People do land in ditches :-(

[KnottedYet]

The bike club here sells them for $10.

I'd say the majority of the folks I see riding in the areas I ride are wearing helmets. Maybe 90% or so?

[Geonz]

YES, he was wearing a helmet, far as his wife knows (people said something about straps). It was just a bad fall with a big drop... tho' it also begs the question, did he have the thing on right? (Helmets are pretty common around here, too.)

[DeniseGoldberg]

Deaths are certainly very possible even with proper helmet use. The orthopedic surgeon I saw in followup from my crash told me about a friend of his who had a very similar accident to mine (over the handlebars, landing on head) who was also wearing a helmet. His friend didn't survive; I did. I believe that if I hadn't been wearing a helmet that I would not have survived. And even knowing that a helmet doesn't always save your life, I won't take a chance without one.

I think that we need to do everything we can to keep ourselves safe, but we also need to realize that accidents can still happen. I consider myself lucky that I'm still happily wandering the roads on my bike (with helmet).

--- Denise