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

Options
13567…16

Replies

  • LaurenAOK
    LaurenAOK Posts: 2,475 Member
    Options
    Well I feel silly now after reading this thread. I never wear a helmet - I've never seen any other bikers around here wear them. I go biking on a sidewalk around my neighborhood, and it's not on a busy road.

    When I was a kid my mom forced me to wear a helmet when I went out to ride with my friends, but none of them wore helmets and I would just take mine off as soon as I was out of my mom's sight. So I guess it's just habit for me not to wear one! Perhaps I will invest in a helmet when I'm not so broke. But I know how much I HATE wearing them...
  • Zylahe
    Zylahe Posts: 772 Member
    Options
    Yep always.
    Grew up in Oz so got used to one therre.Helmet has saved one friends life.
    Saved hubby from about 3 different hospital trips and saved me from getting brain damage.

    I own 3 helmets ( one for cycling, one for rock climbing and one for skiing)
    All worth it when i count how many times they've paid. For them selves.
  • MeliJean78
    MeliJean78 Posts: 249
    Options
    ALWAYS.
  • Uuuhlexis
    Uuuhlexis Posts: 90 Member
    Options
    My brother used to do professional BMX racing down mountain sides. They ALWAYS wear helmets. The "I can't see" or "they're uncomfortable" excuses are lame and bull. If it isn't comfortable, get one your size, and of higher quality. If you feel like you can't see as well..practice! It's different, but you can learn.
  • gramacanada
    gramacanada Posts: 557 Member
    Options
    It's a law where I live. $167-- if you don't ...so....yeah!
  • Marefr
    Marefr Posts: 39 Member
    Options
    I wear a helmet every single time. I often work with brain injured people and anything I can do to maximize my odds for safety, I'm going to do. Please do, too.

    BTW, I saw a movie once where Minnie Driver got a heart transplant and later they show her riding her bike everywhere with NO helmet. Made me mad.
  • twinteensmom
    twinteensmom Posts: 371 Member
    Options
    Our city recently lost a young college student who was longboarding and fell off. He hit his head and died 2 days later from his injuries. Only 18 and just beginning life. My helmet is ALWAYS on when I am riding my bike>
  • Azdak
    Azdak Posts: 8,281 Member
    Options
    It doesn't take a real crash to do damage. Just getting a foot stuck in a pedal and falling over can result in enough of a whiplash effect to cause injury. There are rationalizations for not wearing a helmet but no justifications.
  • Nerdy_Rose
    Nerdy_Rose Posts: 1,277 Member
    Options
    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?!

    A close of friend of mine was also in a motorcycle accident (passenger) and would have been killed (broken neck) if he had been wearing a full face helmet (he was wearing a BMX helmet that didn't come all the way down on his neck). I don't really see it as evidence against helmets so much as evidence against motorcycles. Lost too many people to motorcycle accidents.
  • andrewlazenby
    andrewlazenby Posts: 151
    Options
    Yes always. I have crashed hard enough to shatter helmets. I still was pretty banged up but i was not a vegetable afterwards.



    Whats sad us seeing people wear the incorrectly. Pushed back on your head is not correct.
  • nxd10
    nxd10 Posts: 4,570 Member
    Options
    I wear one. It does feel stupid, even though my kids wear them every single time they go out.

    I've hit the ground riding with my son on the sidewalk a few blocks from my house, bounced on my helmet three times, and almost broke my collar bone. No damage to my head.

    I've seen a student hit a curb and have a serious concussion that took them out of school for the semester.

    Brains are important. Protect them.
  • thekarens
    thekarens Posts: 254 Member
    Options
    It amazes me that there are adults that don't wear helmets. I wear one regardless of where I'm riding, even if it's in local park or in the subdivision. I've had a couple spills on my bike, going slow, but all it would take is smacking your head against the pavement, even going slow, and your life could be changed forever. You can get a bike helmet at Wal-Mart for $20. Seriously, better safe than sorry. It only takes one time.
  • Spokez70
    Spokez70 Posts: 548 Member
    Options
    Yes, always on my mountain bike and road bike. Even if I'm just dogging along behind my youngest kid at a snail's pace.

    Years ago my middle daughter fell off her bike two days before starting kindergarten and broke her arm. They splinted up her arm at the ER and told us to go see a Pediatric Orthopedic Surgeon- which we did. When he heard she was on a bicycle he asked her (not us) if she had been wearing a helmet, to which she answered yes. He told her that was good- because he could fix anything other than a broken head to be as good as new.
  • robbienjill
    robbienjill Posts: 456 Member
    Options
    Yes!!!! As u can tell by what u observed on the trail, a helmet is the most important equipment. Invest in a good one.
  • bbygrl5
    bbygrl5 Posts: 964 Member
    Options
    I bike alongside of heavy city traffic in spots and average 14-16 mph during my ride, so yes, I absolutely do. I would be an idiot if I didn't in those conditions.
  • BrianSharpe
    BrianSharpe Posts: 9,248 Member
    Options
    I never wore one as a kid, as an adult I always wear mine now. It's like the seatbelt in your car, after a while it becomes automatic (and the newer helmets are better vented, lighter and far more comfortable than they were even 10 years ago)
  • BrianSharpe
    BrianSharpe Posts: 9,248 Member
    Options
    Yes always. I have crashed hard enough to shatter helmets. I still was pretty banged up but i was not a vegetable afterwards.



    Whats sad us seeing people wear the incorrectly. Pushed back on your head is not correct.

    But you're not wearing on in your profile picture....:huh:
  • valeriebpdx
    valeriebpdx Posts: 499 Member
    Options
    Every single time, even a 5-minute ride. It's the law for kids here but not adults. When I see adults without helmets riding with their kids with helmets, I always imagine the unharmed kids staring down at their brain-dead mom--they're not exactly unharmed anymore. Had a mtn bike accident in college and needed 7 stitches over my eye and got better about using a helmet, then the next year an experienced biker (friend of a friend) died on a few-minute ride near his home in Tahoe. I haven't ridden an inch without one since. I think if anyone at all loves you, not wearing one is irresponsible. Just my opinion.
  • Gapwedge01
    Gapwedge01 Posts: 494
    Options
    Always! I keep my cracked helmet sitting in my office as a reminder from my July 2011 accident. No car involved, but I flipped over clipped in after hitting a sharp rise in the asphalt. Never saw it. Tore my jersey on my shoulder and road rash on my leg and a cracked helmet from landing on the side of my head which took the brunt of the fall. Walked away without serious injury. I was lucky.
  • Pebble321
    Pebble321 Posts: 6,554 Member
    Options
    Yes. 2 reasons:
    1. It's the law. I'm not keen to pay a fine for not wearing one.
    2. If I get hit by a car, I can deal with damaged muscles and bones but we can't heal brain injuries.

    Why WOULDN'T you wear one?

Categories