Anybody not wear a helmet? Discuss....

coffeecup

http://www.bikeradar.com/news/article/c ... ists-20250

I've landed on my head a few times and wouldn't be without a helmet, but some people just aren't bothered. :shock:

If you're one of them... maybe you could talk me through it.

Oh, and please vote...

attica

Ooh good, time for this debate again.

<pulls up chair, cracks open a tinny>

I wear one because I think I'm more likely to have a low speed impact where they are undeniably useful than a high speed impact where they may or may not protect depending it would seem upon the angle of impact twix head and solid object.

always_tyred

Attica wrote:

Ooh good, time for this debate again.

<pulls up chair, cracks open a tinny>

I wear one because I think I'm more likely to have a low speed impact where they are undeniably useful than a high speed impact where they may or may not protect depending it would seem upon the angle of impact twix head and solid object.

I wear one because it provides a convenient place to put my gloves when I'm walking up stairs to the office.

hondafanatic

Always Tyred wrote:

I wear one because it provides a convenient place to put my gloves when I'm walking up stairs to the office.

And keys...my keys to the bike shed and office rest nicely on my gloves.

prawny

I wear one because the Mrs won't let me ride into brum without one, also it makes me look cool 8)

iain_j

If I sling my helmet over the bars, front pointing downwards, the vents make a very convenient place to slot my sunglasses into.

walkernomore

I don't (except on days when I think I am leaving my wits at home) because there are many other things I could do to reduce risk in my life that would be much more effective than wearing a cycling helment - not cycling would be one - so wearing a helmet seems to be a bit tokenistic. But each to their own.

Mark

hondafanatic

oh, also, a helmet makes it obvious to those around me why i'm breathing heavily, sweating prefusly, red of face, in waterproof gear, wearing gloves and shoe covers...cause i lock my bike up and walk into the office and look a bit of damp prick, so a helmet says;

"it's ok, i'm a cyclist"

The Chingford Skinhead

I was going to write something but then decided to read the article - and I'm going to write what I was going to say in the first place.

I wear a helmet because I don't want some nonce of a lawyer or some tw@ of a judge deciding to reduce any acident compensation by claiming contributory negligence. I'm not sure how much the judge in this case has changed things as lawyers have been using the "contributory negligence" rubbish for ages.

I don't like wearing it but I think it offers me more protection than not wearing one.

That said, the comments under the article are spot on. There are more head injuries in cars than on bikes so why aren't drivers wearing helmets - and neck braces.

coffeecup

A step too far??

zanes

Yes.

I always have done, but last friday's crash (see thread) re-inforced it to me. I *suspect* my helmet took the hit, but I can't be sure. I also can't be sure that had I not been wearing a helmet I'd have come off worse, but I really don't like the thought of my head/scalp hitting tarmac, at any speed or angle.

demBones

Yes

for similar reasons to Attica

Rich158

I always wear one, I don't feel safe without it. Even in a relatively high speed crash, say 30mph, I'd rather my bonce was inside a helmet to at least take some of the impact.

rontana

I wear one to counterac the many low hanging branches I encounter due to my excessive height. Also it givesme somehere to cable tie a pair of tescos led flashlights

Hey Jax

prawny wrote:

I wear one because the Mrs won't let me ride into brum without one, also it makes me look cool 8)

....

Does it??? i look like a NOT RIGHT in mine.... they are so NOt flattering. but i wouldnt ride on the roads without one.

CiB

No. I don't like them, in my 40+ years of cycling the only spills I've had wouldn't have had any different outcome if I'd had a bit of TV packaging strapped to my head, and my commute is along some of England's quietest traffic free country lanes, where the hardest thing I'm likely to hit is a squirrel's nuts or the traffic lights on that bridge in the middle of nowhere that I routinely ignore IF IT'S SAFE SO TO DO.

There - two grumble vouchers for you in one post.

always_tyred

So this isn't really a thread about helmet use or lack thereof, but more of an invitation to comment on a Judge Pickles declaration, correct?

Littigator

As someone who until recently always wore a helmet, I also subscribed to the school of non-helmet apoplexy. Non wearers seemed so dumb I simply couldn't comprehend it.

Now, when I'm bimbling around town I often don't wear a helmet but always wear some sort of hat which would hopefully reduce actual scalp/tarmac contact.

When doing long faster training rides I still wear a helmet.

The biggest change is that I now no longer care what anyone else does and it puzzles me as to why it should bother anyone. It's a free world after all

verloren

walkernomore wrote:

I don't (except on days when I think I am leaving my wits at home) because there are many other things I could do to reduce risk in my life that would be much more effective than wearing a cycling helment - not cycling would be one - so wearing a helmet seems to be a bit tokenistic. But each to their own.

Mark

That's a puzzling attitude to me - in almost everything I do there's *something* more effective I could do, but that doesn't mean I don't bother doing at least something.

lost_in_thought

Littigator wrote:

The biggest change is that I now no longer care what anyone else does and it puzzles me as to why it should bother anyone. It's a free world after all

+1 to that!

I don't wear one, don't like them. Nothing you people or the courts say will change that.

However, I do wear one in Australia. It's the law out there, and a very sweaty, icky and uncomfortable law it is too. But I've been fined several times by the po-leece for not wearing one.

prawny

Hey Jax wrote:

prawny wrote:

I wear one because the Mrs won't let me ride into brum without one, also it makes me look cool 8)

....

Does it??? i look like a NOT RIGHT in mine.... they are so NOt flattering. but i wouldnt ride on the roads without one.

Well cool is subjective :? It looks good from certain angles, but it's more of a 'he looks like he knows what he's doing' type of cool, not cool like a rock star or anyone that a regular person would think is cool

il_principe

lost_in_thought wrote:

Littigator wrote:

The biggest change is that I now no longer care what anyone else does and it puzzles me as to why it should bother anyone. It's a free world after all

+1 to that!

I don't wear one, don't like them. Nothing you people or the courts say will change that.

+2

I wear 'em when the rules say I must. Otherwise it's a cap for me. When you move as fast as LiT and I do a helmet's not going to make any difference anyway

The current standard for cycle helmets, the European EN 1078, is meant to provide protection from a fatal head injury when the cyclist falls onto a flat surface at no more than 15 mph.

Eau Rouge

It's up to the individual whether to wear a halemt or not. Personally I do, but more because it's "something a cyclists wears" than any real concern for safety.

My worry is that one day someone is going to mandate actual helmets that really are safer, hard ones ala riding helmets or worse, motorbike helmets. I'd really rather take the risk than wear one of them.

As for the case, it's accepted in this case that wearing a helmet wouldn't have mattered. For the judge to then refer to it like that seems to be overstepping the mark. I would have thought that one of the better pro-cyclist lawyers would be able to challenge any attempt to have this ruling used as precedent in later cases. I would have hoped so anyway.

iain_j

I wear one for similar reasons to Chingford Skinhead. When we had that long heatwave a few years ago I did a few rides without (too hot with it on), it felt odd at first - a feeling of being unprotected - but I quickly got used to it.

I think it's most beneficial when I'm commuting - riding at a much lower speed than when I'm out on the lanes, more within the helmet's "effective speed".

soy_sauce

i wear mine all the time even those im just going to cycle down the road to a friend's flat or something. i just don't feel right without it, this same as i don't feel right cycling without my gloves too. beside it keep my head warm and won't look like a weirdo with just a skull cap on. 8)

Mayhemwmb

I wear one - never used to, was a 'sometimes do, sometimes don't' rider, that is until a trip to A&E after I fell off at about 20mph. I destroyed my helmet, there was a massive dent in it with a corresponding cut through my eyebrow. This was caused when my head hit the kerb - the helmet deformed and broke, you could stick a line along the dent which corresponded with the cut in my eyebrow. The Dr said the helmet saved me from the very realistic chance of a fractured skull I have no doubt it saved me. Through this experience my attitude has changed.

highwaymunky

During the summer I some times don't [just to keep my head cool] when I'm just riding about or early morning training rides [only when it's hot]

But on the commute I always wear one.

If there's a chance it could save my life I owe it to my kids to wear one when I'm dodging traffic for an hour a day.

I don't think it should be law to wear one though, but it does make you look like you know what you are doing and I always encourage people from my bike shop to get one if they are just starting out cycling, only the experienced have the road sense to get away without.... most of the time.

jedster

<i>If there's a chance it could save my life I owe it to my kids to wear one when I'm dodging traffic for an hour a day.
</i>

I feel the same way but I think it's more likely that a helmet will save me from

a) unpleasant to disfiguring scalp injuries
b) mild concussion to lasting minor brain damage (memory loss, reduction of some higher brain function)

The latter could hammer my earning power and quality of life.

J

Clever Pun

I wear one now and again...

It doesn't hurt to wear one as impact damage would probably be less.. but it's my head I know the risks of either decision and it's mine to take

Littigator

lost_in_thought wrote:

Littigator wrote:

The biggest change is that I now no longer care what anyone else does and it puzzles me as to why it should bother anyone. It's a free world after all

+1 to that!

I don't wear one, don't like them. Nothing you people or the courts say will change that.

However, I do wear one in Australia. It's the law out there, and a very sweaty, icky and uncomfortable law it is too. But I've been fined several times by the po-leece for not wearing one.[/quote]

How does the song go...."FCUK the po-leeece" :shock:

fatgrimpeur

My ex wife used to insist I wear one, now she is an ex, I don't bother.