helmets are not optional

[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.

[Beane]

Whether or not there should be laws requiring people to wear helmets is really just an issue of politics.

My point was simply that it seems awfully stupid to bike without a helmet.