Why I don't wear a helmet when biking

I read the OP's article. Then, I researched studies on helmet safety. It's true that the data on helmet safety is conflicting, but that's because the studies are flawed. They looked at ER visits and fatalities. That's understandable because that's where the injury data is, but it overlooks several key points. 1) For a head injury to occur, the rider must hit his head hard enough to cause injury. It's possible to fall and not really impact the head. I've done it more than once. 2) Helmets only protect up to a point. If a rider gets hit by a car going 60mph, a helmet isn't going to help. And most important, 3) ER and fatality data doesn't include the hundreds of thousands of helmeted riders who have hit their heads in a fall and were never injured thanks to the helmet.

A better approach would be to survey thousands of riders if they had ever had a fall that, in their opinion, would have resulted in serious injury without a helmet. This would be subjective data, but I believe it would overwhelmingly support the benefits of wearing a helmet.

I'll start. I've been a cyclist for 25 years. I've had one serious crash that I believe would have caused very serious brain damage or possibly death without a helmet. I've also hit a tree while mountaing biking and had another road crash that left noticeable dents in my helmet.

Got in my first bike crash a week ago. I wasn’t wearing a helmet and had to get six stitches. Just buy and wear a helmet, it is worth it

This is expected for running, but usually illegal for biking. Bikes are considered motor vehicles on the road and have to follow the same rules as cars. Doing this would be the same as a car driving against traffic.

ELong1229) wrote:

If it’s my time to go it’s my time to go.

Do you wear a "Do Not Resuscitate" bracelet?

Runner on a bike wrote:

Not sure I agree, but it's a well written argument:

http://www.spokesman.com/blogs/transportation/2015/jun/26/why-im-done-wearing-helmet

Let me guess, you also won't wear a mask in public?

If you're not going to wear a helmet when biking then you might as well not wear a seatbelt when driving. Why put kids in a car seat? I was never in a car seat as a kid.

Have had 2 accidents while biking both times was told without a helmet I would be dead. So I will keep wearing one and you do you.

This is an old thread - but it can't be stated enough.

Riding without a "brain bucket" is lunacy. And, in some areas, illegal.

For all the sense this makes, you might as well argue they become optional on construction sites.

Helmets save lives and prevent/reduce injury.

I know this first hand - having destroyed a few bike helmets while crashing.

My issue with this piece is that the author claims be all about looking at the data to make informed decisions , and then makes claims that are not backed up by data, such as:

"Most of the pictures I’ve seen are of helmets that have broken apart. It’s likely that the helmet did not protect someone from a severe injury"

"It seems like a lot of people use helmet use as a proxy for caring about safety"

I'm all for freedom of helmet or no helmet, but this piece reads like a shitpost for how ironic it is.

Labenthraub wrote:Have had 2 accidents while biking both times was told without a helmet I would be dead. So I will keep wearing one and you do you.

+1

I always wear a helmet when I'm on my bike.

Biking without a helmet is sooo gay.