Monday, August 30, 2010

Wear your helmet!

In the words of the ever present Nike ads, "Just do it!" There is no good reason not to wear a helmet. You may think there is a good reason not to wear it, but I assure you that you are wrong.

I actually talked to someone a couple days ago who told me that his reason for not wearing a helmet is because he heard of some study that showed drivers generally give cyclists without helmets more space on the road. You're kidding, right? Unfortunately he wasn't. I would like to point out that flat tires, stray dogs, other wobbly bike riders, cactus spines, roadkill, farm animals, low flying aircraft, komodo dragons, gale force winds and the rest of the world's hazards don't really care if you are wearing your helmet or not.

Having recently moved to the Milwaukee area I am stunned by the number of helmetless bike riders. You have the usual culprits: little kids in their driveways starting a lifelong habit of helmetlessness, the too cool teenagers riding to who knows where with the helmets on their handlebars because mom wouldn't let them leave the house without it but they can't stand to protect their noggins, then there's the old dude who's just out for a cruise on his decades old step through frame that you almost can't blame because they didn't have helmets when he was growing up in the stone age. There are a plethora of other culprits including fishing pole guy, errand girl and the worst of all...shirtless, tattooed, sideways baseball cap, "I ride with one hand on the wrong side of the road whenever possible with a passenger on the pegs" BMX rider with his knuckles scraping on the ground because the seat post is so low.

The options today are much better than they used to be...yes that is leather...

And you don't necessarily have to look like one of these guys either...


The selection of helmets is too wide to even get into right now. The bottom line is that there is sure to be a helmet that fits you comfortably and won't break the bank, so you have no excuse not to have one. Just be sure that you put it on the right way.
and not backwards...


Whether you call it a melon protector, a brain bucket, hard hat or what have you...put it on your head, not on your handlebars or in your backpack (trust me you're not fast enough to put it on before you hit the ground). Then get out there and ride like the wind.

2 comments:

  1. Mmmm...yet another one who doesn't realise he's been brainwashed by the nanny state. Would you be surprised to learn that helmeted cyclists statistically have more accidents, including fatal ones, than those who don't wear any helmet at all? And no, I didn't pluck that out of my arse... 'tis a fact, go and check it. Quite why this happens is not so easy to ascertain. A popular theory is that the cyclist in a helmet isn't as cautious... the sense of safety and protection subconsciously allows them to take more risks. Another theory is the one that you have already been made aware of; that helmeted cyclists give the air of a confident, professional cyclist, so cars and other vehicles give them less space. Whatever the reason isn't really relevant, only the statistics are. So stop with the Noggin Police crap, for goodness sakes.

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  2. Me, brainwashed, eh? First of all I'll pretend the "statistic" of yours about more fatal accidents for helmeted cyclists is true and address it that way so that we're on even playing field. (I would love to "go and check it," but you've failed to cite any source where I can do so leaving me to assume you didn't "pluck it".)

    If the fact is that helmeted cyclists have more accidents than non helmeted cyclists, then I would ask about your sample. This statement implies that I am more likely to get into an accident because I am wearing a helmet. That sounds a bit ridiculous. It's as if you are saying that I'm more likely to trip on my face because I wore a red shirt today than a black shirt. I'm not saying that it can't be true, but it just doesn't really stand up to logic.

    However, if your statement is intended instead to be that more cyclists in accidents were wearing helmets than not, I would ask for an explanation of the study from which this statistic was taken. I would want to know how many hours a week these helmeted cyclists spend on the roads compared to the non-helmeted cyclists and how many accidents/injuries occur per hour of riding time rather than who was wearing what in an accident. In addition I'd want to know where the accidents were, how severe, what injuries were sustained etc. There are a lot more complicating factors that I can't "go and check" without a reasonable source, but are crucial if I'm about to make an informed decision about helmet wearing.

    What I can use at this point is my own experience and the experience of others. And from my experience, bicycle helmets are capable of preventing serious injury. My Dad, for instance, was spared a significant head injury by wearing his helmet on a day when we were riding a path through the park (my Dad is a skilled rider by the way who suffered a crash on that particular occasion when his chain slipped). I may have been overzealous if I implied that wearing a helmet will save your life no matter the circumstances. A helmet will not likely save you from being hit and run over by a Mack truck or careening off a precipice. However, a helmet is effective at preventing head injury, and I for one will continue to encourage others to wear them as I will continue to wear my own. Children especially who are more prone to accidents because of inexperience, not because of wearing helmets, should be encouraged to wear helmets. If I have to wear the label of "Noggin Police" to help prevent a few more trips to the ER for head lacerations and TBI's then I will gladly do so.

    As for anyone else joining this dialogue, I would encourage you not to make decisions based on a single statistic. Statistics after all are only a cross sectional snapshot of a population and are most relevant when applied to the appropriate circumstances. Use them to inform a decision, but don't let them be a decision made for you. After all...

    "Statistics are used much like a drunk uses a lamppost: for support, not illumination." - Vin Scully.


    IF you would like to "go and check it" for yourself, here is just one source with plenty of good support for helmet wearing: http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/00036941.htm

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