Don't wear a helmet? I'd like to know why.
Hello All,
I'm admittedly new to the community, but Julie H. told me this group is amazingly diverse and very (hopefully) willing to offer their honest opinions on issues in the Cycling community.
Here's a little background. I'm a reporter from RedEye, and I'm looking into what seems to be a more controversial issue than most people thing: Actually wearing a helmet. I've heard from some great people on both sides, but in the interest of a balanced perspective, I would love to hear from some folks who choose NOT to wear a helmet. I've seen some people say it's a vanity/comfort issue, and others who question the effectiveness of the practice.
Whatever the case, I would be very interested to hear your opinions on the issue. I can be reached most quickly at mswasko@tribune.com. Also, if you have comments you'd like to post in the thread, I will be watching.
Thank you all very much for your help.
mick
Views: 4424
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by jon on -
i disagree. biking is a very dangerous activity.
i think that people sometimes forgot how easily you can fall and hurt yourself severely .. you don't need to be going fast. one fall, the wrong way, and you can crack your head open and be dead. it's serious shit.
in 2003, an old lady pulled out in front of me while i was on my motorcycle in broad day light and i hit her head on going about 30 mph ... i was not wearing a helmet. i landed on a curb, head first. the 700 pound bike flipped over the car and landed on me. i woke up in the hospital. the emt's and doctors said it that there was no way i should have survived it .. no way the curb shouldn't have mushed my head like a Gallagher melon... i walked out of the hospital that evening, ultimately unharmed .. just a few bruises and a bottle of vicodin.
you can be very lucky ... or unlucky. i don't think it's wise to chance it. i always wear my knoggin' protector.
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Permalink Reply by Jeff Schneider on -
I understand the argument that strength of numbers is what really makes us safer, and that helmet promotion, by giving the impression that cycling is a dangerous activity, actually reduces our collective safety by scaring people away from cycling. This argument makes a lot of sense to me - for Amsterdam or Copenhagen, where lots of people already cycle, and the barriers to entry are very low.
But Chicago is not Amsterdam or Copenhagen. Cycling here is MUCH more dangerous, for a lot of reasons - lack of infrastructure, less educated drivers, less educated cyclists, etc. Wearing a helmet in Chicago is not overkill. We don't, and won't anytime soon have anything like the number of cyclists that would be required for collective safety.
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Permalink Reply by James BlackHeron on -
Walking is a very dangerous activity. A ped gets killed by a car just about every week in this city.
Maybe all peds should be wearing helmets too. Chicago is not Copenhagen. Everyone wear a helmet 24/7.
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Permalink Reply by Jeff Schneider on
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The intersection of my point with your understanding is the null set.
James BlackHeron said:Walking is a very dangerous activity. A ped gets killed by a car just about every week in this city.
Maybe all peds should be wearing helmets too. Chicago is not Copenhagen. Everyone wear a helmet 24/7.
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Permalink Reply by notoriousDUG on -
Your examples and statements are, as usual, apples and oranges comparisons which completely distort the whole issue.
Yes, walking is dangerous but then again so is leaving your house so if we follow your logic to be safe we need to never go out again, avoid showers because accidents happen there often and disconnect the utilities because we can die in a gas explosion or get electrocuted...
These are all very logical paths if you want to take things to an extreme but pretty silly when it comes to living a practical life. A practical life is all about risk assessment and taking reasonable precautions when it comes to protecting yourself to the point that you feel comfortable with the level of risk.
The cycling/walking comparison is completely invalid, and a bit ignorant, because it is a simple matter of scale; more people die walking than biking because more people are walking than are biking. If you want that number to mean anything you need to look at percentages. Now, I don't have that info, and I don't even know where to look for it, but I do know this: I have had far worse, and more numerous, incidents where I was at risk of bodily injury riding a bike than walking and I would be willing to bet that applies to most people on this forum or in bikes in general. I choose to wear a helmet when I ride and not when I walk because I believe the risk of a severe head injury, something I consider very dangerous to my well being, happening to me while cycling to be much greater than if I were walking. I do not choose to wear pads on my knees and elbows because while I see there is an increased risk I do not feel they have as much of a chance or ruining my life or leaving me dead or mentally compromised.
Helmet use is a choice people arrive at because they do their own personal risk assessment and make a personal choice. There is nothing wrong with either choice in the big picture no matter what you think personally is right for you.
Of course the real question here Jimmy is why do you have to make such a big deal out of it each time it comes up? Why does it matter to you so much if people wear a helmet or why they wear them?
James BlackHeron said:Walking is a very dangerous activity. A ped gets killed by a car just about every week in this city.
Maybe all peds should be wearing helmets too. Chicago is not Copenhagen. Everyone wear a helmet 24/7.
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Permalink Reply by James BlackHeron on
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Thanks duggie for your less-than-ignorant clarifications.
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Permalink Reply by Spencer "Thunderball" Thayer! on -
I have a harder question than the original post. Why do YOU care if someone else does or does not wear a helmet?
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Permalink Reply by Juan 2-8 mi. on
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Maybe he works for the auto companies who would like to see a helmet law so that we can say goodbye to bike sharing programs and Idot plans to put in more bike lanes.
Spencer "Thunderball" Thayer! said:I have a harder question than the original post. Why do YOU care if someone else does or does not wear a helmet?
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Permalink Reply by notoriousDUG on
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It's an easy question. I care that people wear helmets because I don't want to see anyone I know the victim of a severe head injury.
That said beyond saying I would prefer people, with the exception of those I dislike, wore one I am not one to preach about it beyond giving some examples of why I think they are important.
Spencer "Thunderball" Thayer! said:I have a harder question than the original post. Why do YOU care if someone else does or does not wear a helmet?
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Permalink Reply by bk (aka: Dr. Mambohead) on -
Oy Vey with this thread!!... The guy already wrote his article and sold his soap. He's already been to the bank.
RedEye: Here are some more soap-selling topics.... Got a horn?... Got mirrors?.. Got a helmet AND headphones jammin'?!?... I'd like to know why? SOOOoooo risky!!!
What else do we market with fear and arbitrary humanitaran concern? Oh... I dunno... Our wars? Our professional wrestling play-partisan-for-profit politician/shills of Wall Street? Maybelline?.. Ummm... Yeah... How about almost EVerything?
Simian brethren! There's an unknown rustling in the underbrush!!.. Grab a loaf!... prepare to fling!
Be afraid. Be very afraid. Or?.. Go buy something and be not afraid. Done and done.
Dave Duerson wore a friggin' helmet. I forget... How'd that work out?
Safety first!
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Permalink Reply by James BlackHeron on
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OMG fixies have NO BRAKES!!!!!@@!!at!!AT-AT!!
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Permalink Reply by Jeff Schneider on
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Breaks is how we spell it hear. You must be from some were else.
James BlackHeron said:OMG fixies have NO BRAKES!!!!!@@!!at!!AT-AT!!
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