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

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curvykim78
curvykim78 Posts: 799 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
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?
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Replies

  • x_JT_x
    x_JT_x Posts: 364
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    I sure do. I'd be a hypocrite if I forced my child to wear a helmet and I didn't.
  • Nerdy_Rose
    Nerdy_Rose Posts: 1,277 Member
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    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
    MJMARIN81 Posts: 49
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    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
    mjbell642 Posts: 229 Member
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    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_
    _CowgirlUp_ Posts: 585 Member
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    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
    BeckyAnneGreenGables Posts: 40
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    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
    Masq Posts: 191 Member
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    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
    MelanieSkittle Posts: 43 Member
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    Always. Better safe than.......
  • krumpli
    krumpli Posts: 76 Member
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    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! :D
  • Aunt_Kiki
    Aunt_Kiki Posts: 47 Member
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    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
    litatura Posts: 569 Member
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    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
    Lotusstarr Posts: 112 Member
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    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
    JBott84 Posts: 268 Member
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    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
    areemeyer Posts: 9 Member
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    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
    SheilaG1963 Posts: 298 Member
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    Not on my bike and no riding helmet on my horse, either.
  • Lidenbrock
    Lidenbrock Posts: 47
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    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
    KidP Posts: 247 Member
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    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
    AnnyaSB Posts: 233 Member
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    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
    GFreg Posts: 404
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    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
    TheRealParisLove Posts: 1,907 Member
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    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.

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