Do you wear a helmet?

For all discussions about this "lively" subject. All topics that are substantially about helmet usage will be moved here.

Do you wear a helmet?

Yes
36
31%
No
55
47%
Sometimes
27
23%
 
Total votes: 118

beardy
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Re: Do you wear a helmet?

Post by beardy »

I seem to recall that the place most recently in the public eye for low levels of vaccination was South Wales.

On the subject of conformity I pride myself on a fair degree of non-conformity but could I go about in public wearing a helmet for walking, I doubt it.
pwa
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Re: Do you wear a helmet?

Post by pwa »

Horizon

I still don't think your analysis applies to me. I had 2 cycling accidents as a child, both resulting in head injuries (concussion and superficial tissue damage) and my later choice (20 years on) to wear a helmet was guided by this direct personal experience. Helmets had just arrived in the shops and I saw them and thought about my own history of hitting my head on objects (kerbs, cars) and made a decision. No conforming.

As time has passed I have done my own risk analysis (ongoing) and as I find helmet wearing comfortable I continue to wear one for the limited protection it is likely to give me in certain circumstances. I do not overestimate the protection it will give, or the dangers it may protect against. I do not feel that my cycling is particularly risky with or without a helmet.

I know people will say why, if you wear a helmet for cycling, why do you not wear one for walking? But I base my "control measures" (to use the jargon) on personal experience, and so far I have never come close to getting a head injury from walking. Or from bathroom slips. Or from gardening. I think the best any of us can do is to look around us, think and make our own decisions based on how we see it. And keep an open mind.
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bovlomov
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Re: Do you wear a helmet?

Post by bovlomov »

pwa wrote:Bovlomov

If you want to live in a place where vaccination is less common I can come up with a long list for your consideration.

I repeat, this isn't really the place to discuss the details of the vaccination debate. I mentioned it only because of the nature of the discussion - a point that you are very well illustrating.

Didn't the Cochrane review say that the quality and transparency of much of the vaccine science left a lot to be desired? And is that not one good reason to question the orthodoxy? No, I don't want to live in Syria. I want to live in a country where people can air reasonable views and receive a reasonable hearing. What do you think?
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horizon
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Re: Do you wear a helmet?

Post by horizon »

pwa wrote:Horizon

I still don't think your analysis applies to me. I had 2 cycling accidents as a child, both resulting in head injuries (concussion and superficial tissue damage) and my later choice (20 years on) to wear a helmet was guided by this direct personal experience. Helmets had just arrived in the shops and I saw them and thought about my own history of hitting my head on objects (kerbs, cars) and made a decision. No conforming.



pwa: I'm very happy to accept that - my idea was only that, an idea. Of course, I might still argue that you based your decision on a reference point: how did you know that helmets would solve your problem (two accidents to date :shock:)? I may be splitting hairs here so I won't carry on, but hopefully you can see where I'm coming from.
When the pestilence strikes from the East, go far and breathe the cold air deeply. Ignore the sage, stay not indoors. Ho Ri Zon 12th Century Chinese philosopher
kwackers
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Re: Do you wear a helmet?

Post by kwackers »

horizon wrote:
pwa wrote:Horizon

I still don't think your analysis applies to me. I had 2 cycling accidents as a child, both resulting in head injuries (concussion and superficial tissue damage) and my later choice (20 years on) to wear a helmet was guided by this direct personal experience. Helmets had just arrived in the shops and I saw them and thought about my own history of hitting my head on objects (kerbs, cars) and made a decision. No conforming.



pwa: I'm very happy to accept that - my idea was only that, an idea. Of course, I might still argue that you based your decision on a reference point: how did you know that helmets would solve your problem (two accidents to date :shock:)? I may be splitting hairs here so I won't carry on, but hopefully you can see where I'm coming from.

I had a cycle accident and suffered concussion when I was about 8. I was out cold for about an hour.
Didn't wear an helmet but it would have done no good since I 'chinned' a barrier. Classic rotation injury, head whipped back, brain spins in skull, darkness ensues...
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mjr
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Re: Do you wear a helmet?

Post by mjr »

pwa wrote:Helmet wearing / not wearing only directly affects the wearer / non-wearer, not society as a whole.

Are you sure? The skewed zero-day-notice report to the Jersey government arguing for helmet compulsion (aka TRL PPR697) cited "the voluntary increases in cycle helmet wearing rates" as part of the reasons to make helmet-wearing compulsory. (It is a deeply flawed report in many ways, including quietly skipping over that inconvenient truth such compulsion can do little good because the annual KSI rate among riders subject to the new red tape was zero.)

In other words, recent experience suggests that voluntary helmet wearing will probably be used against people who ride bikes in ordinary clothes, so it seems anti-social at best, doesn't it?

(edited to fix fluffed link tags)
Last edited by mjr on 6 Mar 2015, 4:46pm, edited 1 time in total.
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landsurfer
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Re: Do you wear a helmet?

Post by landsurfer »

I've just read in " the comic " that you cannot enter a sportive unless you wear a helmet !
Is this true ?
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mjr
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Re: Do you wear a helmet?

Post by mjr »

landsurfer wrote:I've just read in " the comic " that you cannot enter a sportive unless you wear a helmet !
Is this true ?

Not exactly, but the vast majority of them now seem to be registered/insured with British Cycling or have private insurance that requires participants to wear helmets on pain of disqualification... but the vast majority of them are on open roads so I'm probably going to ride a few routes when my friends just happen to be doing sportives. :lol:
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landsurfer
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Re: Do you wear a helmet?

Post by landsurfer »

My feeling as well. No problem with helmets, only the necessity to wear them.
Can i make an insurance claim if i fall of my bike without taking due care.
After all, I'm wearing a helmet so I'm indestructible.
I had a bad crash on ice 6 weeks ago and refused to allow an ambulance to be called as knew they would ask if i was wearing a helmet. Hip injury, but they would have recorded it as a cycling accident, not wearing helmet.
Wife picked me up, changed clothes and attended walk in medical center as a fall on ice.
You do get bloody minded with age i suppose.
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TonyR
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Re: Do you wear a helmet?

Post by TonyR »

landsurfer wrote:I had a bad crash on ice 6 weeks ago and refused to allow an ambulance to be called as knew they would ask if i was wearing a helmet. Hip injury, but they would have recorded it as a cycling accident, not wearing helmet.
Wife picked me up, changed clothes and attended walk in medical center as a fall on ice.


Did they record it as pedestrian accident, not wearing helmet? :wink:
landsurfer
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Re: Do you wear a helmet?

Post by landsurfer »

Lol lol. With you on that one. Tried explaining to family that most head injuries happen to pedestrians, tripping. Wont believe it.
There is a large group of cyclists who seem to revel in the " cycling is dangerous " approach. Bit of a misguided macho thing i think.
Cycling is not dangerous ! ! !
“Quiet, calm deliberation disentangles every knot.”
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The road goes on forever.
Bicycler
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Re: Do you wear a helmet?

Post by Bicycler »

It's as dangerous as you want to make it. I have a couple of friends who enjoy hurtling down off road descents, falling off every so often whilst I usually lag behind keen not to fall off. As helmet wearers they are convinced that I am the reckless one
TonyR
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Re: Do you wear a helmet?

Post by TonyR »

Bicycler wrote:It's as dangerous as you want to make it. I have a couple of friends who enjoy hurtling down off road descents, falling off every so often whilst I usually lag behind keen not to fall off. As helmet wearers they are convinced that I am the reckless one


The "invincible" helmet wearing mountain biker has become a real problem in Scotland.
http://www.scotsman.com/news/scotland/t ... -1-1411672

IT IS one of the fastest-growing sports in Scotland, but it is now emerging as one of the most dangerous.

A dramatic rise in the number of serious mountain bike accidents has sparked two safety reviews involving accident and emergency doctors and the Forestry Commission.

At one hospital alone, at least 10 casualties are treated every weekend as a result of cycling enthusiasts - many inexperienced - losing control and crashing into trees or rocks.............


.....Paul Taylor, a married father with two daughters, had only been mountain biking on downhill trails for three months when he attempted a jump and fell and broke his back. The 35-year-old former distillery worker from Carron, near Aberlour, is now paralysed from the chest down after the accident on a Forestry Commission run near Fochabers last year.
Taylor, who had to be airlifted off the hill to hospital, said riders should be forced to wear proper protective gear and be given more explicit warnings on the potential risks.

He said: "I was used to riding mountain bikes on trails, but not taking on big jumps and purpose-built drops.

"I tried to make it as safe for myself as I could by wearing a proper cross-country safety helmet - ordinary cycle helmets won't do. But when I came off, my head was OK but I injured my spine. "
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Cunobelin
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Re: Do you wear a helmet?

Post by Cunobelin »

landsurfer wrote:I've just read in " the comic " that you cannot enter a sportive unless you wear a helmet !
Is this true ?



What is more they don't recognise the futile, ineffective and pathetic standard that is EN1078, the standard required for sale in the UK

In many cases they will not allow a helmet that does not comply to a higher standard. UK Cycling Events in their terms clearly state:

It is mandatory that all riders wear a safety approved cycling helmet complying with latest ANSI Z90/4 or SNELL standards.

(My emphasis)
Bicycler
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Re: Do you wear a helmet?

Post by Bicycler »

TonyR wrote:
Bicycler wrote:It's as dangerous as you want to make it. I have a couple of friends who enjoy hurtling down off road descents, falling off every so often whilst I usually lag behind keen not to fall off. As helmet wearers they are convinced that I am the reckless one


The "invincible" helmet wearing mountain biker has become a real problem in Scotland.
http://www.scotsman.com/news/scotland/t ... -1-1411672
.....Paul Taylor, a married father with two daughters, had only been mountain biking on downhill trails for three months when he attempted a jump and fell and broke his back. The 35-year-old former distillery worker from Carron, near Aberlour, is now paralysed from the chest down after the accident on a Forestry Commission run near Fochabers last year.
Taylor, who had to be airlifted off the hill to hospital, said riders should be forced to wear proper protective gear and be given more explicit warnings on the potential risks.

He said: "I was used to riding mountain bikes on trails, but not taking on big jumps and purpose-built drops.

"I tried to make it as safe for myself as I could by wearing a proper cross-country safety helmet - ordinary cycle helmets won't do. But when I came off, my head was OK but I injured my spine. "

Has the risk compensation issue raised its head in this thread yet?
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