Anybody not wear a helmet? Discuss....

NGale

I have worn a helmet every since I had a cycle accident when I was 10. Today I was glad I kept that rule.

Jay dubbleU

Groke wrote:

biondino wrote:

Re the driving thing. In my experience (NB sample size of 1 - which makes me as valid as Mr Walker I guess), I couldn't imagine driving closer to a cyclist because he's wearing a helmet, but I could imagine driving further away from one if, in my snap visual judgment, I felt he was likely to be inexperienced or reckless. And not wearing a helmet could well be part of that judgment.

This view mirrors the findings of the TRL report (549): "Driver's perceptions of cyclists". It found that drivers would be more inclined to pass helmet and lycra wearing cyclists closer and at greater speed than someone wearing civvies. In certain situations a bit of 'controlled erraticness' might be a tactic worth deploying as it signals unpredictability.

Think I'll just wear a floral dress and carry a parasol :roll:

sarajoy

I tend to wear a helmet on the commute but get naughty at the weekend and not bother. I get lots of stern looks from the boyfriend for that...

always_tyred

Jay dubbleU wrote:

Groke wrote:

biondino wrote:

Re the driving thing. In my experience (NB sample size of 1 - which makes me as valid as Mr Walker I guess), I couldn't imagine driving closer to a cyclist because he's wearing a helmet, but I could imagine driving further away from one if, in my snap visual judgment, I felt he was likely to be inexperienced or reckless. And not wearing a helmet could well be part of that judgment.

This view mirrors the findings of the TRL report (549): "Driver's perceptions of cyclists". It found that drivers would be more inclined to pass helmet and lycra wearing cyclists closer and at greater speed than someone wearing civvies. In certain situations a bit of 'controlled erraticness' might be a tactic worth deploying as it signals unpredictability.

Think I'll just wear a floral dress and carry a parasol :roll:

Scientific research suggests that this will cause motorists to give you more space.

cbr6fs

Interesting thread.

I sometimes wear a helmet sometimes not, really depends on the weather conditions and what ride i intend on doing.

That's for both motorbikes and pushbikes.


I've crashed wearing a helmet and had severe injuries and i've crashed without wearing a helmet with a scratch on me.

In my opion it's purely down to the roll of a dice and chances.
If your wearing a helmet then your chances are slightly higher of not sustaining a severe injury.
But shite does happen though.

I've crashed motorbikes at 100+mph, yet watched my mate die after he flipped his bike at no more than 10mph in full leathers and helmet.



It really comes down to doing what you personally feel you have to do.
As an adult i believe i'm responsible enough to make that judgement.

If my kids ride though they don't make it onto the saddle without a helmet.


Lastly in summer i've ridden my motorbike in shorts a teeshirt sandles and no helmet.
It's fair to say that i do not ride my bike anywhere near how i would ride it with full leathers and a helmet.

So although your risk of sustaining a serious injury will be reduced, it's also just as likely you'll also take more risks.



Each to their own i say (as long as your an adult).



Cheers
Mark

biondino

A friend on another board:

I managed to stay conscious. No I wasn't wearing a helmet. They didn't shave my head at all, just did a wee bit of snipping then fired the staples in.

The story goes:

I hit a power cable for a temporary traffic light at the wrong angle and my front wheel went out from under me, launching me head first right into the cornerstone of a handy nearby wall. Blood was pouring everywhere, soaking into my cap. I struggled along to the nearest bus stop and managed to call myself an ambulance, as nobody stopped (bastards!), without fainting or vomiting. Got taken to the nearby hospital about 8pm. Police took my bike as I didn't have a lock. Wasn't admitted till nearly 11pm after nigh on 3 lonely hours in the waiting room with the temporary ambulance bandage on, and didn't get treated till about 1am, at which point after staples and x-rays they couldn't let me go home alone, so kept me over night.

Fun times. Not.

roger_merriman

ooh ow! but seriously anecdotes how ever wince making don't prove a jot, hope your friend is well soon and keeps his hair for a long while!

_Brun_

Good to hear he wasn't more seriously injured and that depite skin being a bit rubbish in an accident, skulls are obviously pretty tough.

I can imagine that if someone had been wearing a helmet and had the exact same accident, we'd be looking at pictures of the damage to the helmet (probably splitting like they often seem to do) and reading enthusiatic proclamations of 'my helmet saved my life'.

spen666

cbr6fs wrote:

Interesting thread.

I sometimes wear a helmet sometimes not, really depends on the weather conditions and what ride i intend on doing.

That's for both motorbikes and pushbikes.


...

surely, its a legal requirement to wear helmet on motorbike, but not on pushbike - or are you riding motorbike off road?

spen666

spen666 wrote:

cbr6fs wrote:

Interesting thread.

I sometimes wear a helmet sometimes not, really depends on the weather conditions and what ride i intend on doing.

That's for both motorbikes and pushbikes.


...

surely, its a legal requirement to wear helmet on motorbike, but not on pushbike - or are you riding motorbike off road?

whoops - just seen you are not in Uk

biondino

My mate's accident - I imagine he'd have been pretty bloody pleased he was wearing a helmet, had he been! I'd say this is just the type of accident where a helmet is (likely to be) at its most useful - nasty but superficial accident that causes pain, scarring and a lengthy wait in A&E but doesn't actually threaten your life. Sounds good reasoning to me!

prawny

@ Biondino - Your mate kinda puts the I wont wear a helmet because it will mess up my hair argument to bed

cbr6fs

spen666 wrote:

spen666 wrote:

cbr6fs wrote:

Interesting thread.

I sometimes wear a helmet sometimes not, really depends on the weather conditions and what ride i intend on doing.

That's for both motorbikes and pushbikes.


...

surely, its a legal requirement to wear helmet on motorbike, but not on pushbike - or are you riding motorbike off road?

whoops - just seen you are not in Uk

It's still illegal not to wear a helmet on a motorbike here.

But hardly anyone does and the chances of the cops actually stopping you is a million to 1.

If i know i;m going to crash then without a doubt i'd want a helmet on.
Thing is though some times it's just not convenient to wear a helmet.

Maybe it's very hot, or i'm parking the bike somewhere and walking, where do i put the helmet?

As adults we should be able to judge the conditions and type of riding we are doing and make an informed choice.
Also as adults we should be able to substantially reduce our risks of crashing (when not wearing a helmet) by riding a lot slower and taking a lot more care.

So as i said earlier i think it should be entirely up to the individual (if they are an adult) and we should try not to judge people at all.

jemjah

ironically, i had started wearing one just before i had the accident , but it had been digging into my head and giving me a headache, so i took it off before i left my flat and thought 'i'll be ok.'
but amazingly, somehow my head neither hit the lorry or the road. i managed to cover my face with my arms (otherwise would have taken my face off completely on the road). i was incredibly lucky that time, but wouldn't cycle on the roads without one now.

Chaz.Harding

Hmm, some interesting posts...

I am an AVID helmet wear-er, and will make a point of putting my lid on EVERY time I go out on my bike.

However, the last time I went out, I didnt make it a mile (still inside my little village), and I came off, due to a punctured front wheel (round a bloody corner... grrr...) I have some pretty bad-ass gravel rash, but no head injury. I dont know how I avoided touching my head on the floor, because my left arm, left knee, hip, shoulder and left side of my torso got a right beating. Either way, not a scratch on my head.

*I bet all you non-helmet wear-ers are loving this!*

I wont ever be going out without my lid again, this time I got lucky. Maybe not so much next time...

8)