BIKE HELMETS.....Do YOU wear one??

curvykim78

I've never used a bike helmet, even as a kid. Today while out riding bikes with my hubby and son, we came upon a lady who crashed her bike on the wooded bike trail we were on. Long story short, paramedics cared for her and rode her out of the woods on an ATV. She was then LIFE FLIGHTED to a hospital in Richmond. I've been praying for her ever since I came across her. So it got me to thinking. I bet she wasn't wearing a helmet and that's why she was having problems...I don't wear a helmet and now I'm thinking maybe we need to go and buy some.
So my question to you is...When you ride a bike anywhere, (woods, roads, etc.) Do YOU wear a helmet? Why or why not?

x_JT_x

I sure do. I'd be a hypocrite if I forced my child to wear a helmet and I didn't.

Nerdy_Rose

I always wear a helmet. Especially around traffic. No matter how good I am, I can't control drivers, other cyclists, pedestrians, stray animals, debris in the road.... the list goes on. Investing in a quality helmet is very much worth it.

MJMARIN81

I don't ride often and as a kid I never wore one, but now that I am older with a little one of my own I do wear one. Main reason is if my little one rides I make sure she wears one and I must lead by example by wearing one too. Also I got alot more people who count on me now and would not want to put my family in hardship by one little detail that can change a funny bike fall story into a serious traumatic experience.

mjbell642

YES !!!! After my sister had a serious crash and broke her hip, I will always wear one. Thankfully she was wearing a helment. Hubby used to say they look stupid to which my sister said... a skull split open looks worse.

My brother is an emt and has peel some people off the pavement, so just another reason.

So wear that helmet. There is no guarantee it will prevent injury, but certainly will swing the bar in your favor.

_CowgirlUp_

What an awful experience...I hope she's ok too...I have to admit, when we ride our bikes, my husband and I don't wear one. Before we moved to Florida, he had a road bike and wore one. We have hybrids now and don't ride fast, there's sidewalks & bike lanes, and blah, blah, blah. I know we should be wearing them but we don't. I would advise you to wear one even when I don't. Don't do what other people do..do what you think is right for you and your family. The fact that you have a child along with you...changes things. You really need to be a good example for him and wear one.

BeckyAnneGreenGables

Yes, yes, yes. I wear a helmet when I ride my bike. I work with people with brain injuries and concussions and I won't risk one myself.

Masq

I didn't wear a helmet as a kid.... As an adult, I ALWAYS wear one. Trail, roads, around the block..... always.
You can still get injured or killed wearing one.... but I think it's worth wearing it regardless.

MelanieSkittle

Always. Better safe than.......

krumpli

I commute on a bike, and I wear a helmet every day. Granted, I live in a big Central European city that isn't the most bike-friendly, but my helmet has saved me twice- probably not my life, but at least saved me from injury. On one occasion I got doored by a parked car and wound up skidding across the ground. I was wearing long sleeves, which got totally shredded, and my helmet kept me from shredding up my face. On another occasion, I was hit by a car that swerved across the bike path, knocked over another car, and landed flat on my back. My helmet cracked in half! I felt pretty smug bringing those two pieces into work the next day to show to all the haters.

That being said, on the rare occasion I bike in a park or on the island, where cars aren't allowed and I'm going slowly, I'll sometimes take off my helmet. It's certainly a nicer, freer feeling!

On a funnier note, helmet-usage here definitely "pegs you" into a certain group. If you're wearing a helmet and spandex, you're a crazy biker, and if you're wearing a helmet and normal clothes, you're an expat from a western country!

Aunt_Kiki

I do, because I no longer have the same over-confidence about surviving crashes that I did when I was a kid. The chances you will be in a life threatening accident are slim... but the chances of SURVIVING a life threatening accident if you are wearing a helmet are much higher than if you are not. It only takes once.

And please, remember to give cyclists some space on the roads when you're driving!

litatura

Yes, always. It's the law in my city (you'll get a fine if you ride without a helmet) but even if it wasn't the law, I would still wear my helmet.

Lotusstarr

I haven't been wearing one until yesterday, I went on a ride with a friend of mine who is a a safety first kind of gal. I am however when driving a normally very aware driver.... Unfortunately I can't say the same for most drivers, especially after yesterday's ride. In the end I'd rather still have my head in one piece

JBott84

We bike usually on biking/walking trails that are relatively flat no cliffs, no traffic, barely any pedestrians etc. so no I don't. But if were to ever ride on a busy road, which I doubt I ever will (we are fortunate to have several biking/walking trails in the area) I would...but I guess I should but I probably won't

areemeyer

Yes I do, it is enforced here in Ontario under the age of 16 that you have to wear one, but as an adult, there has been many times that cars do not see me on the road. I am not going to take the chance I could have a head injury. I ride defensively, but it only takes a second for something to go wrong.
I just bought a new one from Specialized, it actually looks pretty cool.

SheilaG1963

Not on my bike and no riding helmet on my horse, either.

Lidenbrock

Absolutely.

Incidentally did you realise if you were involved in an insurance claim as a result of cycle accident you could lose because you didn't wear a helmet? Check the small print in your policies!

KidP

Always. I started wearing one in 1991 or so when they first became popular around here. I had just bought a bike & thought "i don't need a helmet", rode it across town in the rain, crashed into a curb & nearly took a header of a light pole. I walked the bike home, got a helmet the next day. While mountainbiking, i've lost track of the # of times i've bashed my head off a low hanging branch, thankful that the helmet took the hit instead of my skull.

I have friends who don't. I've argued it with them & their reasons are always fairly ridiculous i.e. it'll mess up my hair, i didn't use one as a kid, etc. Hey, why don't we all stop wearing seatbelts while we're at it.

When i go to Toronto i'm amazed at all the doofus hipsters who cycle around the crazy streets with nothing on their heads.

AnnyaSB

Yep, always. They may look a tad silly, but a fractured skull isn't pretty and potential brain damage is just not worth the risk. They don't guarantee to save your skull, but it is far better than hitting the tarmac with your head with no protection at all.

GFreg

I always wear a helmet even if it is a short ride through my community to the grocery store or a friends house. Just some interesting reading for you. http://www.bhsi.org/stats.html

TheRealParisLove

Yes. Only noobs go w/o a helmet. I can mend a broken bone or some road rash, but my brain is not quite so easily fixed.

gregsonevans

I hit my head so hard on a low branch a few weeks ago that it left me dazed, I dread to think what would have happened without my helmet

AmyS1975

Always! A must have! It's like wearing your seat belt in your car, you never know when you'll need it. If you value your life ...

Uuuhlexis

omg why wouldn't you wear a helmet!?

jchocchip

yes. I fell off a couple of times 20 years ago and ended up in hospital. No real harm done but it makes you think!

Froody2

It's illegal not to wear one here (Australia). I hate them but it's a necessary evil - broken bones heal but broken brains don't.

lynn1982

PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE wear a helmet!! I had an accident recently (a driver opened their car door into the bike lane and I flipped over the door) and would probably not be here typing this today had I not been wearing a helmet. Instead, I walked away with a broken shoulder...

enid42

I wear one every single time that I get on a bike, even if I'm just testing out newly pumped up tires. This spring a bird built a nest in my helmet (it's on a peb board out in the garage) and I didn't ride at all until the babies finally left. I did clean the helmet with bleach water.

PiggySweet

nope. and wouldn't you know i got hit by a car last year on my bike. didn't get too hurt and didn't hit my head (flipped over the handlebars and did a roll) but i should probably invest in a good helmet. i don't ride much anymore cuz where i live now has alot of hills and the only thing close by is a major highway.

VegGrrl

Didn't wear one on my Harley when I lived in a state w/o a helmet law. Moved to a state w/ a helmet law so had no choice. I got a "BC Beanie". For me it gave me a real false sense of security. I was much more aware of every little thing around me w/o the helmet - I felt SO much more vulnerable - and let's face it, awareness and DEFENSE is your only defense when you're on a bike!!! There are no "fender benders" on a bike! So I prefer no helmet.

If I don't wear one on a Harley, I surely am not going to wear one on a bicycle. (And for the same reasons.)

And since I'm a responsible citizen I have very clearly spelled out "living will"/advanced directive/dnr papers filed with my attorney. I'm vegan but I don't want to be a vegetable! :noway:

BTW, I was in a motorcycle accident (passenger, mind you! I never had any type of accident once I got my own bike.) where we took a curve too fast and went flying off the road at about 55 mph. The bike hit a boulder and I was literally catapulted off of it. The way I landed, had I been wearing a full helmet, my neck would have been snapped. As it was, I walked away with some ribs torn from the sternum and whiplash. So that's my anecdotal evidence AGAINST helmets. And just because it MUST be said: if you don't wear proper clothing and boots, why bother with the helmet?! Ever see these fools wearing shorts and flip flops with a big ol' full face helmet on? WTF?!

curvykim78

Yes, yes, yes. I wear a helmet when I ride my bike. I work with people with brain injuries and concussions and I won't risk one myself.

THIS.....is an eye opener! Thank you.