Is there any reason you wouldn't wear a helmet?

[Dave W]

Having witnessed my mate going down the road like a rag doll on his face at the weekend the paramedics and fellow cyclists all came to the conclusion of 'thank god he was wearing a helmet'. I can see no reason not to wear one so why wouldn't you?

[Bez]

http://beyondthekerb.org.uk/2014/01/06/the-brick-wall/

[Norman H]

http://forum.cyclinguk.org/viewforum.php?f=41

[NATURAL ANKLING]

Hi,
There are stats which say helmets increase accidents by the driver thinking you are experienced.........so why slow............IIRC

Stats can be fiddled to look anyway you like.

I Don't Walk with / Next to/ etc etc. traffic......................

Mostly over the moors.

But plus for helmets with a peak are that flies miss your face with deflection, sun visor too, weather protection even with cutouts.

The thought of headache from wearing one is that we go really fast all the time.....not.............

So why the- I am an individual who will make my own decisions pig head attitude...................plenty of them.

I fell yesterday and have a bruised hand and cut leg, in the kitchen building a wheel
Apart from thorns I cant remember the last cut on a bike.

[jezer]

Personally, I always wear a helmet, although I wouldn't wish to see them made compulsory. Experience in other countries suggests it deters many casual riders from cycling. I've hit my head on the tarmac on two occasions, and in neither did I realise until we reached the cafe and the damage to my helmet was obvious. I appreciate it would make no difference if I had been hit by a motor vehicle, but in the normal touch of wheels scenario I think it makes sense.

[Steady rider]

http://www.ta.org.br/site/Banco/7manuai ... helmet.pdf

It is one report that tries to compare possible impacts, helmeted v non-helmeted.
Other reports detail a higher accident rate, reported as 14% for helmeted.

Some riders may take more risks and have more accidents due to thinking that they are better protected.

The data from New Zealand is interesting.http://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Bus ... ubmissions submission 411, page 21

H) Increased risk of injury per cyclist since helmet laws were introduced
Several analyses have compared numbers of injuries with the numbers of cyclists. They all suggest that injuries
per cyclist have increased from what would have been expected without helmet laws.
In New Zealand, from 1989 to 2011, average time spent cycling (on roads and footpaths) fell by 79% for children
aged 5-12 (from 28 to 6 minutes per person per week) and 81% for 13-17 year olds (52 to 10 mins/person/week).
Adult cycling declined from 8 to 5 minutes/person/week then trended back up to 8 minutes. Graphs of cycle use
over time provide strong evidence that the requirement to wear a helmet discouraged cycling.12
The reductions in cycling were accompanied by increased injury rates. Between 1989 and 2012, fatal or serious
injuries per million hours of cycling increased by 86% for children (from 49 to 91), 181% for teenagers (from 18 to
51) and 64% for adults (from 23 to 38).12

[Dave W]

Having witnessed my mate shoot down the tarmac unconscious at the weekend the conclusion from the paramedics and cycling group was 'thank god he had a helmet on'
Is there any reason why you wouldn't wear one

[700c]

My cousin is paralysed from the neck down because he had a helmet on.
Had he not been wearing a helmet the injuries *might* have been less severe.

[Dave W]

Sorry to hear that. I've not heard of a helmet causing injury before.

[Mick F]

Is there any reason why you wouldn't wear one

Because I'm completely and utterly bald.
Not one single hair.
Plastic hats are very uncomfortable.

It was ok when I was like this ............ and I was ok when I was like this.

Hair!.jpg (27.28 KiB) Viewed 1562 times

No Hair!.jpg (45.9 KiB) Viewed 1562 times

But not like this.

Bald.jpg (18.73 KiB) Viewed 1562 times

[Dave W]

Fair enough

[eileithyia]

There is an area dedicated to helmets and suggest this is moved to that area.... where you will see helmets have been extensively discussed. Do we really need another pro / con helmet discussion?

[Dave W]

Why? is it a touchy subject or something. Madness

[Tiberius]

Because I'm completely and utterly bald.

Same here !!!!!!

I would be wearing something on my head anyway.....so it might as well be a helmet.....

I think I look rather dashing......a bit like that Chris Froome bloke......(when he's 60..... ).....

[drossall]

Having witnessed my mate going down the road like a rag doll on his face at the weekend the paramedics and fellow cyclists all came to the conclusion of 'thank god he was wearing a helmet'. I can see no reason not to wear one so why wouldn't you?

What, a full-face helmet? Otherwise, why would it have protected him? Helmet debates are full of non-sequiturs such as this.

I fell off and did get a head injury (needed stitches) when not wearing a helmet, a couple of years back. It was below the helmet line but above the face. My wife looked at it and said I'd probably have twisted my neck quite badly, had I been wearing one. She has a point. Cycling is pretty safe overall, but neck injuries do happen.