Cycling Without A Helmet Around a City...
Discussion
The vast majority of cyclists I see on the roads wear completely ill-fitting helmets. Like little pork-pie hats perch on top of their heads. I can't imagine how they would offer the slightest bit of protection, other than if you were to somehow land head first, perfectly perpendicular to the road. Clearly some strange placbeo effect: "I am wearing a helmet (although totally ill-fitting and offering no protection) therefore I am fully protected". The full-head skater type helmets seem sensible but most people seem to wear head-gear that might as well be a bathing cap.
In Germany a few weeks ago, it was interesting to see how few Germans bother with cycle helmets compared to Brits.
Loads more people cycle round towns in Germany, and the provision for them is far better. In a country which puts such a premium on safety, however, it was noticeable that ca 9 out of 10 cyclists did not bother with a helmet or any special gear at all.
I'm not a cyclist so have no axe to grind - are helmets a UK fad?
Loads more people cycle round towns in Germany, and the provision for them is far better. In a country which puts such a premium on safety, however, it was noticeable that ca 9 out of 10 cyclists did not bother with a helmet or any special gear at all.
I'm not a cyclist so have no axe to grind - are helmets a UK fad?
sjg said:
TEKNOPUG said:
other than if you were to somehow land head first, perfectly perpendicular to the road.
That's the only test that helmets are required to pass to get the EU (before that, CE) sticker. No requirement for front/side impact protection at all.Garlick said:
Marty Funkhouser said:
Why it isnt illegal is beyond me.
I wear a lid, but I truly hope that it never becomes a legal requirement. We should be allowed to make the choice as we see fit IMO. Marty Funkhouser said:
Garlick said:
Marty Funkhouser said:
Why it isnt illegal is beyond me.
I wear a lid, but I truly hope that it never becomes a legal requirement. We should be allowed to make the choice as we see fit IMO. however roadsense is far more important IMO than any helmet, and a lot of cyclists have very little of it.
okgo said:
Marty Funkhouser said:
Garlick said:
Marty Funkhouser said:
Why it isnt illegal is beyond me.
I wear a lid, but I truly hope that it never becomes a legal requirement. We should be allowed to make the choice as we see fit IMO. however roadsense is far more important IMO than any helmet, and a lot of cyclists have very little of it.
N Dentressangle said:
I'm not a cyclist so have no axe to grind - are helmets a UK fad?
A US "fad", which made its way to the UK along with everything else. No coincidence that most of the helmet manufacturers are US-based (or US-originated) and have a vested interest in portraying cycling as being more dangerous than it is.DeputyDawg said:
itsnotarace said:
Whilst I always wear a helmet myself, I don't necessarily think it would offer much protection if I was run over, for example. Directly hitting my head on the pavement, yes. But to be honest if I come off my bike it will likely be at speed and I will slide on my side, where a helmet will not really do much.
What s dumbass thing to say. How can you predict how you are going to fall or fall into/onto what?I rode helmetless in London for years in my twenties and came off plenty of times without hitting my head. I wore a helmet on a charity cycle challenge in Turkey last summer, came off once and smacked my head hard on the ground hard enough to see stars.
Neither experience proves anything, nor can you show me any proof that helmets save lives.
Marty Funkhouser said:
okgo said:
Marty Funkhouser said:
Garlick said:
Marty Funkhouser said:
Why it isnt illegal is beyond me.
I wear a lid, but I truly hope that it never becomes a legal requirement. We should be allowed to make the choice as we see fit IMO. however roadsense is far more important IMO than any helmet, and a lot of cyclists have very little of it.
Cars and bikes fit in the same lane, two cars do not, stuff red lights.
sjg said:
N Dentressangle said:
I'm not a cyclist so have no axe to grind - are helmets a UK fad?
A US "fad", which made its way to the UK along with everything else. No coincidence that most of the helmet manufacturers are US-based (or US-originated) and have a vested interest in portraying cycling as being more dangerous than it is.I've came off bikes and was hit by cars quite a few times in my youth and never landed on my head.
Like most people on here, I grew up on bikes never wearing a helmet. I only wear a helmet now because i've got dependents and somehow imagine i'm 'doing better by them' if I wear one. Nowadays most people seem to wear them though and I'm actually a bit surprised when I see people on the roads without them.
It's quite refreshing that there haven't been laws passed about wearing them.
Like most people on here, I grew up on bikes never wearing a helmet. I only wear a helmet now because i've got dependents and somehow imagine i'm 'doing better by them' if I wear one. Nowadays most people seem to wear them though and I'm actually a bit surprised when I see people on the roads without them.
It's quite refreshing that there haven't been laws passed about wearing them.
Marty Funkhouser said:
sjg said:
N Dentressangle said:
I'm not a cyclist so have no axe to grind - are helmets a UK fad?
A US "fad", which made its way to the UK along with everything else. No coincidence that most of the helmet manufacturers are US-based (or US-originated) and have a vested interest in portraying cycling as being more dangerous than it is.As an aside, In the states do you still not have to wear a helmet on a motorbike?
okgo said:
Most of the time a red light is not an issue for a cyclist, I don't stop for them unless its a crossroads or a people crossing, I'll slow down, see where cars are coming from and then just carry on if its clear.
Cars and bikes fit in the same lane, two cars do not, stuff red lights.
Now that's proper Darwinism!Cars and bikes fit in the same lane, two cars do not, stuff red lights.
okgo said:
How so? If there are no cars coming from the direction that is on green what possible reason apart from a legal aspect (which again I am not interested in) would I stop for?
This is a case where the few (who breeze through lights like morons and dont look and then are bulldozed into eternity by the wheels of a lorry) are tainting the many. Not all cyclists are as conscientous as you say you are.okgo said:
How so? If there are no cars coming from the direction that is on green what possible reason apart from a legal aspect (which again I am not interested in) would I stop for?
It's doing that which makes car drivers hate us cyclists. I will always stop at a red light......unless i'm totally pished and it's 3am Oh and for the record, I commute every day on the bike (last 7 years) and do not wear a helmet. I can see both arguments though and if I had a kid i'd probably tell them to wear one. When i'm downhilling I ALWAYS wear a full facer, but the likelyhood of leaving the bike head(face)first is exponentially higher than when on the road.
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