View Poll Results: Do you wear a helmet when riding a bicycle? |
Always.
|    | 87 | 61.70% |
Never.
|    | 31 | 21.99% |
Only offroad.
|    | 6 | 4.26% |
Only onroad.
|    | 5 | 3.55% |
Sometimes.
|    | 12 | 8.51% |  | | | 
12.05.2011, 17:45
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| | Bicycle helmets- yes or no?
Do you wear one or not? Will try to figure out how to make a poll...
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12.05.2011, 17:51
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| | Re: Bicycle helmets- yes or no? | Quote: | |  | | | Well, I DID say I and probably most other dutch people belong in the "Idiot" category, but I would be seriously interested in seeing a study where they compare the number of head injuries and/or fatalities in NL with that in other countries where more people wear helmets.
There are a lot of things that are part of being safe on a bike, the helmet is imho not the biggest part of it. Looking around you, following the traffic rules, and yes, having good control over your bike, making sure it is in good working order (brakes!) are also very important factors. | | | | | All extremely good points. But nothing 'against' wearing a helmet. A mistake in one of the situations you mentioned could result in an accident where a helmet might save your life.
Looking around, following traffic, controlling your bike, and bike maintenance could all be at absolute perfection, but a freak accident can still occur, and a helmet might still save your life again.
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12.05.2011, 18:00
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| | Re: Bicycle helmets- yes or no? | Quote: | |  | | | All extremely good points. But nothing 'against' wearing a helmet. A mistake in one of the situations you mentioned could result in an accident where a helmet might save your life.
Looking around, following traffic, controlling your bike, and bike maintenance could all be at absolute perfection, but a freak accident can still occur, and a helmet might still save your life again. | | | | | and wearing a helmet may cause you to be involved in a fatal accident which might have been avoided with you not wearing a helmet. hard to know where the boundary lies, but i would prefer not to wear one.
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12.05.2011, 18:12
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| | Re: Bicycle helmets- yes or no? | Quote: | |  | | | and wearing a helmet may cause you to be involved in a fatal accident which might have been avoided with you not wearing a helmet. hard to know where the boundary lies, but i would prefer not to wear one. | | | | | I can't speak for bicycle helmets, but that kind of thing is often spouted about motorcycle helmets, and there it's complete nonsense. The stats are pretty clear - for the occasional situation where a helmet would get you killed, there's a whole lot more where not wearing one would get you killed.
I guess it's probably similar for bikes. That said, I don't wear a helmet when I'm under manual power. | The following 3 users would like to thank Corbets for this useful post: | | 
12.05.2011, 18:20
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| | | Quote: | |  | | | and wearing a helmet may cause you to be involved in a fatal accident which might have been avoided with you not wearing a helmet. | | | | | I agree this is nonsense. There has been a study that suggested drivers were less careful around cyclists not wearing a helmet but accidents do not have to involve other traffic. I have taken a tumble from my bike after hitting a pothole and hit my head hard, my husband has done the same (even cracked the helmet) after a pedestrian stepped out in front of him, friends have had falls due to wet roads, going too fast, etc. Choose not to wear a helmet if you want, but there really is no good reason to not wear one.
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12.05.2011, 18:25
| | Re: Bicycle helmets- yes or no?
I cycle occasionally. I go about 10mph along the lake. I don't wear a helmet.
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12.05.2011, 18:26
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| | Re: Bicycle helmets- yes or no?
I've seen two incidents first hand in the last 10 months where a helmet very likely saved the wearers life... or at the very minimum prevented some very serious head injuries. Even with the helmet both people had minor head injuries and were kept in hospital for observation. Without... I would not want to have to find out.
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12.05.2011, 18:29
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| | Re: Bicycle helmets- yes or no? | Quote: | |  | | | and wearing a helmet may cause you to be involved in a fatal accident which might have been avoided with you not wearing a helmet. hard to know where the boundary lies, but i would prefer not to wear one. | | | | |
I question the frequency or even existance this situation if you have a proper helmet properly fitted for youself and riding style.
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12.05.2011, 18:41
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| | Re: Bicycle helmets- yes or no?
I also doubt that WEARING the helmet can cause an accident...
When I bike on my normal day-to-tday bike I do not wear one, on my racing bike, where I go a lot faster and am also in a very different cycling position I do wear one.
I think it is a matter of the chance that something happens versus the result IF it does happen. I have more chance of falling down the stairs at home and land on my head than I do to get into a cycling accident which would cause me serious head injuries that a helmet could help prevent. Yet, at home I do not wear a helmet...
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12.05.2011, 18:43
| | Re: Bicycle helmets- yes or no? | Quote: | |  | | | I've seen two incidents first hand in the last 10 months where a helmet very likely saved the wearers life... or at the very minimum prevented some very serious head injuries. Even with the helmet both people had minor head injuries and were kept in hospital for observation. Without... I would not want to have to find out. | | | | | Yeah I reckon not wearing a helmet is like smoking. It's sort of cool (?), provably dangerous, the perpetrators are usually well informed of the risks but do it anyway because they don't truly believe.
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12.05.2011, 18:49
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| | Re: Bicycle helmets- yes or no? | Quote: | |  | | | Yeah I reckon not wearing a helmet is like smoking. It's sort of cool (?), provably dangerous, the perpetrators are usually well informed of the risks but do it anyway because they don't truly believe. | | | | |
I think this sums it up very well unfortunately. As long as the smokers don't start trying to convince us that smoking cigarettes is better for your health, and if you don't smoke you are increasing your chances of dying.
As for the cool factor....I don't know, at least in north america there's no cool benefit to riding a bike, helmet or not.
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12.05.2011, 18:49
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| | Re: Bicycle helmets- yes or no?
Having always had to wear one on my motorised 2-wheeler, it's a bit of non-brainer for me - why would anyone not wear one - cost, image, machismo .... ?
If I quickly pop out to pick something up in the village, then I may "forget", but all the other times, without doubt.
It's not just that it might save your life - which it could - it's that it might save a bit of discomfort and hassle in everyday situations, involving simple falls and slides - and the occasional over the handlebars.
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12.05.2011, 18:52
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| | Re: Bicycle helmets- yes or no?
maybe you should wear a blonde wig too: http://www.cosmosmagazine.com/news/6...lmets-cyclists | Quote: |  | | | Across the board, drivers passed an average of 8.5 cm closer when he was wearing the helmet than when he was riding without a helmet.
"This study shows that when drivers overtake a cyclist, the margin for error they leave is affected by the cyclist's appearance," said Walker. "By leaving the cyclist less room, drivers reduce the safety margin that cyclists need to deal with obstacles in the road, such as drain covers and potholes, as well as the margin for error in their own judgements." | | | | | | Quote: |  | | | Walker - who was struck by a bus and a truck in the course of the experiment - cycled around Salisbury and Bristol in England, and spent half the time wearing a cycle helmet and half the time without. He was wearing the helmet both times he was struck. | | | | | | Quote: |  | | | To test another theory, Walker donned a long-haired wig to see whether there was any difference in passing distance when drivers thought they were overtaking what appeared to be a female cyclist. Whilst wearing the wig, drivers gave him an average of 14 cm more space when passing. | | | | | | This user would like to thank Phil_MCR for this useful post: | | 
12.05.2011, 18:58
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| | Re: Bicycle helmets- yes or no? | Quote: | |  | | | I also doubt that WEARING the helmet can cause an accident... | | | | | i added a link to a research based on 2500 overtaking cars showing that drivers leave less space for cyclists wearing a helmet. | Quote: | |  | | | I question the frequency or even existance this situation if you have a proper helmet properly fitted for youself and riding style. | | | | | you might be considering the case only where you have the accident and forgetting the impact of wearing a helmet on the chance of you having an accident in the first place.
see above for one study of the impact on drivers.
i'm sure there are also other factors which cause people to cycle faster/more dangerously due to the perceived safety of wearing a helmet.
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12.05.2011, 18:59
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| | Re: Bicycle helmets- yes or no?
Interesting study--but it has more to do with psychology and perception rather than safty.
He still supports wearing helmets though.
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12.05.2011, 19:09
| | Re: Bicycle helmets- yes or no? | Quote: | |  | | | i added a link to a research based on 2500 overtaking cars showing that drivers leave less space for cyclists wearing a helmet.
| | | | | Then this is clearly the solution. | The following 5 users would like to thank for this useful post: | | 
12.05.2011, 19:22
| | Re: Bicycle helmets- yes or no?
The headgear of choice in Zurich when cycling around town seems to be a woolly beret instead of a helmet. If they are trying to look cool and not wear a helmet that must count as a monumental fail...
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12.05.2011, 19:41
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| | Re: Bicycle helmets- yes or no? Done to death already. Substitute bicycle for ski/snowboard.
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12.05.2011, 21:37
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| | Re: Bicycle helmets- yes or no?
My cranium was spared a good crack on several occassions - due to other people's driving - thanks to a helmet. If you're born to drown you won't split your head on a kerbside, but you could end up paralysed, which would piss off your auld Ma.
"Don't put your finger in the fire!" is advice we've all ignored at our cost.
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12.05.2011, 21:41
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| | Re: Bicycle helmets- yes or no?
Never.
But, on the other hand, I always wear a motorcycle helmet, even though I grew up in a state (CT) where I didn't have to (but always did, except when riding a moped).
Tom
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