I don't get people's resistance to helmets!

[Veronica]

S WE pay because once they can't take care of themselves, the government writes them a disability check and WE pay for that.

Yeah, we're also paying for all the people in jail.
We pay for kids to have one on one services in school when they are emotionally disturbed.


There are a lot of things we pay for. I suspect that a lot more of our health care costs come from smokers and overweight people than from someone who crashed while NOT wearing a helmet.

V.

[trekin']

I think people should be free to do what they want. I only wish that parents would think about their children or the other people who love them before their hair....don't people realize that with freedom comes responsibility?

I have had 4 falls since I started riding 3 years ago, and I have hit my head on the pavement 4 times...even the slow motion fall I had in a friend's driveway could have resulted in a concussion...thank God for the guy who invented the bike helmet! I'll take helmet hair any day over a head injury!

[Running Mommy]

I have just one thing to add to this discussion....

Today I was on my mtb at the 4 way stop by my sons school. I take him to and from school via a cool dirt trail, so I was waiting for school to dismiss. I first watched as a woman on a cute little beach cruiser (orange and green, quite fetching- even had a basket on front) came to the 4 way stop. She was towing one of those covered kid trailers (burly type) with two little ones in the back. Not a helmet to be seen! And the kicker- there was traffic at in the intersection and she cruised right through without stopping!
I just remember thinking to myself "that woman should be brought up on child abuse charges!".
And then a few minutes later a father on a mtb came up with one of those tag along bike things that hooks to the back. He was there to pick up his daughter. Well he had a little guy on the tag along thing and again, no helmets to be seen. He stopped to say hello. I bit my tongue for a minute and then I said to the little guy "hey dude. Where is your helmet? Gotta protect that noggin there" in as nice a tone as I could muster. The father rolled his eyes at me. So I looked at him and said "yeah, you wouldn't roll your eyes if you saw the collection of smashed helmets that I have at home from seemingly minor falls. I'm doing a program at the school trying to get the kids to wear helmets up here. I have a lot of friends that are alive today because of their lid." He just smiled and said "uhh huh" and then took off. And as he was trying to mount the bike it kind of fell over and the kid toppled off. I said "my point exactly" and just smiled.
Holier than thou attitude I had?? Yeah maybe. Some people go around trying to convert people to their religion, I preach helmet use...

[crumpincommuter]

I too have done battle this last week with new recruits- who just don't get it...

Pretty heated discussion here and might I add, none more timely. Especially given that I'm typing while cross eyed and nursing a raging headache; courtesy of... helmet meets granite curbing, inside of helmet introduced to skull.. OUCH!!!

Never more grateful for the invention of polymers; while second guessing driving skills of CT Transit's "finest"..

Needless to say I'll be revisting these recruits when I get back to work ( and grateful about it too).

Closing words--- helmets encouraged but if you choose not to--- be safe and alert

[Veronica]

Well just like with religions no one is converting.

I stand by adults have the right to make their choice.

Feel free to keep preaching...

V.

[plantluvver]

No, you're putting your judgements on to other people. I rode with some outstanding cyclists this last weekend, who did not wear their helmets.

V.

I agree with the original statement. First because if nothing else, my helmet makes me feel more confident somehow, and I feel this makes me ride better, because I feel less skittish. Second, I feel that my helmet projects the image that I am somehow "Serious and Responsible" to the vehicle traffic. Third, I feel it is important for me to wear a helmet to set a good example for my neighbors' children.

I guess other people may not feel the need to wear a helmet to feel 'legitimite.' But for me it does.

And while I don't personally notice if other adults do wear helmets, I do take offense when they are "wacky" when they cycle (Driving the wrong direction in the bike lane, driving fast on the sidewalk, cutting back and forth from sidewalk to street.) I feel justified in judging their behavior, because I know that many motorists are judging all cyclists by their behavior, and this endangers ME, when a motorist ignores my presence, or treats me as a pest, and not a legitimate vehicle.

Mary M.

[plantluvver]

[QUOTE=indysteel;204992. I hate to tell my friend but my guess is that most, if not all, her patients could give a rat's you-know-what about her hair.
K-[/QUOTE]

Is she in the medical profession

[Zen]

I have a great deal of respect for the cyclists I was riding with. They are not stupid or irrespsonsible people. They have incredible bike handling skills. They have evaluated the risks and decided that they don't always need helmets. It has nothing to do with being "cool" either for these people.

Making a judgement about someone you don't know is not very respectful. It's like junior high school. They're not wearing the "uniform" so they're not real cyclists.

Whatever.

V.

If these cyclists have a family they are indeed stupid and irresponsible.
if they die, they leave a grieving spouse and children . When someone dies, the grief will always be there though it will fade with time. A wife whose husband dies can eventually find someone to share her life with.

If they don't die and suffer irreversible brain damage the grief continues.
I have a friend who was a triathlete. He was not wearing a helmet when the car hit him. He can barely communicate and needs to be supervised all day. His wife has to attend to his rehab and care arrangements and she no longer has the man she married who was her lover and life partner.
His son doesn't have a father who can give advice and act as a role model

He evaluated the risks and decided he didn't need a helmet either.
I call that stupid and irresponsible.

[Tuckervill]

Salient point, Running Mommy. It's satisfying when things come together that way.

On the flip side of asking kids about their missing helmet, I try to compliment the ones who *are* wearing them. I'll say, "whoa, look at that cool helmet!" or "Nice helmet!" as I pass. Some kids want to be thought of as smart, but almost all kids want to be cooooool.

I'm a fat chick--I don't cut any slick racing figure on my entry-level bike. But on a ride through the trail at the ballpark this week, a little girl sitting on a bike with training wheels watched me coming and looked up at me as I passed slowly by. She was literally staring at me with her mouth hanging open. I smiled at her and she smiled back. I think she'll be more inclined, not less, to wear the helmet that was hanging off her handlebars, don't you? I think she thought I was a vision of loveliness, maybe.

We can be a positive example. We don't have to preach it.

Karen

[Veronica]

What Canada syas about helemt use...

http://www.magma.ca/~ocbc/fatals.html

Sounds like mandatory adequate lighting would be a better idea.

And from the Toronoto Coroner
It must be recognized, however, that helmet use is not a panacea for drastically reducing cycling related fatalities or serious head injuries. Stricter bicycle helmet legislation and mass helmet usage in other countries (U.S.A., Australia, and New Zealand) have failed to produce any statistically significant reduction in the rates of fatalities and head injuries, despite optimistic projections. In addition, compulsory helmet use may result in reduced bicycle usage.

And if you still have an open mind...

http://www.kenkifer.com/bikepages/advocacy/mhls.htm

I'm tired of YOUR governement telling me what I can't do.

V.

[janetsplanet]

As a cyclist now but a "Harley biker" prior, I say Veronica is right on track.
There are pros and cons to helmets and if they are really safe. Fit plays the most important part.

Personally I do not hear as well with one as the wind seems to blow more in my ears.

I saw a severed spinal cord on a Harley crash because of the fit of her helmet.

Coming from WI I participated in the right to chose helmet rallys here in our capital and we won.

Personally I wear a helmet on my bicycle on the road but not on the rails for trails we have here. It is all country driving and when you meet people it may be every 1-2 miles. If I crash then it was preodained and a helmet will not change the outcome.
I say it is your choice and celebrate people for who they are and not what you want them to be.

[RoadRaven]

Ahhh... the joys of the Internet.

Yup... its, erm, interesting to read how people perceive different comments in different ways to me.
I hear ya V!!! I know it was about the link between ability and gear!!!
And yes, I have noticed your helmet, and just by wearing it when it is not a legal requirement you make a statement.

Personal responsibility, I like to make own informed choices rather than have a nanny state.

This is what we have... aside from the safety laws I listed earlier, which I can live with (we have a significant reduction in child and adult hospitalisations, brain injury and deaths in car and bicycle crashes), we also have insane laws and bylaws...

Like not being able to plant a certain type of tree because in Autumn its colourful leaves wont 'match' the valley!!!
Or having to paint a new house in its final (council approved) colour within 6 months or receive a fine.

[mimitabby]

I have just one thing to add to this discussion....

And then a few minutes later a father on a mtb came up with one of those tag along bike things that hooks to the back. He was there to pick up his daughter. Well he had a little guy on the tag along thing and again, no helmets to be seen. He stopped to say hello. I bit my tongue for a minute and then I said to the little guy "hey dude. Where is your helmet? Gotta protect that noggin there" in as nice a tone as I could muster. The father rolled his eyes at me. So I looked at him and said "yeah, you wouldn't roll your eyes if you saw the collection of smashed helmets that I have at home from seemingly minor falls. I'm doing a program at the school trying to get the kids to wear helmets up here. I have a lot of friends that are alive today because of their lid." He just smiled and said "uhh huh" and then took off. And as he was trying to mount the bike it kind of fell over and the kid toppled off. I said "my point exactly" and just smiled.
Holier than thou attitude I had?? Yeah maybe. Some people go around trying to convert people to their religion, I preach helmet use...

What a great story!! how much you wanna bet the kid asked his/her dad when they got home "how come I don't have a bike helmet?"

[SandyLS]

Our adult daughter fell off her horse a few weeks ago. She was not wearing a helmet. She suffered two skull fractures. She is home from the hospital and is expected to make a full recovery. She is a very lucky woman! We all wear helmets when biking and her kids wear helments when on the horse. I guess life is a dangerous thing. I'm begining to think we should srap the helment on when we are born and take it off only when we are sleeping. With my luck I'd then fall out of bed and hit my head! I guess a helmet didn't help Christopher Reeves prevent his injury.
I stopped to tell a lady who comutes to work how lucky she was to live close enough to do so. (It would be an 80 mile trip for me.) I couldn't resist asking her to please wear her helmet. I see she still isn't wearing one though.
At my age I need to do everything I can to preserve brain cells.

[Python]

Last winter I needed to pop up to the shop. As I came out my front door I caught my foot in the small frame as I closed the door (still don't know how I managed to do that ). I twisted and fell backwards. Fortunately the back of my head struck the grass and not the concrete path. We'd had frost but the temperature had gone up so although the grass was hard, it wasn't as hard as it had been so my head wasn't as badly hurt as it could have been. It hurt a bit and I had a small lump on the back of my head and that was just a minor tumble. Coming off the bike and landing head-first on the road would hurt an awful lot more and due to the speed factor, would cause a lot more damage so I'd rather let the polycarbon take the brunt of that damage.

When I bought my son his first bike some years ago, I bought him a helmet to go with it - and he was told "no helmet - no bike". He wore his helmet. Most of his pals thought it was "cool" but helmets then were a lot heavier than they are now. Apart from the obvious, I like my helmet because it has a peak on it which helps keep the sun out of my eyes.

I think it is down to personal preference and I wouldn't condemn anyone for not wearing one.