Wearing helmets while cycling?

DemocAnarchis

Didn't post this in the cycling forum as I was looking for a more general opinion. Do ye wear helmets when you're riding a bike? I'm the only person out of my group of friends who wears one, and its pretty rare I see someone who isn't on some serious racing bike wearing one. Always was forced to wear one growing up and still feel uncomfortable on a bike without one.

TheZohanS

DemocAnarchis wrote: »

Do ye wear helmets when you're riding a bike?

Normally just use a condom.

Sharpshooter

TheZohan wrote: »

Normally just use a condom.

Sad admission man, and I'm not talking about the condom.

ShooterSF

I did wear a helmet when I cycled but I saved up enough to buy a car and got rid of the bike!

jumpguy

Yeah I always wear it. Mostly when I cycle I'm going somewhere far and perilous so wearing not wearing a helmet is just as risky as not wearing a seatbelt. A friend of mine fell off his bike and his helmet actually fractured from the impact but he was alright, but it could've been his skull. SO kids, put on your helmet.

Pride Fighter

I do sometimes. I have not used it in a while. I will in the winter when the ground stays wetter for longer.

Borneo Fnctn

Gots ta have your brain bucket on.

fryup

its dorky, i hate wearing them and seldom do

Rabies

Haven't been on a bike in years. But never did.

Hmmm.. Prob 15 years since I last got on a saddle.

s. lacker

Never wore a helmet while cycling. Fell of my bike a couple of times around dublin, lost 4 of my front teeth the last time, should really wear a gum guard aswell as a helmet!

Zebra3

Always.

Any parent that lets their kid on a bike without one should be jailed.

jokerrus

We dont really know what helmets are . I swear. They all do it in Galway

Poor Uncle Tom

If you don't want to wear your helmet while cycling, reel it in, ffs.

Run_to_da_hills

Some cycle helmets just look retarded.

General Zod

Absolutely, every time. I cycle through dublin city Center every day and the amount of bad drivers I see is scary.

There's bad cyclists too, to be fair, but with cyclists it's more of a rules of the road thing, with drivers it's far more to do with ineptitude.

Mimikyu

This post has been deleted.

Cycle to work most days but dont even have a helmet and dont want to buy one either.

My parents made a half hearted attempt to make me wear one when I was a child but I refused so they gave up!

Kipperhell

I wear a helmet when doing a long cycle or during rush hour. Short trips to the shop I never bother.

Many drivers hate cyclist and I am still amazed at how many drivers will actually drive close to a cyclist to intimidate them. I had a driver bump my back wheel on purpose as I wasn't quick enough off at the red light. He wouldn't have done that to a car!

angel01

I don't have a bike now but I think anyone that doesn't wear a helmet out cycling is asking for trouble. Do people have a death wish or something? :eek:

Wibbs

When I cycled as a hobby back in the day I never wore one. The racing stars back then didn't unless forced to, so I suppose it wasn't fashionable. Fell off plenty of times too, but never hit my head. Lucky I suppose. Traffic was much lighter though.

anamaria

I always wear a helmet, I know of someone who suffered serious brain injury that could have been prevented if they had been wearing a helmet.

I can't understand people who say they won't wear one because it 'looks' stupid. The fact that the way you look can prevent some people doing something that can potentially save their lives and prevent serious head injuries baffles me!

seamus

Zebra3 wrote: »

Always.

Any parent that lets their kid on a bike without one should be jailed.

Actually studies have shown that children are more likely to be injured on their bike/scooter/skateboard if you pad them up and send them off.

Children have a far less developed sense of danger than adults and so the simple addition of something such as a helmet makes them more likely to do really stupid things because they believe the helmet provides absolute protection, when in reality all it does is prevent an unlucky accident from being a fatal one. Either way, you're still going to be hurt.

Any of us who grew up before 1990 will remember doing everything without helmets or protective padding. How many kids do you remember being killed or permanently disabled because they weren't wearing protection? Very few, if any (I don't know of any). So why the hysteria now? The odds of a serious accident are ridiculously low and always have been.

Cookie_Monster

jumpguy wrote: »

A friend of mine fell off his bike and his helmet actually fractured from the impact but he was alright, but it could've been his skull.

Actually... wow... so it did exactly what it was supposed to do...amazing
:rolleyes:

angel01 wrote:

I don't have a bike now but I think anyone that doesn't wear a helmet out cycling is asking for trouble. Do people have a death wish or something?

Check cycling forum, you'll find a lot of serious cyclists don't wear a helmet for various reasons.

I never bother, cycle to work every day.

Canis Lupus

angel01 wrote: »

I don't have a bike now but I think anyone that doesn't wear a helmet out cycling is asking for trouble. Do people have a death wish or something? :eek:

I don't think so. I'm more worried about you pedestrians. A bunch of sheeple walked out in front of me this morning when I had the green light.

I could have injured their brains if I had crashed into them with my bike. In fact as I wasn't wearing a helmet it could have been brain injuries all round.

Cookie_Monster

Zebra3 wrote: »

Always.

Any parent that lets their kid on a bike without one should be jailed.

Yeah cos thats not over reactionary at all. Sure why even let them on a bike in the first place, thats dangerous after all. Make them wear a dayglow jacket and kneepads too

Wibbs

seamus wrote: »

Actually studies have shown that children are more likely to be injured on their bike/scooter/skateboard if you pad them up and send them off.

Yep and I suspect that translates to adults too. I would even say this safety nazi stuff can go too far in other areas too. You see it with cars. People put so much confidence in airbags and ABS and crumple zones etc and yes they're a bloody great idea, but I do feel they give people a false sense of security and they can end up driving accordingly. Jeremy Clarkson made a joke years back about lowering road deaths by putting a dirty great spike in the centre of the steering wheel. He had a point I reckon.

The other thing is that a helluva lot of people would avoid serious injury if they wore a full face crash helmet in a car, yet we don't. Why not?

seamus

Wibbs wrote: »

Yep and I suspect that translates to adults too.

Actually the study originally looked at adults and found that not only did adults on the bikes take more risks, but vehicles gave the helmeted cyclist less room and took more risks *around* the helmeted cyclist.

The other thing is that a helluva lot of people would avoid serious injury if they wore a full face crash helmet in a car, yet we don't. Why not?

Visibilty trade-off I reckon. The combination of steel shell + helmet would mean that car drivers would be barely capable of seeing anything past their immediate vicinity.

Snowie

when I where a helmet snowboarding, I'm more clumsy go figure.

Wibbs

seamus wrote: »

Visibilty trade-off I reckon. The combination of steel shell + helmet would mean that car drivers would be barely capable of seeing anything past their immediate vicinity.

True. Then again given some drivers out there....:D

Another thing; some of the most safety conscious cyclists I know consistently wear ipods and the like, so they can hear diddly squat which would impact safety too.

Long Onion

I don't really cycle anymore (not that I don't want to but I just hate the Green's that much - no, I really do!) but never did wear a helmet when I did.

It's down to the fact that the look so silly, kids hate wearing them because they get the p1ss pulled out of them, if you grow up realisisng this, the chances of you wearing one in later life diminish rapidly.

The only cool ones are the ones they wear in the pursuit cycling - they look like the head of Alien - bring in those.

joey54

A bit of me thinks they should be made compulsory for cyclists but then another bit of me says you can't force adults to wear them.

I don't understand it when I see kids out on their bikes without helmets.

Kipperhell

Long Onion wrote: »

It's down to the fact that the look so silly, kids hate wearing them because they get the p1ss pulled out of them, if you grow up realisisng this, the chances of you wearing one in later life diminish rapidly.

I would think most people would grow up and realise it is safety issue and comprehend looking cool is not as important as being alive. :rolleyes:

I didn't wear a helmet when I was a child but do now as it is common sense.

Canis Lupus

Kipperhell wrote: »

but do now as it is common sense.

Sigh....

Kipperhell

joey54 wrote: »

A bit of me thinks they should be made compulsory for cyclists but then another bit of me says you can't force adults to wear them.

There are a few reasons not to make them compulsory

1) It will discourage people from cycling
2) Highly unlikely it would be enforceable as you say.

More cyclists is better for everybody than less as it relieves pressure on infrastructure and promotes exercise.

BraziliaNZ

i've been commuting in Dublin and abroad by bike for 5 or 6 years now and never wear a helmet, although i had to wear one for a spell in New Zealand because the garda kept stopping me and issuing me fines. I don't wear them because I feel safe enough without one and have never come close to an accident, and also you look like a retard .

Capt'n Midnight

Wibbsf wrote:

Jeremy Clarkson made a joke years back about lowering road deaths by putting a dirty great spike in the centre of the steering wheel. He had a point I reckon.

The other thing is that a helluva lot of people would avoid serious injury if they wore a full face crash helmet in a car, yet we don't. Why not?

IIRC 17% of fatalities would be avoided in car crashes if drivers wore helmets

in the UK only 40% of road deaths were drivers, increasing the percieved risk to drivers should reduce the real risk to the majority of road uses. Lets keep passenger air bags and belts , and ban airbags and belts for drivers (or maybe those with driving points ? ) or maybe out of cost consideration require that those who are banned from driving get a "do not recusitate" tattoo - more to constantly remind them


peadestrains would benefit as much from helmets as cyclists



People, especially motorists, planners and politicans need to realise that cycling helmets are just designed to protect the cyclist from falling off the bike at cycling speeds and are far too weak to handle impacts at the speeds of typical motorist speed.

Getting motorists to obey the 50kmph limits would probably do more than wearing a helmet. Forcing cyclists to wear helmets is akin to blaming the victim , it's like saying that collison mitigation is more important than collision prevention

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bicycle_helmet

As noted earlier, collision energy varies with the square of impact speed. A typical helmet is designed to absorb the energy of a head falling from a bicycle, hence an impact speed of around 12 mph or 20 km/h. This will only reduce the energy of a 30 mph or 50 km/h impact to the equivalent of 27.5 mph or 45 km/h, and even this will be compromised if the helmet fails.

also
http://home.connect.ie/dcc/docs/helmets.html


If only they made helmets that looked like blonde wigs


Proven benefits of helmets
- some can keep you drier in the rain
- leave it on and you can use it as a pillow

Cookie_Monster

If you go to any country on the continent with proper cycling infastructure and usage: Holland, Belgium, Germany etc.

No one wears a helmet cos they don't live in safety obsessed nanny states. they just get on with it like normal people.

toiletduck

Nope, never have worn one although I don't cycle a tenth of what I used to a few years ago.

General Zod

I wear it not because of my stupidity, but any practical protection I can take against he stupidity of others, I take.

Mandatory helmet laws reduce cycling, but for the stupidest of reasons. Peopole view wearing a helmet as inconvenient or unfashionable. cycling a bike shouldn't be about fashion, but practicality. Get people riding safely and regularly through better education and promotion.

Wearing a helmet can help reduce cranial injuries in 85% of cases, if we educate children (and adults) on safer cycling we can reduce the amount of fatalities and increase public health by encouraging people to cycle.

Zebra3

Cookie_Monster wrote: »

If you go to any country on the continent with proper cycling infastructure and usage: Holland, Belgium, Germany etc.

No one wears a helmet cos they don't live in safety obsessed nanny states. they just get on with it like normal people.

Maybe it's because interaction with HGVs is minimal. :rolleyes:

Quint

jumpguy wrote: »

A friend of mine fell off his bike and his helmet actually fractured from the impact but he was alright, but it could've been his skull. SO kids, put on your helmet.

The helmet made him fall! See? They're dangerous

Wibbs wrote: »

The other thing is that a helluva lot of people would avoid serious injury if they wore a full face crash helmet in a car, yet we don't. Why not?

Good point. Even an open face piss pot helmet

Kipperhell wrote: »

I would think most people would grow up and realise it is safety issue and comprehend looking cool is not as important as being alive. :rolleyes:

I didn't wear a helmet when I was a child but do now as it is common sense.

I'd rather look cool. Seriously, you look uncool enough cycling without wearing a helmet too.

Zebra3 wrote: »

Maybe it's because interaction with HGVs is minimal. :rolleyes:

Somehow I don't think a bicycle helmet is going to save you from a hgv

Dave!

I didn't when I was in school (last time I cycled regularly)

I'd definitely use one if I was cycling now

Cookie_Monster

Zebra3 wrote: »

Maybe it's because interaction with HGVs is minimal. :rolleyes:

HGV's banned from Dublin CC so minimal there aswell, what your point.

donvito99

Sometimes, unfortunately I look like that guy from Dukes of Hazzard with the armadillo helmet.

Corkfeen

I haven't worn one in years, i've had a few accidents but its never anything a helmet would have helped with at the time. I'm generally far more careful without one at this stage.

vangoz

Most helmet wearers i see on my daily commute to work, is your typical middle aged office worker... they are a serious danger to themselves and others, I honestly never seen one who can stay within the cycle lane, they are so prone to veering randomly out on the road, also most of them look like they have a pole up their ass while cycling.... bit of a rant i know, but just pointing out what i see as your helmet wearing demograph.

General Zod

Potholes, drains, pedestrians, badly parked cars, badly done roadworks, there's alot of reasons that make the cycle lanes hard to stick to at times.

Jumpy

Having just had a crash where the helmet lost chunks from it by being scraped across the road. I say wear one.
But the human race needs to evolve, natural selection is by far the fastest process.

Red_Marauder

I'm 23 and it was hammered into us to always wear a helmet when we were kids, so I still do. Somewhat paradoxically, the only time I remember not wearing a helmet on the bike was a few months ago when I was ridiculously drunk after a party.

Four-Percent

Long Onion wrote: »

It's down to the fact that the look so silly, kids hate wearing them because they get the p1ss pulled out of them, if you grow up realisisng this, the chances of you wearing one in later life diminish rapidly.

Once....



Twice....



Once again....



Won't someone think of the children?!

Saint Ruth

joey54 wrote: »

I don't understand it when I see kids out on their bikes without helmets.

Easy to understand.

I saw one kid wearing one and 3 other kids were roaring at him:
"Go on, safety boy!"

I hate them.
I don't wear one.
I don't wear shin guards, elbow pads, leather jacket, or bubble wrap either.
It's my choice.
If you want to wear one fine, but I can't stand people who want to enforce them on me by making the gov tell me that I must wear those things.