Wear a helmet!!!

taraaaal

I know there are a million excuses not to

They look silly...They are just for kids... I am just going around the block!

Well so was my 16 year old neighbor, when he was hit by a car. He was airlifted, and taken into brain surgery, they said he shouldn't have even made it to the hospital... and after fighting to stay alive after everything he had been through...he didn't make it.

Please let his story be a message to you and your families that wearing a helmet can be the difference between life and death, and it is worth looking a little silly.

I will leave you with the words of his sister:

"It wasn't the miracle we were praying for, but [he] now has the chance to give the gift of life to someone else's little brother, sister, son, daughter, mom, dad or friend."

RIP

Berto0391

Take this story to heart people.

bpotts44

I was in an accident on a bike that would have killed me without a helmet. They are essential!!

sweetybird09

My husband and I are new to bike riding and one of the first things we did after we got the bikes was to get helmets, we do not care what we look like as most everyone we see riding by us on the trail we ride on has one on also...this is a good reminder thanks for this post...Sorry about your 16 yo neighbor

myfitnessnmhoy

I have a friend with two broken helmets from two incidents where he was thrown over the handlebars of his bicycle (one a massive blowout of the front tire when he was going downhill - lost control and ended up headfirst into a concrete wall and broke his collarbone, the other from a car sideswipe that threw him onto a curb which bent his front tire and catapulted him into a telephone pole).

The helmet serves two purposes, one everyone knows about and another very few do.

The "known" benefit, of course, is that the helmet shatters rather than your skull. This is a good thing.

The less-known benefit is that, in the case of any impact, that shattering dissipates a lot of the energy, lowering the impact of the accident on your neck and other supporting structures, thus lowering the changes of paralysis and other serious effects, even if the head did not actually need protection.

PS: Replace helmets every 3-4 years, too. The foam hardens up and they become less protective. Also, every year they come out with new ways to make them more comfortable, from better tensioning systems to lighter-weight foams.

I'm very sorry to hear about your neighbor.

Moriarty_697

I wear a helmet but I can understand some of the arguments against them or for leaving it a matter of choice. Go youtube some videos of cyclists in Europe and you will see surprisingly few helmets. Between proper infrastructure, bicycle awareness and laws that protect cyclists, large numbers of cyclists are able to get around safely without helmets.

What annoys me most about the helmet debate is the attitude you see in news reports after an accident where blame is tacitly shifted to the helmetless rider, as if the presence of a helmet could some how magically stop a motorist from running into you. I'm all for helmets, but the one thing they won't do is stop a driver from making a mistake. Trust me. I got hit by an SUV on the way home from work back in February and the helmet I wore did nothing to stop the driver from failing to yield and sideswiping me.

But that's the way the narrative often gets shifted. Rather than blame the driver for being an idiot, people are much more likely to blame the rider for going helmetless. If you trained the driver to share the road with all users as is the law, you would have far less need for helmets.

Of course, cyclists aren't a blameless lot. I'm tired of seeing so many of my fellow cyclists riding around as if traffic laws do not apply to them. Not only is it stupid and dangerous, it also reinforces a lot of people's negative view of cyclists.

I find that as I spend more and more time riding for transportation and for fun, I am much less likely to break laws. I wait my turn at reds. I avoid ducking and weaving all over the place like I'm playing a real life game of frogger. I ride my bike like the vehicle it is. The surprising thing is, for all that, I don't really get from point A to B much slower than the rider who zips around like an idiot. But I digress. . .

NoxDineen

A friend of mine in high school was hit by a car and went headfirst, no helmet, through the windshield. He was an athlete in amazing shape, and his body held on for several days before he died.

Earlier this year I took a serious tumble at high speed off my bike, fortunately hitting the pavement hard enough to get a bone bruise rather than fracture on my knee. My nose was cut from hitting the pavement, but thanks to my helmet the worst my head got was a bad*ss looking cut for a week. Had I not been wearing a helmet I was told I would have woken up in the hospital.

Functioning brain trumps fashion any day of the week.

sillygoose1977

Very sorry to hear that. It kills me to see kids without helmets. It's like a seat belt, always worn! You absolutely never know what can happen. I love my life and I don't want to screw it up.

sleonardbranson

Heart breaking story....Tears...