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Mandatory bicycle helmets?

#21
Or better yet, ban all two wheeled vehicles (three wheeled vehicles are already banned because they're inherently dangerous) and make full nine point roll cages, five point safety harnesses, helmets, Head And Neck Support systems, flame suits and anything else we can think of mandatory in all personal vehicles.

You can't be too safe and you can't put a price on a human life.
 
#22
I'm both a bicyclist and a motorcyclist, and about the only time I don't wear a helmet is if I am tooling around in the driveway to check out a repair or mod. Heard the horror stories, seen a couple incidents where a helmet prevented some nice brain damage, yada yada yada. In the end, it's your choice. But I decided it was inexpensive insurance against highly expensive medical bills.

Also, the helmet gives me a nice place for my headlamp when I'm riding at night.

Peace,
Greg
 
#23
hbarcat said:
Or better yet, ban all two wheeled vehicles (three wheeled vehicles are already banned because they're inherently dangerous) and make full nine point roll cages, five point safety harnesses, helmets, Head And Neck Support systems, flame suits and anything else we can think of mandatory in all personal vehicles.

You can't be too safe and you can't put a price on a human life.
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somebody's gonna say guns right away i bet......duck
 
#26
Mandatory helmet and seatbelt laws are working against the current of Social Darwinism, IMO.

Different story for kids - they should be taught to wear them. They make you safer.

But if they grow up, choose not to wear them, and then die because of it, there's your Social Darwinism at work once again.
 
#27
EricF said:
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.
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Almost lost a friend this way. I had a group of friends who were in some cycling club, did a lot of cross country trips and such, and they were on one going up the east coast when some woman fell asleep at the wheel and plowed through the team. Two people had minor injuries, but one girl was laid up for a while, spent some time in a coma. Pretty scary stuff.

My college campus was a big place for biking accidents as well, there would be at least one a year since we were located on pretty busy main street. My senior year there was a kid killed while I was walking to class. Saw the aftermath. Not pretty.
 
#30
EricF said:
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
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+1 to the whole damn thing. I can't tell you how many people going for a leisurely bike ride on the bike path at the beach have left in an ambulance with paralysis and brain damage. So much of it could have totally been prevented with a helmet. I always wear mine. I'm not too proud to look like a dork with a helmet.
 
#32
I can stay balanced on my back wheel on a handrail without too much trouble. I can also drop five or six feet at speed or from a stand-still. I once avoided a crash by jumping on the incoming car's hood because he couldn't stop in time, and neither could I. I don't think I'm that good but for some local kids I'm a hero. A hero with a helmet, goshdarnit.

Most of the time, my helmet protects me from others. The "I'm a good bicycle handler" or "this is just a short ride" arguments are pointless.
 
#33
L-A said:
I'm a trials cyclist. My right leg sports a pretty good scar that, had it happened on my head, would have simply been sewed and covered in makeup for the funeral.

Yeah, wear a helmet.
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I have a giant scar on my right leg from when my fibula was broken in several places during a freak accident involving shifting Lake Superior shore ice, ore boats and coal train traffic. If I had been wearing Kevlar (TM) leg braces at the time I would not be the crippled, twisted mess that I am today. :bawl:
 
#34
Hoover said:
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.
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A big +1.

That's my only issue with it. Why should I have send my money to pay for your life support system?

Cycling is huge here in Switzerland. More and more riders are wearing helmets. If people can't see the benefits of wearing a helmet, they SHOULDN'T be allowed to wear one. You know...Darwin Awards and such.
 
#36
Fassa Albrecht said:
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?
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I think most laws made in the past 50 years are made so lawyers have something to do. Mandentory helmet laws are intrusive, whether it be a bicycle or motor bike. Are they going to demand helmets for toddlers on trikes next? (I wouldn't be suprised if they have).
 
#37
i_got_a_mohawk said:
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?

:hiding:
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I'll rephrase:

When I first got into cycling, I was big on mountain biking and the only reason I wore one was because my club mandated that I had to for insurance reasons.

Maybe I should have said "In all my time as a commuting and leisure cyclist I've never worn one."

See, is that better?
 
#38
I'm always on my bikes (I got as many bikes as I got basses=5 )
Never had a car in my life , in fact I'm 43 and never had my licence.

I always wear my hemet , always.

Last week , I had to go buy something , in a store 2 blocks from home , was very hot , I decided not to put my helmet, something I never do.
Well on way home from this store , I had my first "car opened door in my face" of my life. Luckily , only the shoulder was hurt , but I felt very bad knowing what could have happened.........never again.

You guys who are against helmets ; what do you think about safety belts in cars?
 
#40
hbarcat said:
Or better yet, ban all two wheeled vehicles (three wheeled vehicles are already banned because they're inherently dangerous) and make full nine point roll cages, five point safety harnesses, helmets, Head And Neck Support systems, flame suits and anything else we can think of mandatory in all personal vehicles.

You can't be too safe and you can't put a price on a human life.
Click to expand...

Sure you can, I'll give you a dollar two-ninty-eight.:smug:
 

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