Mandatory bicycle helmets?

[Fassa Albrecht]

I'm not trying to cause an argument here but I'd love to hear some TB'ers' opinions on this one.


On a cycling forum I use we've been having a HUGE debate about cycling helmets and whether they should be mandatory for ALL riders, including commuting riders and children.

Now I've NEVER worn a helmet whilst out on my bike and I've never seen the need to be perfectly honest. I find them cumbersome, annoying and I've had more than one stolen.
On a more general note, I think this would be a completely unenforceable law and waste a lot of law enforcement time and resources.

What do you think TB?

 

[doctorjazz]

You're a cyclist?

But yeah, I'm very much against making helmets mandatory. I do wear mine whenever I'm out on a ride or going somewhere around town, but I skip it when I'm going to class or just around campus. My wearing of a helmet usually coincides with wearing lycra, if I'm wearing one I'll be wearing the other and vice versa.

 

[chrisisnotevil]

Um, if you're cycling off road or in traffic a helmet is pretty darned essential. You've not come off your bike and had a helmet save your life, have you? Mind you, I'd hate to have to pull one on if I'm just nipping to the shop on the BMX like...

 

[Fassa Albrecht]

You're a cyclist?

But yeah, I'm very much against making helmets mandatory. I do wear mine whenever I'm out on a ride or going somewhere around town, but I skip it when I'm going to class or just around campus. My wearing of a helmet usually coincides with wearing lycra, if I'm wearing one I'll be wearing the other and vice versa.

Yeah I LOVE cycling and I love nothing more than either jumping on my bike and cycling away or just chilling out watching the racing on TV.

 

[Hawaii Islander]

What does "cycle" include? Motorcycles, scooters, bicycles or all three?

The insurance companies will argue that the risk and cost of riders incurring substantial head injuries warrants such laws. Of course, they say that about nearly every "risky" behavior. They also don't usually provide corresponding reduction of premiums for those who do comply.

Personally, I think insurance companies and local governments should provide positive incentives for people who choose to wear helmets (lower rates) than penalize those who don't (fines).

 

[Fassa Albrecht]

I'm really talking about pedal bikes here- here most motorcyclists DO wear helmets anyway.

 

[Hoover]

Personally, I think insurance companies and local governments should provide positive incentives for people who choose to wear helmets (lower rates) than penalize those who don't (fines).

Bravo!

Hey, if you'll sign a waiver saying that my tax dollars won't go towards your health care when your brain gets splattered on the asphalt, you're welcome to go helmetless all you want.

Personally I can't understand why someone wouldn't want to wear one. Yes, I get the "it's inconvenient" and/or "it's dorky looking" arguments...in fact, up until about 10 or 15 years ago I wouldn't be caught dead wearing a bike helmet.

But all it took was watching in horror as my wife's head bounced across the pavement like a dribbling basketball -- not just once, but on two separate unrelated occasions -- to convince me that I'll never hop on my bike without one.

That being said, I don't like dictating other people's behavior. So I'm not a militant pro-helmet advocate. I do however belong to a cycle club that has a mandatory helmet rule for all club rides, and I must confess I really like the fact that it winds up filtering out the anti-helmet folks. 'Cuz I'm just not too keen on cycling in close proximity to someone who has so little regard for their own self-preservation.

 

[Fassa Albrecht]

In the case of commuting cyclists, and kids, the chances are that they don't perceive the risk to be worth wearing one.

 

[Hawaii Islander]

Bravo!

Hey, if you'll sign a waiver saying that my tax dollars won't go towards your health care when your brain gets splattered on the asphalt, you're welcome to go helmetless all you want.

Personally I can't understand why someone wouldn't want to wear one. Yes, I get the "it's inconvenient" and/or "it's dorky looking" arguments...in fact, up until about 10 or 15 years ago I wouldn't be caught dead wearing a bike helmet.

But all it took was watching in horror as my wife's head bounced across the pavement like a dribbling basketball -- not just once, but on two separate unrelated occasions -- to convince me that I'll never hop on my bike without one.

That being said, I don't like dictating other people's behavior. So I'm not a militant pro-helmet advocate. I do however belong to a cycle club that has a mandatory helmet rule for all club rides, and I must confess I really like the fact that it winds up filtering out the anti-helmet folks. 'Cuz I'm just not too keen on cycling in close proximity to someone who has so little regard for their own self-preservation.

Just to be clear, I'm not anti-helmet. I wouldn't get on a motorcycle without one. I also see the value and rationale for wearing a bicycle helmet as well (I have the scars from stitches where my head unceremoniously met the road while riding a bike as a kid).

Also, I'll add a generational point of view to the discussion. When I was a kid, bycycle helmets (and other safety gear - i.e. elbow and knee pads) were not available. You didn't see any of that stuff in the bycycle section of your local store. It was also a time before hockey players started wearing helmets. The advent of lightweight protective gear came much later. I know. That makes me old(er).

 

[username n/a]

You're a cyclist?

Duh... the Fassa part of her username comes from her favorite cycling team, Fassa Bortolo.

 

[i_got_a_mohawk]

Now I've NEVER worn a helmet whilst out on my bike and I've never seen the need to be perfectly honest. I find them cumbersome, annoying and I've had more than one stolen.

If you have never worn a helmet when out on your bike . . .

. . . how have you had more than one stolen?


Collect them for fun? Been repeatedly mugged coming out of Halfords or something? Or just making things up again?

 

[Eublet]

I'm opposed to all "nanny" laws. This one is stupid. Adults have the right to put their own lives at risk. Children is another matter.

 

[Jared Lash]

If you have never worn a helmet when out on your bike . . .

. . . how have you had more than one stolen?

Funny, the only reason I was going to post in this thread was to ask that very question.

 

[Jim Campbell]

Bravo!

Hey, if you'll sign a waiver saying that my tax dollars won't go towards your health care when your brain gets splattered on the asphalt, you're welcome to go helmetless all you want.

Personally I can't understand why someone wouldn't want to wear one. Yes, I get the "it's inconvenient" and/or "it's dorky looking" arguments...in fact, up until about 10 or 15 years ago I wouldn't be caught dead wearing a bike helmet.

But all it took was watching in horror as my wife's head bounced across the pavement like a dribbling basketball -- not just once, but on two separate unrelated occasions -- to convince me that I'll never hop on my bike without one.

That being said, I don't like dictating other people's behavior. So I'm not a militant pro-helmet advocate. I do however belong to a cycle club that has a mandatory helmet rule for all club rides, and I must confess I really like the fact that it winds up filtering out the anti-helmet folks. 'Cuz I'm just not too keen on cycling in close proximity to someone who has so little regard for their own self-preservation.

then why not cars too......plenty of head injuries in car wrecks,seatbelts or not.....or outlaw skydiving,skiing,recreational scuba,cheezeburgers,alcohol,tobacco,as tax dollars get used for these injuries,illnesses
......big canoworms

 

[Chunk-O-Funk]

If you have never worn a helmet when out on your bike . . .

. . . how have you had more than one stolen?


Collect them for fun? Been repeatedly mugged coming out of Halfords or something? Or just making things up again?

Funny, the only reason I was going to post in this thread was to ask that very question.

Now, now. She said she's never worn them while on her bike. Perhaps there are some other reasons why she was out in public with a helmet on. Just as an example. If you leave your helmet on the school bus more than likely it won't be there when you get back on the bus for the ride home. I don't know. Just say'n.

 

[EricF]

My father was a bike commuter for many, many years, and suffered a very significant head injury after being struck from behind by a car while riding home from work one Summer afternoon. If it wasn't for the fact that he was wearing a good helmet, his life would have ended right then and there.

As I've talked about in other TB cycling threads, I spent more than 10 years racing bicycles, which included many thousands of miles sharing the road with cars during training rides. I had two occasions where I walked away with a from a broken bike and a shattered helmet with only a mild headache. One incident involved a car and the other was a mechanical issue that lead to me flipping at 30+ mph. In both cases, my helmet did its job perfectly, and I was happy to shell out the money for a replacement.

I have too many other stories of friends who have been saved from serious injury, or death, because they were wearing a helmet. I'm talking about all very skilled riders here -some of them spectacular bike handlers. Unpredictable things happen on the road, and no matter how good a rider you are, you can't count on car drivers to always see you, and others just don't give a damn. An 18 lb. bike is no match for a 3000 lb. car - ever! Protecting your head with a helmet is easy. Recovering from a brain injury is not. If your justification is "too hot/bulky/annoying", that's a very lame excuse.

As far as legal mandate, I'm honestly not sure where I stand (for adults - kids are a different issue). My own personal policies on the subject are enough for me. If I'm on the streets, I'm wearing a helmet. If my kids are on a bike - even in our driveway - they're wearing a helmet.

If you choose to put your own grey matter at risk by not wearing a helmet, that's your choice, I guess.

"Stupid is as stupid does" - Forrest Gump

 

[spade2you]

Funny, the only reason I was going to post in this thread was to ask that very question.

Hmmmmmm, yup, another Fassa thread.

Wearing a helmet sucks, not wearing a helmet is dangerous. Dang those rampant helmet thieves........next!

 

[hbarcat]

I used to be one of those kooks who thought that the government should just leave everyone alone to make our own decisions and if we busted our heads open doing stupid stuff then that's the way it goes.

But now I realize how interconnected we are to each other on this fragile blue ball called planet Earth and I now know that if too many people start to take too many risks then the costs become too much for society to bear. I have changed my mind and I believe it's the responsibility of everyone to defer to the wisdom of communal consensus. Scientific studies have determined that bicycle helmets prevent injuries and greatly reduce the cost of medical care for everyone (especially when people go to the emergency room with an easily preventable head injury that other taxpayers have to cough up the money for) and so it's a given that there should be a law to make helmets mandatory.

Statistics also show that most traumatic injuries requiring emergency care occur in the home so it's obvious helmets should be worn there as well.

 

[mrpackerguy]

The law says I must wear my seatbelt or I get fined even as a primary offense. I don't ride motorcycles but why should motocyclists not have to wear a helmet. Because they have better lobbies?

 

[hbarcat]

The law says I must wear my seatbelt or I get fined even as a primary offense. I don't ride motorcycles but why should motocyclists not have to wear a helmet. Because they have better lobbies?

Maybe motorcyclists should wear seat belts.