[RC-DC]

@Mark Blacknell 3544 wrote:

Do you wear a helmet when you get in your car? If not, why not? It would be safer if you did, no? A helmet is not the end-all be-all of safe cycling. It’s annoying to see the presence of a helmet substituted for an informed judgment of circumstances.

No, but I do wear a seatbelt and my car has airbags. Would you drive around on today’s roads in a Model T? Good luck against that Ford Expedition.

Thanks everyone for the informed responses. More cyclists seems like it will equate to better safety for everyone (more bikes on the road will force cars to drive safer around them). I do wear a helmet whenever I bike, as well as a day-glow vest and gloves. I stop at lights and stop signs (which I think actually confuses many drivers as they’re used to cyclists not stopping). I think it’s a correct that non-CaBi cyclists are equally less likely to wear helmets. My thought on that as CaBi is greatly increasing the number of visible cyclists (greatly lowering the barriers to using a bike), and they don’t wear helmets, new cyclists will see that as the norm and it’s OK to not wear a helmet. I like the suggestion to educate when the opportunity arises. In the end, my head, my risk is the best approach. I came within three feet of getting hit by a car that ran a stop sign this morning on the Hill. So I’m going to keep wearing my helmet, and coach others to whenever the opportunity arises. Leading by example is good advice.

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