Article: "Safe Bicycling Is A Matter Of Bicycling, Not Clothing"

[Crickey7]

@rcannon100 144749 wrote:

I will avoid entering religious helmet debates

That was my original point. In giving a bunch of safety tips, avoid getting bogged down in a heated side argument. Personally, I view my helmet as part safety device, part talisman, and part GoPro mount. And I’m okay with that.

[lordofthemark]

@rcannon100 144749 wrote:

I will avoid entering religious helmet debates – but add one thing

Before I had a biking cap, I would walk into Synagogue with my helmet on, before grabbing a kippah (yarmulke for those who speak Yiddish but not Hebrew) – I think I was on shaky ground in regard to considering it proper head covering. Now that I usually wear a biking cap under my helmet, I no longer have to worry about that.

(and guess what, BikesnobNYC DOES call a helmet a “safety kippah” – the things one learns)

[Steve O]

FWIW, here’s my somewhat cognitively dissonant approach to helmets.

When I am working on behalf of WABA as an instructor, I tell people to wear helmets all the time they are riding, and I model this before, during and after classes.

When I ride a CaBi or my 3-speed, toodler bike in my street clothes, I choose not to wear my helmet. I know that if I were to crash and hit my head, a helmet would potentially protect me. However, I want the general population to see riding a bike as a normal, everyday activity–like walking. One should be able to walk out their front door, get on their bike and go somewhere without putting on special clothes or special equipment. That’s how it happens in a lot of European cities. I know we aren’t there yet, but I model that behavior with the hope that I will be a tiny influence in increasing the number of people on bikes, which makes us all safer. I suppose the way I consider it is that I am increasing my risk a minuscule amount for some unquantifiably small societal benefit. Challenging math on this one.

I always wear my helmet at night, because it has lights on it that help me see and be seen.

I generally wear my helmet when riding on my road/touring bike, because I go faster and a crash would entail more force. Logical? Maybe; maybe not. Also, if I’m wearing lycra, then my logic above about not wearing tends to dissipate and I’m more likely to wear it. If I commute on my road bike in street clothes, then I sometimes do or sometimes don’t based on what is happening in The Force or something, I’m not sure what.

I would never, ever discourage someone from wearing their helmet. I also would never, ever chastise someone for not wearing one. This is something I get from complete strangers. I wonder if these same complete strangers walk up to smokers and castigate them, too? What makes it socially acceptable to tell complete strangers to wear a helmet? Do these same strangers tell fat people to put down the ice cream cone?

---

AFAIK, the only fatality in the last 20 years that occurred on the Arlington trails was a woman walking. She cracked her head after turning suddenly and being struck by a 61-year old bicycle rider. A helmet would have almost certainly saved her life. Wearing a helmet while walking reduces one’s risk of a head injury by some tiny, tiny amount. Maybe by a similar amount as my wearing one on a CaBi. I don’t ever wear one when I walk.

[scorchedearth]

@lordofthemark 144751 wrote:

(and guess what, BikesnobNYC DOES call a helmet a “safety kippah” – the things one learns)

He does come from a Jewish background.

[dkel]

@Steve O 144756 wrote:

I would never, ever discourage someone from wearing their helmet. I also would never, ever chastise someone for not wearing one. This is something I get from complete strangers. I wonder if these same complete strangers walk up to smokers and castigate them, too? What makes it socially acceptable to tell complete strangers to wear a helmet? Do these same strangers tell fat people to put down the ice cream cone?

^^^This! It doesn’t make any sense what makes some things acceptable to comment to strangers on and not other things. I had a friend give me a hard time for not wearing a helmet; I had worn it on my bike ride, but left it on the bike and walked in without it, thus opening myself to criticism, apparently. That would almost have been easier to take from a stranger.

[chris_s]

As a somewhat relevant side observation, while I saw not a single person in Amsterdam wearing a helmet (including toddlers) almost every cyclist that I saw out on the long-distance trails on a speedy road bike WAS wearing a helmet. Clearly the Dutch have decided that context matters.

[mstone]

Yes, if I was racing I’d be a lot more concerned about going down than I am at low speeds in the neighborhood. People are nuts.

[consularrider]

@Steve O 144756 wrote:

FWIW, here’s my somewhat cognitively dissonant approach to helmets….
AFAIK, the only fatality in the last 20 years that occurred on the Arlington trails was a woman walking. She cracked her head after turning suddenly and being struck by a 61-year old bicycle rider. A helmet would have almost certainly saved her life. Wearing a helmet while walking reduces one’s risk of a head injury by some tiny, tiny amount. Maybe by a similar amount as my wearing one on a CaBi. I don’t ever wear one when I walk.

My totally unscientific study of cyclist caused pedestrian deaths is that they are 99% due to head injuries.

[Vicegrip]

@consularrider 144769 wrote:

My totally unscientific study of cyclist caused pedestrian deaths is that they are 99% due to head injuries.

So the key is to wear a helmet when other people are cycling?

[TwoWheelsDC]

As long as your behavior doesn’t directly put me or others at risk, I don’t give a s$&t what you do.

[OneEighth]

@TwoWheelsDC 144787 wrote:

As long as your behavior doesn’t directly put me or others at risk, I don’t give a s$&t what you do.

Second

[dbb]

@TwoWheelsDC 144787 wrote:

As long as your behavior doesn’t directly put me or others at personal or financial risk, I don’t give a s$&t what you do.

ftfy

I’m cool with eliminating the helmet requirement for motorcycles as long as the rider has a (really big) boatload of long term care insurance in case they suffer a traumatic head injury. Could be accompanied by a different color license plate.

[dplasters]

Saw my neighbor pushing their roughly 2-3 year old on the swing-set, with a helmet on.

[jrenaut]

@dplasters 144793 wrote:

Saw my neighbor pushing their roughly 2-3 year old on the swing-set, with a helmet on.

I’ve had a few times where we’ve biked to a playground and the kids don’t take their helmets off, and I figure people think I’m THAT parent.

[hozn]

I was educated by a friend for letting my kid wear his helmet on the playground. Strangulation hazard or something: http://www.bhsi.org/playgrou.htm

So that might be a good example of how helmets don’t always make you safer. Though I like Vicegrip’s g-force explanation for passenger vehicles best.

The whole debate is interesting. Sounds like @chris_s nailed it with the Amsterdam city cycling vs fast recreational cycling example. For 95% of the riding I do, I have seen enough crashes and broken helmets (and broken my own) to know that not wearing a helmet would be stupid. For the other 5% I wear one anyway to set a an example for the kids (or commiserate with the fact that they have to wear one by law).

[Author]

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