children without them. If fact, I've seen a one year old girl sitting in front of her dad with his one arm around her, other driving the bike, going through the neighborhood. And I know they have a helmet because I gave the mother one we'd outgrown and she was thrilled to have it.

I don't know what makes me cringe more about the woman and child you saw. The lack of lights (something I don't have, I did, but they got broke), the lack of helmet, or the hiking backpack instead of a bike attached child seat or trailer. I can't imagine the stability issues, etc, the hiking child backpack would give on the bike.

I took my 4 year old to school on my bike this morning. We both wore our helmets. My boys know that they have to wear them to ride. Wish I could get their father to wear his too.

[zoom-zoom]

Wish I could get their father to wear his too.

His safety aside, does he really want to leave you a widow and his kids with no father? Or sentence you and the kids to care for him if he were to survive an accident with severe brain injury?

[limewave]

His safety aside, does he really want to leave you a widow and his kids with no father? Or sentence you and the kids to care for him if he were to survive an accident with severe brain injury?

I can't get DH to wear his helmet. I get so mad when I think about it. He keeps telling me "i'm fine! I know how to ride a bike!" Duh! It's not him I'm worried about so much as the idiots texting-and-driving.

I've ingrained helmet-wearing into my DD. She won't go near her bike without her helmet. Of course, I'm sure that will change as she gets to be a tween or teenager.

[zoom-zoom]

I can't get DH to wear his helmet. I get so mad when I think about it. He keeps telling me "i'm fine! I know how to ride a bike!" Duh! It's not him I'm worried about so much as the idiots texting-and-driving.

I've ingrained helmet-wearing into my DD. She won't go near her bike without her helmet. Of course, I'm sure that will change as she gets to be a tween or teenager.

Yep...I worry more about the other people on the roads.

I hope our DS won't feel peer pressure to go sans-helmet. But he's generally a pretty uptight rule-follower ;), so hopefully it won't ever be an issue.

[Irulan]

I can't get DH to wear his helmet. I get so mad when I think about it. He keeps telling me "i'm fine! I know how to ride a bike!" Duh! It's not him I'm worried about so much as the idiots texting-and-driving.

I've ingrained helmet-wearing into my DD. She won't go near her bike without her helmet. Of course, I'm sure that will change as she gets to be a tween or teenager.

Get a neurosurgeon, ER doc or other medical professional to talk to him. Seriously. Either that or take out a million dollar life insurance/disability policy and if he complains about the cost, tell him tough. Pretty soon you'll have "how come Daddy doesn't?" conversation with your kid.

[limewave]

I just remember going to a cycling event and they had a safety demonstration. They held up a watermelon -- "here is your head."
Then they dropped the watermelon on the ground -- "here is your head after a bike crash."

That was enough for me. I think about that cracked watermelon a lot.

[Irulan]

I'm going to play devils advocate here.
How many of us didn't wear helmets until the last 15 years or so? Rode around without seat belts? While there are risks involved, how about an acknowledgement from the biking community that at least she was on her bike instead of driving, and modeling getting around with out a car?

[zoom-zoom]

I'm going to play devils advocate here.
How many of us didn't wear helmets until the last 15 years or so? Rode around without seat belts? While there are risks involved, how about an acknowledgement from the biking community that at least she was on her bike instead of driving, and modeling getting around with out a car?

Yeah, I'm not going to acknowledge that. Car safety seats and seatbelts are required in MI. In all likelihood she would have used these precautions in a car and put her and her child at a LOT less risk on the road. Given the time of day and direction she was headed I doubt she was using her bike as a substitute for a car.