I'm just curious....

I think a similar thing has happened with smoking - although legislation was the catalyst, there's a cultural shift, and people feel the urge to belong to some extent.

The evidence says you're spot on:

http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/short/358/21/2249

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I whear a helmet because otherwise I would be a hipster. Haha. And I am too paranoid about coming off. I feel like I ride well but I cant vouch for other road users so I wear one.

its just my humble opinion but prevention is better then cure, I know helmets wont prevent me being in a accident but if I can help prevent the chances of seriously damaging myself then its a no brainer for me, its the exact same thing with wearing a seat belt in a vehicle. Why wouldnt you?

its just my humble opinion but prevention is better then cure, I know helmets wont prevent you being in a accident but if I can help prevent the chances of seriously damaging myself then its a no brainer for me, its the exact same thing with wearing a seat belt in a vehicle. Why wouldnt you?

Maybe more of a "yes brainer"?

Cars drive closer to you (according to studies not not my personal experience), people may feel restricted by a helmet or it may cause them discomfort. I wear one but I don't think it's not for others to say if someone should wear a helmet or not.

@ sharkstar... agreed..a "yes" brainer then :]

@moog...its definitely a personal opinion for sure...thats why I said "in my humble opinion"- meaning for me :]

If you're going off-road, on the track, or racing in bunches, they are imperative....There are many things you can that will decrease your risk of injury / incident on the road far more than wearing a helmet.....Imporved driving standards from mototirsts (as alluded to in another thread) being the number one but on a more personal / individual level, skill, confidence and awareness will stand you in much better stead than simply putting a helmet on..

In my many years as a courier I often noticed that certain members of the hi-viz vest and helmet brigade had very poor skills and road awareness, it was scary to think that they thought they might be "safe" purely because of what they were wearing.

Oh sorry didn't mean to suggest that you were being a helmet nazi or anything like that, more that people must have there reasons for not wearing one and I realise that.

its just my humble opinion but prevention is better then cure, I know helmets wont prevent me being in a accident but if I can help prevent the chances of seriously damaging myself then its a no brainer for me, its the exact same thing with wearing a seat belt in a vehicle. Why wouldnt you?

Funny you should say that (don't hate me for this next sentace) I was watching Jeremy Clarkson's Motorworld (back when he was a motoring journalist) and this one was in Italy, he was speaking to an Italian designer, may have been Guiguaro and he was saying how not wearing a seatbelt makes you not want to crash even more, hence improving safety. Not to be taken 100% seriously obviously, just something to think about.

motorworld was a great show, makes you realise the obnoxious driver thing that clarkson does is all an act.

Funny you should say that (don't hate me for this next sentace) I was watching Jeremy Clarkson's Motorworld (back when he was a motoring journalist) and this one was in Italy, he was speaking to an Italian designer, may have been Guiguaro and he was saying how not wearing a seatbelt makes you not want to crash even more, hence improving safety. Not to be taken 100% seriously obviously, just something to think about.

having survived a major car accident only from the fact I wore a seat belt Id say that's utter bollocks, and stats support that...in my opinion what he is saying is like playing Russian roulette with your life

@ Nimhbus...I didnt think about the speed factor actually, It was more of the volume of traffic, in a rural setting a vehicle has more room to maneuver around a cyclist then in the city, I see your point though

In rural settings, room to manoeuvre has very little to do with it. The relationship between motorist is quite different to the one that exists in the city. Visibility and expectation are far more important issues. High hedges, dark covering canopies, the occasional optical illusion and so on combined with irregular, infrequent and often erratic interaction with cyclists mean that we pose a very difficult obstacle to motorists. Whilst motorists are usually far more generous with their time and space where cyclists and other road users are concerned, the really is the place where accidents will happen.

If I had to choose between only being allowed to wear a helmet in the country or the city, the country would be my first choice every time.

Besides, a mass of traffic is far easier to predict than the lone car on an open road with no persistent reminder of potential dangers.

Motorworld was a great show, JC was great to watch back then, not so much now.

Yes, the seatbelt thing is a bit of a silly example, but it is the reason I don't use a helmet, it makes you extra vigilant (in my opinion of course).

I have been riding bikes for 30 years and I have never worn a helmet.

The vast majority of bicycle helmets on sale are utterly shit. In order to provide the level of protection against cars and 30mph collisions that you all believe your bicycle helmet is providing you actually need a full-face motorcycle helmet. Seriously. Would you wear one of them? Would you still ride a bike if they were compulsory?

Cycle helmets are designed to protect you against walking-pace crashes. So why don't you wear one while walking? They are categorically not designed to protect you against cars, 30mph collisions, or even falling off your bike. They would be far too heavy if they were.

They also only fail completely to protect large areas of the head. They also fail completely under conditions that your head would actually be largely undamaged by. An awful lot of people who think their helmet saved their life because it is cracked or crushed are just people who have really shitty helmets which failed at a collision speed which would have given them no more than a bump on the head.

Edited to add:
I ought to restate the fact that cycling is NOT DANGEROUS. It is no more dangerous than walking, and the actual incidence and risk of head injury when cycling is so damn small as to be not worth considering. Way less than the risks associated with being a pedestrian. Helmets and Hi-vis - indeed the whole debate about helmets - serves only to convince people that cycling is dangerous and to put them off the idea, or even worse, to prevent their children from cycling. Reducing the number of cyclists does statistically make cycling more dangerous for those that continue.
Most studies are commissioned and sponsored by helmet manufacturers. Read http://www.cyclehelmets.org/ for some information that wasn't.

If someone is unfortunate enough to be involved in a car crash when they are driving (as many people are), many many lives and NHS £s would be saved if the driver and/or passenger were wearing a helmet.
I hope you all wear a helmet when driving a car on public roads.

if you live in a rural setting, as i do, you are far more likely to have a BAD accident, as opposed to a minor knock-off.
if you get hit in the country, you will be clipped at 50 mph + by a yummymummy/farmer/countrychav and you will be badly hurt. you will also potentially be left at the side of the road for a while if there's no one around.
So yes, i wear a helmet.

Absolutely right...

Oh sorry didn't mean to suggest that you were being a helmet nazi or anything like that, more that people must have there reasons for not wearing one and I realise that.

lol..helmet nazi... made me laugh :] I didnt think you did, no worries :]

I do agree that the only kind of hemlet I would feel protected by is a full-face one, I have used these in the past when doing fast off-road downhill type rides, but with the lack of visibility and the weight of the thing, not to mention looking like an idiot (not really a factor, just a comment to add). I've wondered why people in cars don't wear helmets, surely more lives could be saved if every driver wore a helmet as opposed to every cyclist.

ETA - Richard beat me to it.

I've wondered why people in cars don't wear helmets, surely more lives could be saved if every driver wore a helmet as opposed to every cyclist.

Oh shut up.

SHUT THE FUCK UP

Motorists don't need more shit in their cars to distract them. That's not going to make anything fucking safer.

I'm seriously considering requesting that this thread be moved to the Private forum killed and deleted several times so that kind of fucking nonsense does not wind up in public. I swear if some Daily Fail Retard starts running with that kind of ass-hattery, I will be round and I'll be bringing the pointy sticks.

I have been riding bikes for 30 years and I have never worn a helmet.

The vast majority of bicycle helmets on sale are utterly shit. In order to provide the level of protection against cars and 30mph collisions that you all believe your bicycle helmet is providing you actually need a full-face motorcycle helmet. Seriously. Would you wear one of them? Would you still ride a bike if they were compulsory?

Cycle helmets are designed to protect you against walking-pace crashes. So why don't you wear one while walking? They are categorically not designed to protect you against cars, 30mph collisions, or even falling off your bike. They would be far too heavy if they were.

They also only fail completely to protect large areas of the head. They also fail completely under conditions that your head would actually be largely undamaged by. An awful lot of people who think their helmet saved their life because it is cracked or crushed are just people who have really shitty helmets which failed at a collision speed which would have given them no more than a bump on the head.

Most studies are commissioned and sponsored by helmet manufacturers. Read http://www.cyclehelmets.org/ for some information that wasn't.

I know all of that, ive read thorough independent studies. Yet I know there is value in wearing a helmet. They do absorb shock (may not be all of it) but its a lot better than none. Hard shell helmets also prevent/reduce penetration of your head by sharp objects or your skin getting torn off. I know that they dont protect the fron of your face, and I always have that fear of a faceplant, at least when you have a helmet on you can tuck your head in when crashing with relative confidence.

Im related a girl who got severe brain damage (wasnt a road accident but still relevant) which caused total body paralysis. She has been cared for all her life by her family & doctors, fed through tubes. Its utterly the most tragic thing you could imagine, her mother understandably became very depressed/traumatised/ill, in effect it destroyed a family brining enduring trauma into there lives. Theres no way out, theres just this horrible tragedy theyve been trying to live through for the past 12 years or so.

Everytime I think of it, its gut wrenching. Makes me want to put a helmet on no matter how little the protection.

www.bikeradar.com

for all the Helmet / RLJ / Lights on Bikes tosh you want to discuss, knock yourselves out

This is a bike forum too. however rhetorical these discussions are I think they have their place here.

Oh shut up.

SHUT THE FUCK UP

Motorists don't need more shit in their cars to distract them. That's not going to make anything fucking safer.

I'm seriously considering requesting that this thread be moved to the Private forum killed and deleted several times so that kind of fucking nonsense does not wind up in public. I swear if some Daily Fail Retard starts running with that kind of ass-hattery, I will be round and I'll be bringing the pointy sticks.

I'm sorry, did I say anything about wearing helmets being compulsory? No? So why all the agression? Calm down, you don't need agression like that to distract you.