Helmet worked for me

[cycle tramp]

'm supporting Pete on this one.... its up to you to to decide whether or not to wear a helmet based on the risks and hazards that the journey presents...
...where I tend to draw the line is the almost subconscious thought that ' I wear a helmet therfore I am safe' which is a dangerous thought...
..being 'safe' or a degree thereof starts with basic bike control, understanding the hazards of the environment in which you ride, placing yourself to minimise such hazards, correctly predicting the future actions of those around you...and so on... wearing a helmet is a long way down the list, and if you're sharing a road with motor traffic

Thank you for clarification. I do not believe that I subscribe to 'I wear a helmet therefore I am safe'. While the helmet helped take the impact of my fall. It did not stop me from getting concussed, and it did not stop my body from getting bruised.

..Well, that's a good thing to read, and just for the record i sometimes wear a helmet, without subscripting to the 'I'm now safe' doctrine of thought...
..sadly not everyone has grasped this context..
..anecdotally I was walking through town not so very long ago , and there in the advanced stop space of a queue of traffic was a bike ride r with helmet... and earplugs, listening to some music... the lights changed, he hadn't stopped in the right gear... as he moved away he changed gear... there was a crunch and a little wobble from hi self, he lost forward momentum... lucky the car behind gave enough space for him to recover.. had the car been closer.. I might have been called as a witness..
As it was the bike rider was actually deaf to what may have happened...
Safety isn't about wearing helmets, it's about knowing and predicting what's going on around you.. its about having a bike which works and knowing how to use it... it is about keeping yourself from harm... simply popping on a polystyrene bowl on your head doesn't really cut it.

[Cugel]

Safety isn't about wearing helmets, it's about knowing and predicting what's going on around you.. its about having a bike which works and knowing how to use it... it is about keeping yourself from harm... simply popping on a polystyrene bowl on your head doesn't really cut it.

Just so.

Any potentially dangerous activity in a potentially dangerous environment needs the doer to be competent at the doing and at assessing the risks, including an understanding of the possible consequences of one realising. For many such activities, there seem to be a large percentage of the doers content to make various safety devices a proxy for this competence and understanding.

Not to say that safety devices are all useless. But their selection and use needs to be informed by that competence and understanding of the activity involved, including the scope and effects of the safety devices that may be used or rejected.

Many seem to think that riding a bike requires little skill or knowledge. In fact it requires just as much or more of both than does driving a car. Some seem to think not because the consequences of incompetence with a bike are generally not as severe as those consequences that are due to incompetence with a car. Yet being daft whilst cycling can kill & maim although happily such outcomes are extreme and not a norm.

Me, I prefer not to have even the slightest gravel rash, thenk yew! I'm a softlad, see?

Also, bike bits that are badly bashed & bent or in need of a respray can hurt the wallet. From this point of view, a helmet is just another large expense, especially if one must have what Pog wears at £300+ per scratch or ding event.