I yelled at a commuter today...

[MaineAnnette]

Hi everyone,

Writing in reply..I hate hate hate more than anything else being yelled at when I'm on a bike- even if it is supportive it is scary! And usually when I hear a car yell at me, I can't help but get so angry at the car because you're in a car! And frankly...I'm not- so leave me alone and don't bother us- we are doing all we can to make up for what car drivers are doing to our planet!

Not that I don't appreciate the share the road sticker..!

[Jewell]

I would not have yelled at the biker, especially when operating a dangerous machine. Whether or not you have restrained yourself from yelling at bikers previously makes no difference to the biker you yelled at. Also I'd be surprised if you thought of those informative news segments before you decided to yell. Helmet or no helmet, its their choice. Its easy to get heated, next time keep the heat to yourself.

Getting yelled at by drivers in incredibly annoying and can potentially be dangerous. Half the time I can't understand a thing their saying, when I do it makes no sense at all to address the person. Mostly I just wish I could put a potato in their tale pipe.

Rarely would I ever listen to anyone's advice who yelled at me, nor do I assume anyone else would head the advice of someone choosing to yell at me.

[Iris616]

and I'm glad it did.

A few weeks ago we had beautiful weather and I found myself with an unexpected free hour. I was so excited to get to ride that I hopped on my bike and forgot my helmet (although it was right on the table next to my bike). I got about 2 miles from home, and was feeling positively giddy about my ride. All of a sudden, a red minivan drove by, a kid (pre-teen) stuck his head out of the window and yelled, "put your helmet on...." The rest of the sentence was lost in the wind.

Oh MY!! How did I forget my helmet!?!? I turned back home to get it. In my driveway sat the red mini van, with the yelling culprit playing with my dog in the yard. It was my SIL and my nephew who had driven by. The funny part is that I am always chiding him for getting on his scooter with out a helmet

The conclusion I came to is that I grew up riding with out a helmet, so when I am in a "little kid" sort of space about biking I don't think about my helmet. Forgetfulness happens sometimes.

[Triskeliongirl]

I agree with the posters that said that as a bike commuter I would not like to be distracted by trying to hear what someone is shouting out of a car window. There is just too much else to think about while cycle commuting on busy roads.

However, I think your motives were good. I often pass cyclists out there while commuting, either without helmets, or riding on the wrong side of the road, and I do always say something to them about both of these issues. In fact, once I was stopped together with a guy at an intersection, and he responded by asking me where to buy a helmet for a good price, what to look for, etc. He worried it would be too hot, so I was able to explain about air vents, fit, etc.

[Geonz]

I am disturbed by the obsession with helmets, and I definitely wouldn't have yelled. (Yes, I wear one, with a light and mirror on it.)

Just one very typical example: Aunt says to child: "You're a safe rider, right? You ****always**** wear your helmet?"

Wearing a helmet has NOTHING to do with riding safely.

It is there to protect against head injury in case of a crash.

Yet, to this lady and countless others, "riding safely" stops there. Too many injuries and deaths happen because of unsafe riding and driving... with undue attention focused on the helmet.

(Again. I wear one. I advocate wearing them. I fit kids with helmets at our "Safe Kids" day. I just don't make it the first thing I talk about when cycling is the issue.)

Here's another angle: as long as helmets are considered absolutely mandatory, it strongly reinforces the idea that cycling is a reckless, dangerous activity - and not because of the infrastructure or the uneducated, careless drivers. Otherwise, we'd focus on that instead of prophylactics.

Saw an ad for a really cute bicycle for little kids. It included a scene wehre the little kid was poking along, figuring out how to ride (but very steadily), and his friend was running wildly on the sidewalk beside him, bare-headed. It was vividly clear she could easily have sustained the more serious head injury - she was going much faster and had further to fall. So, should she have been wearing a helmet?

We choose our risks.

I'm not sure yelling has been an effective persuader, either; I suspect that for everyone it sways, it hardens the resolve of another.

However, just as I think people should feel free to choose their risks... people should also be free to choose what they feel is important to promote. And I very well might have commented to this guy - who had his helmet with him, for cryin' out loud, that "it doesn't work very well back there, dude!"

[tpage]

the first week I started commuting to school I did not wear my helmet. It was just too hot. August in Mississippi is unbearable even when you are aclimated. Anyway I was reading a magazine about head injuries associated with cyclists and I began to think about just one small hit on the head and I might not be able to remember or recognize my children. So if nothing else moves you to wear a helmet, just think about the thought of not remembering the people you love, and it is because you were too lazy to put on a helmet.

[Tri Girl]

I have a friend who rides a recumbent trike. He never wears a helmet. His opinion is that he's so low to the ground that a fall wouldn't be very far (and his trike is quite stable). When I asked about a car hitting him, he said "if a car hits me, a helmet won't help me much when I'm barely above their tire height- I'll more than likely be dead anyway." He does occasionally get yelled at to put a helmet on anyway.
I can see his point. There is an old man in my neighborhood that rides his bike around without a helmet. He's never going more than 5-10 mph and has the best time tootling around. I'd like to see him wear a helmet, but it's his choice.
I'll always wear a helmet. After taking a spill at almost 20mph and going down head first, I know how important it is to protect my noggin. But it's still my choice in the end.

What makes me want to yell at bikers more than anything is the ones who ride on the wrong side of the road. I want to tell them to get on the other side, because I fear for their safety. I never do, but I want to at least educate them.

[fatbottomedgurl]

On Wednesday I waited at an intersection where a woman on a beach cruiser rode from the sidewalk into the street, across the crosswalk, and up to the sidewalk on the other side. She didn't look to see if it was clear, she had no helmet, she had a chihuahua in her handlebar basket and she was texting on her cell phone the whole time. She was absolutely oblivious. I didn't say a word. Obviously she had no brains to protect.

[KeepingUp]

it only takes a few second to put it on so you would assume that every biker would do it! it is very annoying because it a few seconds out of their day could help save their life if they were to get in an accident