Occasional or regular non-bike helmet cyclist?

[lph]

hmmm.... I'm a regular helmet-wearer, and used to be pretty dang dogmatic about it, but discussions like this one have made me think things over a bit.

Risk: yes, I've landed on my head a couple of times and split my helmet, and it probably saved my life or at least saved me from injury and a lot of pain. The way I ride (commuting in traffic, mtbiking on trails), a helmet is obviously a good idea. That doesn't mean that every cyclist in the country rides the way I do. And I'm not going to go bug-eyed if granny pedalling along slowly on the sidewalk and dismounting at every crosswalk doesn't want to mess up her hair and isn't wearing a helmet. For certain riding styles, cycling is no more dangerous than ordinary, everyday life. But then again - risk is notoriously hard to gauge correctly.* The only time I have ever seen my dh ride without a helmet we toodled down to a local school, he felt the urge to ride over a tiny skateboard jump, fell on his head, cracked it open, needed 8 stitches, a night at the ER and was home for a week with a bad concussion.

Habit: I want to wear a helmet for most riding. I know I could skip it for certain rides, i.e. my risk assessment tells me I would be safe "enough" doing so, but I'm a creature of habit, and when it comes to safety I like to keep it simple. So I wear a helmet all the time. Only time I don't is when I'm wrenching, and just ride down the block and back to check the bike.

Principle/image/whatever: I think of myself as a serious cyclist. I have a son, and live with a lot of kids around me. I try to live a bike-heavy and car-light lifestyle, and show it. I spend a lot of energy at work convincing others to ride to work. For all these reasons I'll wear a helmet even when I don't necessarily absolutely have to. If it makes the neighbours and the other kids' parents think "ooh, she's pretty cool, and looks like she's got a handle on things" rather than "oh gawd, another one of those insane suicidal idjits" - well, it's a good thing.

And no, I don't think about all this every time I go out I just put the darn thing on and forget about it. But I do go fix every crooked child's helmet I see. I want them to be comfortable, and feel cool, and then go ride.

*PS. I have the feeling that the most avid helmetwearers probably overestimate the risk, and the most avid non-wearers underestimate it. So how many people have I annoyed now?

[alice]

*PS. I have the feeling that the most avid helmetwearers probably overestimate the risk, and the most avid non-wearers underestimate it. So how many people have I annoyed now?

I agree!

I would describe myself as a closet-helmet-choice-nonjudgmentalist. (Ha! How's that for using too many words?) I wear a helmet about 80% of the time; the other 20% I don't feel like it and I assume the risk for the type of riding I'm doing that day/time. Not wearing one when I don't want to keeps me from being bitter about "having" to wear it the rest of the time, because I know that every time I put one on (or don't) it's because I'm choosing to. I try not to judge other people for never (or always) wearing a helmet, and I hope other people don't waste their time judging me.

As a related side note, hair really is a big issue for some people (like me). My helmet wearing percentage of trips increased dramatically when I cut off all my hair and putting on/taking off a helmet now no longer requires five minutes of undoing/redoing my hair.

[hebe]

I am ashamed to say that helmet hair is generally a huge improvement on what nature gives me every morning. Certainly nothing covers the grey hairs like a helmet.

[MomOnBike]

I wear my helmet for the shallowest possible reason. I like to wear hats. After I ride up to wherever I'm going, I take my helmet off and put my hat on. I don't classify the riding I do as particularly dangerous - mostly poking around on bike trails around town. I'm not convinced a helmet is necessary in that situation the way it would be if I did any gnarly single track at high speed biking.

That being said, one more bad diagnosis and I'm off on a tour around the US, and I'll wear the helmet on the days I feel like it, and leave it off if I don't. I just won't feel like I'll be in danger of losing much quantity of life, while quality (wind in hair, and possibly Boobs) will become so much more important.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not looking for another really bad diagnosis, but if it happens, all bets are off.

[Pax]

MomOnBike - that sounds like a heckuva plan!

[hebe]

I wear my helmet for the shallowest possible reason. I like to wear hats. After I ride up to wherever I'm going, I take my helmet off and put my hat on. I don't classify the riding I do as particularly dangerous - mostly poking around on bike trails around town. I'm not convinced a helmet is necessary in that situation the way it would be if I did any gnarly single track at high speed biking.

That being said, one more bad diagnosis and I'm off on a tour around the US, and I'll wear the helmet on the days I feel like it, and leave it off if I don't. I just won't feel like I'll be in danger of losing much quantity of life, while quality (wind in hair, and possibly Boobs) will become so much more important.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not looking for another really bad diagnosis, but if it happens, all bets are off.

Thank you for posting this. I hope that you can get your wind-in-Boobs without another bad diagnosis.

[redrhodie]

I have 3 helmets that I wear regularly, a commuter with lights, a larger one I can fit caps under for cold weather, and a tighter one for warmer days (so I'm not always adjusting the straps). Takes one second to put any of them on. My hair looks the same after I get up in the morning, after I wash it, and after a 30 mile ride with a helmet (see my avatar, not far from the truth). No reason why I shouldn't wear one.

I don't care if other people don't want to wear one. It's their head. I'm into the freedom to be reckless, if no one else gets hurt.

[shootingstar]

lph: *PS. I have the feeling that the most avid helmetwearers probably overestimate the risk, and the most avid non-wearers underestimate it. So how many people have I annoyed now?

This is probably true on the over-estimation and under-estimation scale. However, I just continue to wear my helmet. Once you get into a habit, it's like brushing teeth or putting on a pair of shoes. I don't think about it.

On the rare occasion, I have forgotten to wear my helmet and cycled 3 kms. down the road. My head felt naked and unprotected. To me, it wasn't a great feeling. I'm not interested in someone else convincing me hard and long about feeling safer without the helmet.

So it makes me a nerd among some helmetless folks.
This isn't new to me..and extremely pale and minor: being judged on superficial reasons...for how I look, how I appear or what I wear. There have been WAY more serious barriers/misunderstandings in my life for being wrongly judged who I am. Wearing a helmet is such an easy thing for me and shrug, if it puts me in a minority over time to wear a helmet: so what?

I value my life and its quality over a long period of time. Not for a short period of time to feel breeze in my hair.

Would I be impeding movement to encourage more cycling, by wearing helmet? If I am, I have been all along doing the countermeasures in the past few years: I write about cycling to promote cycling for transport, health and tourism..... plus just ride the bike often and volunteered for various cycling advocacy organizations. And not have a car for decades.

Also we shouldn't waste our energy to de-regulate bike helmet wearing legislation in various jurisidictions that have such laws. Instead teach people yea, ok wear street clothing, build communities that allows use of more alternative transportations, yaddydada, etc.

It would be nice North America find its own strengths and benefits in cycling culture that is and will be different from Europe. We should learn from Europe where it's practical and where it fits our culture and our huge expanses of land mass with roads crossing for hundreds of kms...with less dense population spread across the continent. It's different terrain, extreme climates, more inhospitable because of less amenities for food, shelter in between (I really noticed this when cycling in Germany, etc.). Get real and hence, cycling culture and practices must be geared to fit with this continent, but also fit within North American society, where cars still will be around because we have longer distances to traverse between cities, towns, states/provinces ...unless we start builidng more rail lines, etc.

Over time, we have to get over the feeling that North American cycling culture/infrastructure is a shadow of Europe.

We have to also remember not all parts of Europe are cycling intensive. It's like North America. Being in Prague, Czech. I certainly felt that way, despite being surrounded by medieval and rennaissance architecture.

[Mr. Bloom]

*PS. I have the feeling that the most avid helmetwearers probably overestimate the risk, and the most avid non-wearers underestimate it. So how many people have I annoyed now?

well said. I think helmet use should be a choice, not a requirement.

Most of the US laws I've reviewed (admittedly not all) only require helmets for certains ages or on certain types of roads (like state highways...but not neighborhood streets).

However, I will never ride without one, even though I've only had 1 minor accident in nearly 9,000 miles. I would miss my helmet mounted mirror too much

[Crankin]

Not only do I see differences in people's thoughts about this by country/continent, but also by region in the US.
Again, I still don't get why this should be an issue. But then, I don't think people should have a choice about wearing a seatbelt. And I admit, I do say things to others about some of this stuff... one time, when both of my kids were in car seats, I was driving home from work, with the 2 empty car seats in the back. A very young couple pulled up next to me, with a small infant in the arms of the woman. I said something to them, like "get a car seat," and the guy got all crazy and followed me for quite awhile.
Another thing is, why do people think it's OK to insist that children wear helmets, but not for adults? Like our heads won't suffer when we hit them? You wouldn't be upset if your spouse had a TBI, but you would if it was your kid?
It seems like my opinion is in the minority on this thread, and I'm OK with it, but I do get upset with issues of safety, health, etc.

[macski]

I ski as well as ride a bike (hence the name) and it's not compulsory to wear a helmet in Australia when skiing but I wouldn't ski without one. I started wearing one when I did a bit of social ski racing and you had to wear one during races. I found I liked it and it kept my head nice and warm (perhaps too warm on spring days). When I tried a few runs without it I felt really strange and vulnerable. So I was glad I was wearing one when someone skied into me when I was stationary and I flipped and landed on my head - saw stars for a couple of minutes even with the helmet.

I haven't ridden a bike without a helmet in 40 years - even when I was doing a test ride around an empty car park.

[Pax]

hebe - not to freak you out more, but if the police officer was wearing a weapon, it was loaded. (former police officer here)

[shootingstar]

Another thing is, why do people think it's OK to insist that children wear helmets, but not for adults? Like our heads won't suffer when we hit them? You wouldn't be upset if your spouse had a TBI, but you would if it was your kid?
It seems like my opinion is in the minority on this thread, and I'm OK with it, but I do get upset with issues of safety, health, etc.

Hard to understand how to make children wear them, but parent not wear a helmet.

Hebe, Canada has stricter gun control laws than U.S. But our police officers on the street are armed with gun holster, etc.

[hebe]

Hard to understand how to make children wear them, but parent not wear a helmet.

Hebe, Canada has stricter gun control laws than U.S. But our police officers on the street are armed with gun holster, etc.

The logic as I understand it is that childrens' skulls are softer and still growing, and that children are intrinsically more likely to come off their bikes (exhuberance, lack of experience etc), therefore a helmet makes sense. Small girl wears one whenever in the trailer or on her bike, non-negotiable. I always wear one too when towing her. I actually walked the bike part of the way back from nursery yesterday after she managed to get her helmet off and wouldn't put it back on. No helmet, no speed faster than slow walking.

Pax, shootingstar, thank you. I learn so much here. Pax, I'm glad I didn't know that at the time though

[oz rider]

Hard to understand how to make children wear them, but parent not wear a helmet.

Besides the soft skulls 1, most parents are protective and have been trained that cycling is dangerous, 2, society often legislates to protect children because they are assumed to not have the reasoning skills to make informed decisions themselves (eg. regulation of cots, baby seats), and 3, children are over-representated (here) in bike stats because they are, well, kids (developing peripheral vision and judgement of speed, focused on the activity at hand, poor road skills, teenage male risk behaviours etc etc).