No it hasn't. There are been a very few pseudo-scientific small sample studies, but really you're missing the point. It's not just about cars. As a fairly experienced cyclist (both commuting, leisure, and racing) the majority of the accidents I have seen or know of or been involved in have not involved a car. if a cyclist wants to weigh up the risks and decide whether or not to wear a helmet (or a long sleeve shirt, long pants, or any other type of protective gear) depending on the weather/terrain/traffic/time of day/ etc, that's fine with me, even if I do think it's a bit inconsiderate. I just don't believe that there is a down side to wearing one, and don't understand why many non-wearers feel the need to convince themselves that there is.

Yes, I'd look just like I do now, except with a bicycle helmet on my head. In other words, that doesn't make sense, as I've never hit my head falling off my bike (you'll notice I was quoting). I've fallen off twice; once on a gravel track whilst having thin, slick tyres and got some gravel rash (fell into my hands - was going slow) and once when drunk and bruised my ribs and hit my chin.

I've also been hit by a fairly large truck when cycling. Probably in a situation fairly similar to those in the studies mentioned before. Apart from the driver having alcohol in his blood, my helmet definitely saved my life-judging by the state of the helmet after the accident, and the severe concussion I had after.

On the plus side, the concussion produced quite the amnesia, so I woke up a few days later with no recollection of any of it. So win-win.

Without the helmet the lorry driver might hve given you more room and missed you. Or that extra few cm in size might have stopped your head being clipped by the wing mirror of the lorry. Or you might be dead. Who knows. Probably the latter, but I use the former two to justify my stubbornness

Definitely fair enough, for sake of arguement.

But he did admit that he was dialing through radio stations, trying to get the baseball game, when he 'hit something'. He figured it was a deer and looked back to see what it was--ended up hitting my buddy 15 m ahead of me as well.

He was probably staring at your body on the road and thinking "why is his head made out of plastic?" and hence didn't look to see your friend

Never used to wear helmets while cycling but mainly due to the culture where people didn't generally wear helmets. Now I feel like a reformed man, no shame in wearing a helmet at all times wether I'm cycling at 20km/h or 40km/h. It doesn't harm to wear it, it doesn't bother me to wear it, I feel respected on the road wearing it, the helmet is of a bright colour (white) so I feel that I am more visible and if I'm ever involved in an accident and it stops my brain from getting mashed then all the better

How much do you value your head?

Can someone change the thread title to "Helmets - Yes or No"

Purely as I'd find it amusing in a childish way.

Thanks

Cat

I always wear a helmet when cycling, and having had an 'almost' nasty accident as a teenager when I went over the handlebars whilst going down a steep hill at speed and narrowly missing a concrete lampost with my head by an inch or two, always will. However it should be free choice and never compulsory.

That said, I never wear a helmet when skiing, as rightly or wrongly I don't perceive the risks to be as great.

I confess I don't wear a helmet when commuting because I want to look cute and not ruin my hair, which is dumb, I know. I always wear a helmet on my road bike.

In a similar vein, we avoided skiing helmets for years and now prefer them. They keep your head warmer and hold the ski glasses beautifully.

I wear a bicycle helmet when bicycling, a snowboard helmet when snowboarding, a skateboard helmet when skating, a rubber helmet for - the point I am trying to make is that I wear protection always.

I had a school friend would still be alive today if he had worn a helmet when riding his bicycle .
It does not matter how fast you are going (he was doing 5km/hour) it is how fast the car/truck that hits you which is important.

My life is too important to me to make such a gamble.

Wear one. No big deal and you get used to it after a bit.

I am not sure why we use the crutch of statistics to justify our behavioral attributes of right and wrong. Statistics do not cause accidents but believing in such statistics and ignoring basic safety rules for self can surely cause one.

A fall from a stationary position, whether on a bike or not, can result in brain injury if the head strikes a hard object on the ground, or on the way down.

Add in an initial velocity of 10 mph and you increase the negative g-forces (rapid deceleration) when your head hits the ground. Flopping into an armchair produces around -10 g. Hitting the ground from a height of 6 feet (1.8 m) with a forward velocity of 10 mph (16 km/h) results in a speed on impact of 26.7 km/h and, briefly, massive negative g-force. Would you want to hit a rock-hard surface head-first at that speed?

Unfortunately, the extent of brain damage does not correlate with the degree of fault for the fall. I fell off my bike when I was a teenager because one of the brake handles fell off my bike and lodged in the front wheel, bringing my bike to a sudden stop and catapulting me over the handlebars. I wasn't wearing a helmet. Extremely luckily for me, I fell onto grass (although I managed to embed a lot of dirt under the skin of my face). A few inches to the right and I doubt I'd be writing this today.

Yes, I wear a helmet on my bicycle, when I ski and on my motorbike. I've grown to like what's inside my skull, and I love my son.

Without my helmet on 3 weeks ago its quite likely i'd not be here writing this post. Helmet's are insurance for the unplanned and unexpected - no one ever plans to have a big accident with their head...

No helmet, no ride.

That is crazy that wearing a helmet will cause you to have an accident. If that is the case then the helmet is not the correct size.

Always wear a helmet....the 1st time i ever wore one i came of my bike and cracked it open...needless to say it was the greatest item ive eve brought!

Wearing a <a href="http://www.balancebikeand.com/helmet">helmet</a>, especially if the rider is younger is very important. They can easy damage their head and cause major problems in their growth and confidence. Thinking that wearing one will cause a problem is really the wrong way to go. It is more important to find the right size so there is not a visibility issue and then you are all set.

Scary, but this is actually true.

There have been studies done that show cyclists who wear helmets are more likely to be hit by motorists. In these medium to high speed collisions, bike helmets don't actually help at all.

OTOH, if you are riding on trails or empty streets, or in difficult conditions then it is recommended that all adults wear helmets. The reason for this is that adults are higher off of the ground and can get their bikes up to speeds that are dangerous if they fall or collide.

Interestingly enough, the last study that I looked at said that it didn't really matter if children wore helmets as they weren't that far off of the ground and didn't have that much speed to worry about. If we were that worried we would make our children wear helmets when they went running around as well. I think it is more about socializing them to the habits and comfort level of wearing a helmet than any actually protective value. (Dons nomex suit... )

Oh, and I do wear a helmet when I ski. Don't have a bike, but I would if I did then as well. (Although I didn't when I was younger... )

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