Occasional or regular non-bike helmet cyclist?

[JennK13]

I ride with a helmet 90% of the time. If I'm clipped in and/or riding with vehicle traffic or on uneven terrain, I wear it, which is most of the time.

After cleaning/tuning my bike and riding it up and down the complex to check it out, I don't wear one (I'm usually in flipflops or sandals of some sort), or if I'm running across the street to the market to quickly grab a few things I typically don't. If I'm on my cruiser tooling around on the bike path, I may not wear it, either.

I'm like Pax, and it's a risk tolerance decision. To each their own. I rode horses for years and fell off, was bucked off, rolled over top of, trampled, etc, and I never wore a helmet during all of that (I used to race barrels), and I doubt even now I would ever wear a helmet while riding a horse. I do, however, wear one whenever I snowboard - I suck at it, and fall every time I go, and have rung my bell a number of times out on the mountain where I'm certain a helmet has saved me, at the very least, from a bad headache.

MY risk is a lot higher on the slopes than on the trail on my cruiser. I've been hit more times in the head/face while playing softball than on my bike and I still play shortstop (without a helmet). There's inherent risk in everything we do, and it's up to individuals to decide what's right for them. I truly believe in helmet education and advocacy, but I am against a law that requires people to wear them. I also don't believe in seatbelt laws even though I buckle up every time I get behind the wheel (no maybes or sometimes about that). If someone chooses not to, that's their decision. My risk factor decision doesn't give me the right to impose that belief on other people, and that's what I think seatbelt and helmet laws do (insurance rate factors aside). I see it like this - if seatbelts and helmets save lives, and there are laws that say people have to wear them, then they ought to outlaw things that are bad for you like cigarettes and alcohol which kill a lot more people than a lack of the other two (while I don't smoke, I do drink, so I'm not advocating for that! But I see it as the same thing )

Note, I am not a closet-non helmet wearer. Most times I wouldn't ride without one. I don't wear it because I feel pressured to do so, like our European transplant explained. My activity and the risk I assess to the situation helps me make that determination.

[Kitsune06]

Oh gawd not another one of these threads. I thought these only came up on motorcycle forums.

There really only seem to be two camps in this argument- the ones who recognize the protection helmets provide and won't ride without them, and the ones who recognize the protection helmets provide but hate being told what to do.

There will always be folks who either feel like they can handle the consequences or feel like the consequences just won't happen to them, and they're the folks who are riding everywhere without a helmet, driving without a seatbelt, riding a motorcycle in flipflops and shorts, or having unprotected sex.

No amount of fines or legislation will change this fact. This fact also provides me with job security at the hospital so I'm hesitant to discourage the above behavior.

My personal opinion? I won't ride without a helmet not because I don't trust my own abilities, but because I don't trust other drivers not to try to kill me. In a perfect world, I'd consider riding naked.... just let me know when that happens. There will be snowball fights in Hell while people dodge flying pig droppings.

[marni]

Picture an egg.

Now picture an egg on asphalt.

ETA: Any questions?

My favorite illustration of why one should always wear a helmet. I volunteer to take myself and my shattered helmet from a fall several years ago around to various schools to show and tell the kids why they should always wear a helmet.

[JennK13]

There really only seem to be two camps in this argument- the ones who recognize the protection helmets provide and won't ride without them, and the ones who recognize the protection helmets provide but hate being told what to do.

There will always be folks who either feel like they can handle the consequences or feel like the consequences just won't happen to them

I think there is also a third group who don't recognize the protection helmets offer. It's not a matter of telling people what to do, they just don't see the point and there are many statistics out there that show or can be twisted to show that helmets don't really offer protection.

I also think there's a difference between consequence and risk. A consequence of over exposure to the sun is skin cancer, but people have different risks of that actually happening and thus weigh that risk on whether or not they use sunscreen, and those at a higher risk won't go out without a hat and long sleeves on. Hence, the risk of injury determines my safety attire which has nothing to do with whether or not someone says I should or shouldn't do something. In slowpitch softball, I don't wear a helmet to bat or shin pads in the field; in fast pitch I do. There's a lady in our slow pitch league that wears a full catcher's helmet - "unheard" of in the league! But she's been hit too many times for her own peace of mind, so she wears it. We all have different levels of tolerance an risk but that doesn't make one right and the other wrong.

[shootingstar]

Oak: ETA... anyone who thinks the wind in her hair is such a big deal, has obviously never ridden with the wind in her b00bs. That I probably will never have the chance to do again, but the feeling is seriously worth the risk.

Whoo-hoo, Oak. Really???

Appreciate chrys' experiences from Alaska,transplant from Germany, etc.

Nothing to do with cycling, but today there was a funeral for 19-yr. girl who got her car license recently, died after driving into a tree in one of the Vancouver suburbs, while she was talking on her cellphone.

Cellphone use while driving just adds another dimension of risk for cyclists which never existed before ..even 3 decades ago.

[Trek420]

I wear a helmet always. All my crashes have been the classic "FU" falls or slow motion keeling over for no apparent reason ... always in public always on pavement. I'm aware how bad that could be if my brain hits the curb and have not signed up for long tern care insurance.

[Velocivixen]

I am a Speech-Language Pathologist and I have provided cognitive therapy for people who heave brain injuries due to hitting their heads in various ways. Not a nice sight. Some are never normal again. It's not worth it to me. I always wear a helmet. Not wearing a helmet isn't an option for me.

[radacrider]

Yep, I see both on my rides. I have also heard and read all the various comments and arguments on both sides. What is funny is how both sides can use the same basic data and reach such opposite conclusions.

My son and I both wear helmets, we just have always worn a helmet. In Portland, kids under (forget the age now) are required to wear helmets. For my son, it was more than about the law, it was sharing that I had a high-speed, single bicycle crash once. This was back in the lycra covered, foam only helmet days. Hit the ground so hard I blacked out. The helmet was broken in to 3 pieces, but remained together because of the cover.

That convinced me that things happen fast and a helmet seemed like cheap insurance, because you just never know. This is our choice.

If others do, fine, if others don't, fine. We all, as others have said, have to make our own choices.

PS: I have hit the helmet 3 times so I will keep wearing one. I should note, that testing up and down the street I will go helmetless, but anything else, I strap it on.

[Susan]

Over here, the reasoning against helmets is not that they make cycling look dangerous or prevent people from riding a bike (maybe because there actually are a lot of people cycling), but that the risk of being injured while riding a bike without a helmet is lower than the risk of a head-injury while driving a car or walking - still nobody would wear a helmet doing this.
I don't know if this argument comes from twisting the outcomes of some statistics, or if it actually makes sense.
What seems clear to me is that while this may be true, still, if you happen to fall on your head, it's better to wear a helmet while doing so - even if the car driver that runs you over doesn't (guess that's the difference between statistics and reality).

I myself am not sure what to think. Wearing a helmet while biking was unusual when I learned to ride a bike. Until I was grown up, it was never heard of that you could even consider wearing a helmet while cycling. Today, it's still not very common to wear a helmet when riding a bike for errands or into the city (except for kids). But nearly everybody uses them for doing cycling as a sport.
In the last years, helmets (and other protective gear) were heavily promoted for skiing, another sport that wasn't considered dangerous when I grew up.
I am not sure how much of the discussion about protection is just marketing new expensive equipment.

I fell on my head twice. Once while riding my bike on ice (while wearing a helmet) and once while helping my mum in the garden and falling from a stair onto concrete (while not wearing a helmet - 2 weeks in hospital in the midst of summer!). I guess if had been wearing a helmet I wouldn't have hurt myself as bad - but I'm not sure if that means that everybody should wear a helmet while being in the garden

My husband and I are still considering buying helmets for the city. Just in case.

[hebe]

My thinking on this is on the same lines as Pax and JennK. I do wear a helmet about 95% of the time, always in traffic or on rooty/bumpy trails, always when riding with small girl in the trailer, and always when my husband is away for work and I am the solo parent.

I have a background in risk, and feel fairly sure that crossing some of the local roads as a pedestrian is more dangerous than cycling unhelmetted half a mile along a flat traffic-free bridleway with an even surface and clear visibility in both directions, for example. I'll also do a quick spin around the block helmet-free when checking something on the bike - it's a residential area with a 20mph limit and speed-calming measures. It's also very common for children to be playing in the road in this area so traffic is careful. Even my route to nursery is chosen to be as quiet as possible, I generally see no more than 5 or 6 moving vehicles on the road sections.

I did blog about helmets recently. A roadside assistance business here recently polled its (motorist) members and found that a huge majority of them wanted cyclists to wear helmets. The result was this organisation has started a programme of handing out thousands of helmets branded with their logo to cyclists over the country. I remain pretty unhappy about this for a number of reasons. That said, I think it is absolutely down to the individual to decide what level of risk they are happy with and act accordingly. Be informed and know exactly what the capabilities of your helmet are.

[Bike Chick]

I had a bad crash several years ago on a fast, tricky descent. I hit my head on a rock and suffered a concussion. The helmet was cracked in 4 places and the ER doc told me if I hadn't been wearing the helmet, my skull would've cracked like a watermelon. Made a believer out of me and I won't ride one pedal stroke without a helmet or ride with anyone not wearing one.

[Crankin]

And I wear my helmet when I am dressed in those cute commuter clothes, on my Jamis. Maybe I am a dork because I don't see the helmet as a detriment to my riding chic? One thing has nothing to do with the other. I could buy one of those cool Nutcase helmets to use when I am toodling around town, but frankly, I am perfectly fine with wearing one of my regular helmets.
Yes, I am risk aversive, more than a lot on this board. But, I just don't get the idea that the helmet messes up your cool factor.
Last year my son's wife wanted to buy a cruiser, to ride along the beach, to the next town in San Diego. After he convinced her that a hybrid would better suit her needs, they had to have the helmet discussion. She had never worn one. He pretty much told her that she would not be getting the bike unless she wore a helmet. He bought her one of the Nutcase ones that is very cool looking. Although she thought he was talking from a "racers" perspective, she wears it and she also sees that he wears his, even though he only rides for fun now.

[limewave]

Ever since I became a mom, I always, always, always wear my helmet when I have wheels strapped to my feet. Even a 1/2 mile bike ride to pick the kids up from daycare or rollerblading, I wear the helmet. I trust that I have some pretty good cycling skills, but I do not trust everyone else that is on the road.

[Pax]

Maybe another part of this is habit? I've been riding bikes my whole life (well, since age 3 anyway ) and motorcycles since age 12. Back then (60's and 70's) no one wore a helmet for anything so I never got in the habit. Fast forward to 2011 and I live in one of four states with no motorcycle helmet law so I've never been compelled to wear one. I tend to wear one (MC helmet) when it's cold or windy, and I'll put on a bike helmet if I'm riding out in the country... most of the rest of the time it never even occurs to me.

[shootingstar]

And I wear my helmet when I am dressed in those cute commuter clothes, on my Jamis. Maybe I am a dork because I don't see the helmet as a detriment to my riding chic? One thing has nothing to do with the other. I could buy one of those cool Nutcase helmets to use when I am toodling around town, but frankly, I am perfectly fine with wearing one of my regular helmets.
Yes, I am risk aversive, more than a lot on this board. But, I just don't get the idea that the helmet messes up your cool factor.

Maybe it's the helmet hair thing for some women who don't like helmets.

I'm with you that being cool in commuter clothes is still possible with helmet. But it must be beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I've been tempted to get a Nutcase helmet because they have some fun/funky designs. Unfortunately my head shape doesn't fit into a rounded Nutcase helmet, no matter what size.

I actually need to wear large size helmets..none of the marketed "women's" sizes work at all. For a small person, I have a large head.

Last year, dearie was cycling when another cyclist collided into him by crossing him too quickly. ..only 4 blocks from home. Dearie blacked out for over half hr. and woke up in the emergency room. His helmet was cracked. Other cyclist paid for his damaged helmet.

This incident occured in the morning after the rush hr., in a low volume area for cars and cyclists during that time...near a bike route.