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?