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Mandatory bicycle helmets?

#41
kanonfodr said:
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
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I wouldn't ride without a helmet.....until some lawyer told me I had to. But I also know I fall down a lot:) But I think it should be a choice. Same with boating, If I decide not to wear a life jacket whilst shooting the rapids, jumping in the deep end tooling down the river, its my choice. If I had on a life jacket, and fell in the river, and decided to take off the life jacket to better swim to land, would they give me a ticket for not wearing a life jacket? I don't think so. But if I ride in the boat, don't wear a life jacket they give me a ticket? Like I said, laws are made anymore to justify the expense of getting a law degree.
 
#42
I love motorbokes but I don't ride one because using a helmet would kill half of what I find enjoyable of a motorbike, feel the wind and the space. I ride a bicycle every day roughly for the same reasons, If there were a law forcing me to use a helmet, no problem, I'll jump in my car a add another bit of jam to an already congested city. I wouldn't mind compulsory insurance for bikers, but to have a self righteous a** cry about their tax dollars, be thankful a lot of us bikers are not chosing car driving, because your tax dollars would be use to solve that problem.
 
#44
Fassa Albrecht said:
One thing I've noticed whilst watching old cycle races is the lack of helmets, even during sprints and the like. Guess what? Few people were ever injured.
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Got the stats to prove there weren't any injuries? Surely you're not desperate enough for attention that you're going to try to establish that there's a link to helmets and more injuries.

While we're at it, pics of your bike or this argument is just another imaginary argument.
 
#45
spade2you said:
Got the stats to prove there weren't any injuries? Surely you're not desperate enough for attention that you're going to try to establish that there's a link to helmets and more injuries.

While we're at it, pics of your bike or this argument is just another imaginary argument.
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I'm certain that I can find stats for you...


Bike pics when I find my camera...it's somewhere in my storage locker.
 
#46
Absolutely. If someone doesn't want to wear a helmet, great. It thins the herd.

A mandatory helmet law doesn't protect ONLY the helmet wearer. It protects me (the taxpayer & purchaser of health insurance), the insurance companies, dependents, saves money on medical treatment / services (the best treatment is the one that isn't needed), and exposing EMS personnel to road hazards while collecting the obstinate cyclist from the road.

ian
 
#47
Fassa Albrecht said:
One thing I've noticed whilst watching old cycle races is the lack of helmets, even during sprints and the like. Guess what? Few people were ever injured.
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You may be making the mistake of not realizing that injuries went up because people were just getting injured in situations where they would have previously died. Got any statistics? If so I'd like to see them, and make sure you include the number of fatalities as well as injuries.
 
#49
Perhaps this thread has determined that some heads are worth more than others. I think Fassa's desire to not wear a helmet is consistent with this idea. Her head does not warrant a helmet. I think we have the threads and posts to determine an accurate worth of her head, and from what I've seen, putting a helmet on Fassa's head is the equivalent to putting a 20 thousand dollar stereo system into the blacklit marvel of fail that is KeithBMI's unce unce failtruck. So I say ride on Fassa, ride on. Remember, traffic signals are optional.
 
#50
doctorjazz said:
You may be making the mistake of not realizing that injuries went up because people were just getting injured in situations where they would have previously died. Got any statistics? If so I'd like to see them, and make sure you include the number of fatalities as well as injuries.
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I think we'd quickly find that there were no statistics and records were pretty sparse back then, but I'm sure she'll be able to make something up. :p
 
#51
Enough laws. This is more common sense than anything. Although I saw and experienced many bike crashes and so forth, Never wore a helmet and never had a head injury, and all the kids I knew who HAD head injuries, got back on the bike without a helmet and were fine. doc visit or no doc visit.

We can only be babied for so long and I think too many safety laws on the books turn us into wimps. Who bust's arse anymore except migrant workers and mechanics?
 
#52
MakiSupaStar said:
Perhaps this thread has determined that some heads are worth more than others. I think Fassa's desire to not wear a helmet is consistent with this idea. Her head does not warrant a helmet. I think we have the threads and posts to determine an accurate worth of her head, and from what I've seen, putting a helmet on Fassa's head is the equivalent to putting a 20 thousand dollar stereo system into the blacklit marvel of fail that is KeithBMI's unce unce failtruck. So I say ride on Fassa, ride on. Remember, traffic signals are optional.
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Come on, be nice! :mad:

Back to the point, most COMMUTING cyclists here don't wear helmets, so I'd only be one of a majority.

If I choose to enter sporting biking, then the chances are I'd be made to wear one.

Plus, I've taken bangs to the head before. It's all part of the risk I take when I ride.
 
#55
Fassa Albrecht said:
Come on, be nice! :mad:

Back to the point, most COMMUTING cyclists here don't wear helmets, so I'd only be one of a majority.

If I choose to enter sporting biking, then the chances are I'd be made to wear one.

Plus, I've taken bangs to the head before. It's all part of the risk I take when I ride.
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Being part of the majority doesn't mean you're right.

P.S. If you're a commuting cyclist you should wear a helmet. Cuz you know, there's cars and stuff.
 
#59
what will be next, pedestrians using helmets? they get cracked skulls as well, I know I know.. a bit too far fetched, but I would have said that about cycle helmets five years ago, don't wanna go that road, everything seems so regulated and constricted nowadays that the thought of how it is going to be for my daughter in some years time scares me.
Helmets are good, no doubt, preachy £$%*(&^%$%^&s aren't and a preachy nanny state won't do in my books, I don't really give a flying one about someone tax dollars, there is much more at stake than simply some skulls (that can be cracked in so many situations that I can't be bothered listing).
 

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