helmets are not optional

[farrellcollie]

Actually I think most people would just blame me for being stupid and go on with their lives. Death is not the worst thing that can happen to a person in my opinion - this is the main reason I don't wear a seatbelt. When I was practicing law as a plaintiff's atty - I saw more people injured by seatbelts than I want to be. People not wearing seatbelts are often just dead. But I was really just using those as an example of choices people make that others may or may not agree with - helmets, smoking, steroids, and seatbelts do get people on both sides riled up.

[rij73]

Actually I think most people would just blame me for being stupid and go on with their lives. Death is not the worst thing that can happen to a person in my opinion.

Sorry you feel that way. I know I would be devastated if I was involved in someone losing their life whether it was their own fault or not. And, like I said, there is the possibility of paralysis, vegetative state, limb loss, etc. too. If you already feel that your life isn't very valuable, I'd hate to see you get into one of those states. I do wish you would be more careful.

[Aint Doody]

I think not wearing a helmet is totally irresponsible. A dog caused my accident, and a helmet saved me. It had nothing to do with how fast or slow I was riding. It had nothing to do with how busy a road I was on. Things happen. Why wouldn't you want to protect yourself with something as simple as wearing a helmet?

But it's the children not wearing them that upsets me. It may not be cool, but it's not cool to be brain damaged either. There is a wonderful poster in a neurologist's office that has all sorts of medical devices and a helmet. The words at the bottom say, "Which one of these would you rather wear?"

I had a child approximately 8 years old who was not wearing a helmet tell me he'd been riding for years and didn't crash. I told him I'd been riding for over 50 years when I crashed. No impression was made. Parents have to insist that children wear helmets. They--some parents & children--don't understand the consequences of a crash without a helmet. Sorry-this is my personal soapbox.

[VeloVT]

On the local bike path, not only is it the case that probably 70% of riders are not wearing helmets (you definitely see a lot more "recreational" riders than "serious" riders, but still), but I'm astonished how many parents I see riding with young children (like 4-8 year olds), and the children have helmets but the parents do not.

[farrellcollie]

I think that people who do and do not wear helmets should have wills, guardians named for their children (or pets), and living wills and/or health care directives.

[KSH]

On the local bike path, not only is it the case that probably 70% of riders are not wearing helmets (you definitely see a lot more "recreational" riders than "serious" riders, but still), but I'm astonished how many parents I see riding with young children (like 4-8 year olds), and the children have helmets but the parents do not.

I don't care if adults wear helmets... that's their choice. I do care about kids though.

Adults should teach kids to wear helmets and should make them wear them properly from a young age, so the kid is OK wearing them when they get older.

One day I was out riding the lake, and on the side where a lot people ride in the street with cars (the path is skinny and beat up on that side)... I saw a Dad riding in front of his son (not watching the kid or protecting him by riding behind him)... the kid was maybe 8 years old, riding in the street, with the adult in front of him... and no helmet. I was upset seeing that. Of course the Dad was sans helmet, and smoking a cigarette while riding. NICE!

I have a friend who rides... and she refuses to wear her helmet properly. She won't tighten it on her head... it slides half way over her head... and she has taught her daughter (11 years old) to do the same thing. I pointed out that if she had a wreck, the helmet wouldn't do any good. She said it was uncomfortable the other way. So she wears it, but it's pointless really. Her and her daughter might as well not bother wearing them.


Otherwise, I know a lot people think a path is safer than the road so they don't wear a helmet. False sense of security there. My boyfriend demolished his first bike on a bike path.

[Aint Doody]

Liza, I think that sends the worst message of all. "When you grow up and are smart, you won't need to wear a helmet."

I still have an image of a young mother with a toddler in a child seat on the back of her bike and a baby in one of those pappoose sorta slings on her. The three of them were on a bicycle and not a helmet in sight. I wish I'd have called the police. She was definitely endangering those children. They were approaching railroad tracks. What was she thinking????

[Bad JuJu]

were approaching railroad tracks. What was she thinking????

She wasn't!

OT: Hiya, Susan. How was Cycle Zydeco? If you posted a ride report, I missed it. I'm hoping to do that next year!

[malloreigh]

Portland helmet advocacy is a good scene... encountered it at the Multnomah County Bike Fair last year. Helmets aren't mandatory by law in Oregon so they have a cute program advocating their use.

That said, the bike snobs here in Vancouver are all about not wearing helmets. Those little cycling caps may make you look cool but they won't protect your brain... and I must admit I do feel pretty dorky wearing my helmet riding with the cool kids... but my head will be okay if anything happens, so I feel a bit better bombing down main streets.

[7rider]

Saw this...thought it was a fit with this tread...

http://safetyissexy.blogspot.com/

[Mr. Bloom]

Yes, this can be contentious.

Tonight, I was talking with a neighbor while he was watching his kids ride. I told him about last night's wreck and how it cracked my buddy's helmet rather than his head...he said "these kids need helmets, don't they?"

"Yep"

I didn't lecture, I did berate...he was comfortable in a narrow perspective...and made a choice based on an expanded horizon. He imagined his kids hitting the pavement and was compelled to act.

This is an approach I'm personally comfortable with - effect change through a positive perspective and choice rather than mandate and control. I've always felt this way, but am now learning how to apply it in issues closer to home as well.

[KnottedYet]

I got to witness a woman crashing on a MUT with her baby (helmetless) in a backpack carrier on her back.

The friend I was walking on the MUT with was so upset by the carnage that I never did find out if the child survived. We had to walk away or my friend would have fainted or puked or something.

I agree, adults are one thing (mom wasn't wearing a helmet, either) but children are something else entirely.

[OakLeaf]

Oh, man.

Prayers for the baby, hugs for you and your friend.

[OakLeaf]

Oh, man.

Prayers for the baby, hugs for you and your friend - and baby's mom, too.

[Tri Girl]

I even wear a helmet when I ride to the "Red Box" less than a half mile from my house, or to the grocery store a mile away. I'm on residential streets with no traffic, but in the off chance that a kid or dog or rock happen to throw me- I want my noggin safe and sound (well, safe anyway). Plus, I think I'd look more stupid for NOT wearing one than looking dorky for wearing one.