[Closed] Why people refuse to wear helmets?

Marks thread 'Ignore'

NO. Just NO!

Close thread now please.

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oh, hang on.

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I doubt you want a serious answer but riding on the road with out a helmet is more comfortable and just feels better. The "silly little caps" do a good job of stopping sweat running in your eyes.

because people are ignorant and selfish.

Fair enough not wearing a helmet and therefore accepting that you might sustain more damage to your head than need be, but invariably there will be someone else that will be involved clearing up the mess.

Because they are complete and utter idiots. Anyone who tries to defend not wearing a helmet is a moron.

I doubt you want a serious answer but riding on the road with out a helmet is more comfortable and just feels better.

some of the top end helmets have so many vents and are so light that the difference isn't huge.

Backs up the selfish argument though...

Pretty sure he hadn't been wearing a helmet.

Ok then, I'm "pretty sure" he was.

Where to go with the thread now eh ?

I'm pretty sure people are dicks.

[i]Came across a rider near Ilkley on Saturday with very bad head injuries. Pretty sure he hadn't been wearing a helmet.

[/i]

You're pretty sure?

Who needs facts when we have speculation...

FFS here we go...

🙄

Can't find a smiley that is yawning.

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Must admit I never wear one on the BMX at the skatepark...nor does anyone else really. Not really defending this... I just dont bother??

read the design specs for a helmet, they can help in a crash upto 15mph beyond that you are on your own.

Fall over sideways and calculate how fast your head is going and you realise that helmets are actaully pretty pointless.

by all means wear one, but they are no pancea, if you don't want head injuries go back to bed and do not move, i would suggest sleeping on the floor just in case you fall out of bed. AND NEVER EVER USE THE SHOWER!!!!! have you seen how dangerous they are!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Why people refuse to wear helmets?

low self esteem

Anyone who tries to defend not wearing a helmet is a moron.

Moron reporting for duty, sir!

Erm.. because they are grown ups and have made a decision not to wear one?

I never bother with a helmet on my commute. It simply doesn't warrant one in my opinion and I find I'm treated less as a "Lycra Lout" and more "Bloke on a Bike" as a result.

Personally I'd always wear one in the woods, if only just to avoid smacking my head on low branches. But if others don't then that is their lookout.

Anyone calling non-helmet wearers "morons" needs to consider whether they wear a helmet in the car (where head injuries are just as likely) or if they should also be wearing a neck brace and spine protector when on a bike.

Everyone has a level of acceptable risk.

+1 Mrmo

I wear a helmet if I'm riding off road or on an extended road ride.

I don't wear a helmet on the 'mile each way' journey I do with my daughter on the school run most days.

No idea of relative risks etc but that's what I've chosen to do.

Suspect the helmet sceptics would change their minds if they saw this guy. A lot of blood (as with most head injuries) and his face had taken a proper hammering.

Suspect a build up of gravel on a tight corner. Wasn't pretty.

Some people wear body armour,others don't,it's...............

his face had taken a proper hammering

Does your helmet cover your face?

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?

Must admit I never wear one on the BMX at the skatepark...nor does anyone else really. Not really defending this... I just dont bother??

Yeh, I never used to when I rode bmx. I think its because when you go out on your bmx you just go out for a quick spin, a play about, to socialise etc.

Sometimes you do this on your mountain bike aswell.

Most of the squares who ride mountain bikes these days cant seem to get their heads around the fact that not every ride on your bike involves 3 hours of planning, orgainizing your camel back contents, teaking your compression damping, putting on all your fancy clothing etc.

Sometimes you just nip out for a quick spin without thinking about any of the above.

Why people refuse to wear helmets?

because cycling is really a very safe thing to do?

Please read the following so you understand what a helmet is actually meant to do.

[url= http://www.smf.org/standards/b/b95std#add ]http://www.smf.org/standards/b/b95std#add[/url]

[url= http://www.smf.org/standards/b/b90astd ]http://www.smf.org/standards/b/b90astd[/url]

as for helmets saving lives, sometimes they do, sometimes they don't Pro cyclists have to wear them and a number have died in recent years.

As i seem to remember the outome of helmet laws in Australia is on balance negative. Look at the netherlands do you see lots of helmets? or do you see people going from a to b using bikes?

I guess this relates to the fact that most MTBers aren't cyclists but rather people who ride MTBs at the weekend once in a while and have bought in to the idea that MTBs are a dangerous extreme activity and need loads of body armour. In reality it is no more dangerous than most things people do in life if done sensibly.

ive been wearing a full face lid since i bought it in 1986, never take it off.

you hardly know its there after the first three months and as an added bonus it stopped my getting herpes.

Riding without a helmet feels f*&^ing amazing 😈

Suspect the helmet sceptics would change their minds if they saw this guy. A lot of blood (as with most head injuries) and his face had taken a proper hammering.

Suspect a build up of gravel on a tight corner. Wasn't pretty.

i have ripped chunks out of my face had stiches, but my helmet wasn't touched in the slightest.

Sometimes you just nip out for a quick spin without thinking about any of the above

they can help in a crash upto 15mph beyond that you are on your own.

Spoke with my kids about this and the only thing iI find strange is parents making their kids wear helmets and not wearing them themselves.
Mine wear them all the time but mainly to avoid tantrums when asked to wear one. I always wear one, rarely uphill of road in summer and sometimes delay putting it on of the trail is tame.
as for BMX without one it is not a choice I would make

As i seem to remember the outome of helmet laws in Australia is on balance negative.

Let me start by saying I wear a helmet for all my riding, its a personal choice just as not wearing one is for those who choose not to.

I'm also very much not in favour of berating, belittling or arguing those who don't in much the same way I would not expect to be picked on for my own choice to wear a helmet...

I don't see why anyone needs to be "Pro" or "Anti" helmet TBH... Understand the risk and make a decission; wear one if you like, Don't if you don't fancy it. But keep your world view to yourself...

I honestly don't care if you wear helmet, a Fez, a hollowed out log or nothing at all on your noggin, it's your choice.

I rode into a small 'puddle' at speed last week on an otherwise uneventful ride. Puddle turned out to be a sinkhole and I went OTB and headbutted the ground before I could react.

The helmet undoubtedly protected me from a nasty bump and potential scratch/gash. I took it off to inspect for damage after the fall due to the force of impact.

To say helmets are pointless is total nonsense. There are a few occasions I don't wear one, but very rarely. I realise it's not going to save me if I ride out in front of an 18 wheeler.

Personally I couldn't give a shit if people ride with helmets or not. It's their choice.

Most of the squares

Are you the fonz?

I honestly don't care if you wear helmet, a Fez, a hollowed out log or nothing at all on your noggin, it's your choice.

I like the idea of a Fez wearing road club.

only thing iI find strange is parents making their kids wear helmets and not wearing them themselves.

I would guess that they feel their kids are more likely to crash than they are, and hence, more likely to need the helmet.

I rarely wade into the helmet argument, because it's like banging your head on a wall, but I read an interview with James Cracknell, a man whose life was saved by a helmet and is still recovering from pretty serious brain damage. He said something like-

"Anyone going on a ride without a helmet clearly does not care enough about their children, family or friends. How can you go out knowing you've not done the main thing that can save your life on a bike when you have people who love you?"

Which is a pretty convincing argument, and I suspect that these folk who won't ride with helmets have never had a head injury on the bike.

To say helmets are pointless is total nonsense.

not totally pointless just massively over rated.

People are inherently lazy, and i would rather people cycle than drive to the gym, cycle than drive to a golf course etc. Anything that provides a disincentive, ie helmets is bad.

If you want to enforce compulsary helmets fine, personnally i would rather the police spend there time catching speeding drivers, RLJ, mobile phone using drivers etc.

As for the person riding through a puddle, may i be the first to say you're a muppet, has it never occured to you that the puddle may hide something? that maybe riding slowly incase there is a hole, or to ride around?

I rarely wade into the helmet argument, because it's like banging your head on a wall, but I read an interview with James Cracknell, a man whose life was saved by a helmet and is still recovering from pretty serious brain damage. He said something like-

and as said earlier cyclists die wearing helmets, they are not a panacea, they may help they may not.

I don't feel comfortable riding without a helmet, but it's peoples own choice if they wear one or not. My helmet saved me when i crashed and went head-first in to a dry stone wall.

Also to pick up on someones point earlier about pro-cyclists still dying whilst wearing helmets. They are often traveling at 80kph and hitting something very solid when that unfortunately happens. I was reading something from jonathan vaughters a year or so back where he demonstrated info relating to his riders that fewer concussions came from low speed impacts after the helmet law was introduced.

Funnily enough I'm just reading [url= http://www.citycycling.co.uk/Issue11/Risky1.html ]a nice (subjective) article about Risk, risk assessment and helmets, in this month's .CityCycling[/url] - worth a read.

As for the person riding through a puddle, may i be the first to say you're a muppet, has it never occured to you that the puddle may hide something? that maybe riding slowly incase there is a hole, or to ride around?

Wow. What a brilliant idea. I'll try that next time! Thanks!

Oh god not this again... people are not refusing to wear one they are choosing not to...each to their own.

Why do people insist on bringing up the same old topics week after week.

Nice article Graham.

"Anyone going on a ride without a helmet clearly does not care enough about their children, family or friends. How can you go out knowing you've not done the main thing that can save your life on a bike when you have people who love you?"

Hmmm.. yes all very emotive. Of course if you really cared about your children you'd be sat at home where it's safe.

For me [i]"the main thing that can save your life on a bike"[/i] is planning a route that uses cycle paths instead of roads*. Thus I'm far less likely to get injured than any helmet-wearer using the road.

.

* (I'm lucky that my local facilities are decent and go where I need)

and as said earlier cyclists die wearing helmets, they are not a panacea, they may help they may not.

People wearing seatbelts die.
Non smokers die of lung cancer.
So have a fag and dont wear your seatbelt

Anyone going on a ride without a helmet clearly does not care enough about their children, family or friends. How can you go out knowing you've not done the main thing that can save your life on a bike when you have people who love you?

this really..

I don't think my other half would see the point in an STW logic vs reason debate (d'ya like what I did there..?) if I was paralysed in a bike accident, and hadn't been wearing a helmet..

the only reason that I seem to be picking up from this thread for not wearing a helmet is that it psychologically or physically feels nice..

hmm.. how effeminate

or.. 'I'm a grown-up and I can do as I please'

awesome.. 😆

@munrobiker Whilst everything you say is true, it doesn't take into account the fact that 'we' take much bigger risks and yet don't wear a helmet. Many more lives would be saved if car drivers were made to wear helmets than if cyclists were made to, but the public perception is that cycling is more dangerous.

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-- from http://www.citycycling.co.uk/Issue11/Risky1.html

I went cycling yesterday, and didn't wear knee pads, chest protector, goggles or a hi viz.

Clearly, I don't care about my wife or daughter.

So much guff, so little time

if I was paralysed in a bike accident, and hadn't been wearing a helmet..

Why include the word "BIKE" in this sentence?

Personally I think anyone who can't make their own choices in life without first asking a load of piss takers on the intenet should clearly not be allowed to leave the nursing home!

Now what should i have for tea tonight.........

the only reason that I seem to be picking up from this thread for not wearing a helmet is that it psychologically or physically feels nice..

How about [i]"I just don't think I need one for this ride"[/i]?

I don't think my other half would see the point in an STW logic vs reason debate (d'ya like what I did there..?) if I was paralysed in a bike accident, and hadn't been wearing a helmet..

But would she understand why you weren't wearing a neck brace?
Or spine protector?

Or do you not [i]think you need one for this ride[/i]..?

As has already been stateed a helmet will limit the extent of your injuries if you take a tumble at about ~12-15MPH maya a shade more depending on the incident, they are not a shield of invulnerability they will not protect you from some plumb in an X5 or even your own poor judgement.

I assessed the risk of me taking a low speed tumble as being sufficient to justify wearing a helmet when riding a bike.

What I don't see the need for is for those of us with skid lids to evangelise to the helmetless as if they are hard of thinking or something, they've taken the same information on board and made their own judgement, that should be an end to it.

Wagging your finger and quoting H&S stats isn't going to to convert anyone, it's more likely to get you punched...

OP you found an accident victim and while I'm sure you assisted him, I can tell you were already mulling over your next STW thread, relishing the oportunity to post up your first hand cautionary tale to the helmetless... Well done you :slow clap:

But would she understand why you weren't wearing a neck brace?
Or spine protector?

let's not give her more ammunition hey..?

as for the twaddle about wearing a helmet in the car..?

either you are not pushing yourself hard enough pon the bike or you are a very bad driver..

I've had two fairly minor spills already this year that resulted in me ****ting my head on a rock.. thanks to my helmet I shrugged it off and carried on the ride, rather than facing the possibility of a day or two off sick with concussion..

I personally feel full of win.. what you do is up to you, this is the first helmet evangelising thread that I've joined, but mainly only out of respect to TJ..

and if big scary cookeea was gonna punch me.. I'd like to wearing be a helmet

let's not give her more ammunition hey..?

Ahh, clearly you need a helmet to protect you from the giant thumb hovering over you 😉

the thumbprint on the top of my head has certainly left my skull a lot more vulnerable to accident trauma ... yes

😳

either the likelihood of occurrence or the severity of the consequences -- is increased by not wearing a helmet or any one of the various other things that fall around about point 4 on the risk management hierarchy. The reason people get het up about such things isn't because the increase in risk is significant, but because they have assessed the baseline risk of cycling as much higher in the first place.

That said I have had more incidents on a bike and crashes * than I have walking.
It is disenegenous to suggest the severity is not decreased by wearing a helmet as it is as it meets a certain standard for protection, this may not be life saving but it is not nothing either.

EDIT: i think the other thing is I do expect to crash ion a bike at some point where as I do not expect to crash in car - well that is what using both has shown over the last 20 years

* just counting road that weren ot my fault or due to MTB skill/ability or lack there of.

Read every post on this thread, it's a slow day. Never mind tour of britain will be on soon.

either you are not pushing yourself hard enough pon the bike or you are a very bad driver..

never seen a car pull out in front of someone? never had a car drive into the back of someone?

think of all the whiplash claims that could be written off by enforced neck braces. Think about the burns that could be prevented by the use of flame proof overalls.

That said I have had more incidents on a bike and crashes * than I have walking.

not trying hard enough with your walking, falling off cliffs, scree slopes arse over tit down grassy slopes, all normal part of walking.

As has already been stateed a helmet will limit the extent of your injuries if you take a tumble at about ~12-15MPH maya a shade more depending on the incident,

never seen a car pull out in front of someone? never had a car drive into the back of someone?

but I fall off my bike.. it's an occupational hazard of habitually trying to ride down the side of stoopid steep granite tors..

most of the fun of it comes from trying to see if I can do it a tiny little bit faster than I feel comfortable with..
8 hours of this per week is a bit more risky than the one motoring accident I've been involved in 25 years of driving shirley..!?

with maths like yours I reckon you've had one too many bumps pon the head.. 😉

Pretty much +1 for what Graham S is saying. This "don't you care about your family?" argument really gets on my nerves. As pointed out nobody says that when people do any of the hundreds of other ways you can hurt your head without wearing helmets, so what makes cycling special?

as for the twaddle about wearing a helmet in the car..?
either you are not pushing yourself hard enough pon the bike or you are a very bad driver..

That's just the DfT accident figures for ya. In terms of [i]"most lives saved"[/i], you'd save a lot more lives by making all car occupants wear helmets than you would for all cyclists.

I met someone on Saturday who said that they always wore a helmet at trail centres because they were tired of having other people growl at them.

I've never had anyone growl at me for not wearing a helmet. What am I doing wrong?

Imagine how your mother/father/friend who keeps nagging you about how dangerous cycling is would feel if you were hit by a car whilst cycling (wearing or not wearing a helmet). Better start driving instead to keep them happy.

Growls at ben in a most disaproving manner

not trying hard enough with your walking

That's just the DfT accident figures for ya. In terms of "most lives saved", you'd save a lot lives more by making all car occupants wear helmets than you would for all cyclists.

Personally I think i would not bother on the road if the roads were car free
I would not risk it off road as I crash often enough to make me consider that to be too risky.

As pointed out nobody says that when people do any of the hundreds of other ways you can hurt your head without wearing helmets, so what makes cycling special?

Car driving is an absolute essential of life which no-one has a right to interfere with, whereas cycling a mountain bike is probably the riskiest thing an Audi-driving middle manager will ever do. I think that's why.

but I fall off my bike.. it's an occupational hazard of habitually trying to ride down the side of stoopid steep granite tors..

most of the fun of it comes from trying to see if I can do it a tiny little bit faster than I feel comfortable with..
8 hours of this per week is a bit more risky than the one motoring accident I've been involved in 25 years of driving shirley..!?

with maths like yours I reckon you've had one too many bumps pon the head..

most of the damage i have done has been arms and legs, in 20years i have only had one serious head/ground incident, split helmet, which means it failed to do its job, it was at 25mph and i highsided. Couldn't walk properly for a fortnight as i also smashed my hip into the ground. In fact had more cars run into the back of me than helmet destroying crashes.

Most of my crashes involve going around a corner and failing, in the process smearing blood around the place.

meh..

(can I just make it clear that I would never adversely judge anyone over their choice of safety equipment, but I may quietly be a tiny little bit jealous of their devil may care attitude)

And stats for MTB ers you do have those to hand dont you :P.

Nope but I'm sure they are out there somewhere. I seem to remember the most common injuries are to wrists and collarbones. (He says, speaking as someone who has separated a shoulder without hitting his head).

Personally I think i would not bother on the road if the roads were car free
I would not risk it off road as I crash often enough to make me consider that to be too risky.

Well there you go then, you're almost the same as me. I don't bother with a helmet on my (almost) car-free commute. Some of which is cross-country, but not exactly taxing.

I do wear one when I'm at trail centres or doing "proper" MTBing (sadly all too rare these days) - but mainly to prevent pain, rather than death.

Bloody hell - like pouring petrol on a wasps nest 🙂

Does your helmet cover your face?

It's a good point but I think the overhang of the helmet often protect the sides of your head.

split helmet, which means it failed to do its job, it was at 25mph and i highsided.

Perhaps his skull isn't made of polystyrene foam?

Ooooh, are we doing this again? 😉

You do realise that if you had not been wearing it, you'd have cracked your skull don't you?

I'm not about to get involved in a helmet thread, but this kinda thing does annoy me a little. You do know your skull isn't made of polystyrene right? So something that cracked a helmet might not necessarily crack your skull..

Any ways, I always wear my helmet, unless I'm just riding to the shops or what not.

As you were.

Unreal. I don't care who wears a helmet or not, but the denial is simply breathtaking.
Your skull is 6.5mm thick.