4 ms·

Most people in China don't wear helmets either. Helmets prevent brain injury, but generally you'd have to be going pretty fast, or get hit by a car really fast

by et-al 10y ago

Most people in China don't wear helmets either. Helmets prevent brain injury, but generally you'd have to be going pretty fast, or get hit by a car really fast to land on your head to require one (and then you probably have other injuries to contend with). Also, we have bike light laws in California, but there are plenty of cyclists that don't use them. Personally, if I had to choose between riding without a helmet, or riding without lights; I'll take the lights. Lights prevent accidents whereas a helmet is only needed after an accident has occurred. (It's getting dark sooner; if you don't have lights on your bikes, please buy some. Planet Bike has a nice two light set. Get some, and get some for your friends. Stay seen, stay safe.)

eridius 10y ago
It's not hard to be going fast inadvertently. The worst bike accident I was in involved me coming down a hill, stopping at the bottom on what turned out to be an invisible bump, and flying over my handlebars. I broke my collarbone upon landing, but if I hadn't been wearing a helmet it would have been a lot worse. It just seems foolhardy to me to ride a bike without a helmet, like driving a car without a seatbelt.
- cr1895 10y ago
  The Netherlands is famous for its hills ;)
  - eru 10y ago
    The dikes?
- et-al 10y ago
  > It just seems foolhardy to me to ride a bike without a helmet, like driving a car without a seatbelt. Yes, this is the analogy I've always made. Thanks for emphasizing it.
ptaipale 10y ago
>Helmets prevent brain injury, but generally you'd have to be going pretty fast, or get hit by a car really fast to land on your head to require one (and then you probably have other injuries to contend with). This is wrong. There's some research done on that over here (Finland). First of all, about two thirds of severe bicycle injuries happen without any third parties involved, cars or not. Head injuries are the worst also in this group. Second, a large part of the injuries happen at low speeds, and landing on your head doesn't require fast speeds at all. In fact many of the injuries to head happen at low speeds. And then my personal anecdotes: I've hurt myself three times on bike so much that I needed hospital to check me up. First time, I was 6 years old, fell on my own, broke a clavicle bone. Second time, I was 27 years old on my way to work, a child sprang in front of me, I went OTB and broke a radix bone. My head just chipped the ground a little bit. I started to wear helmet after that. Third time, I was 48 years old on my way from work to home, I fell on my own when I was surprised by some ice. Fairly low speed. No bones broken, but I definitely would have cracked my skull if I had not been wearing the helmet, the bang inside the helmet is something I remember. Just had to skip riding for 6 weeks due to bruises but I still have my skull. I'll probably skip riding the year I'm 69. And you need to believe that you may crack your head even in low speeds and you really should wear that helmet, it may save your life, or it may save your family from having to visit a vegetable. I did live in China some years back, and the beliefs that people had e.g. about safety belts were astonishing. Particularly the reluctance to use them for your own safety. People would even buckle up when they see the police and then take it off right away. There's probably still some way to go there: http://www.carnewschina.com/2013/03/02/fooling-the-police-with-a-safety-belt-t-shirt-in-china/ http://www.carnewschina.com/2013/03/02/fooling-the-police-wi... Finally, I totally agree with what you say about lights. In the dark, they are more important than helmet. But that's not a choice you have to make. Have both.
- cr1895 10y ago
  Lights (rear and front) are compulsory by law in the Netherlands too, though many still do not use them.
  - Freak_NL 10y ago
mcguire 10y ago
"...but generally you'd have to be going pretty fast, or get hit by a car really fast to land on your head to require one." An uncontrolled fall from a standing height is potentially fatal. The impact tests for motorcycle helmets are typically an ~2 meter drop. https://scholar.google.com/scholar?cluster=8810703118305837213&hl=en&as_sdt=0,1&sciodt=0,1 https://scholar.google.com/scholar?cluster=88107031183058372...
- et-al 10y ago
  Agreed, but when people fall, they usually try not to land head first. Also, I was assuming that many commuters in other parts of the world ride more upright bikes (e.g. "Dutch" bikes) that are easier to bail off of. If I get doored while riding at 12mph on an upright bicycle, I'd be more worried about my genitals smashing into the stem of the bike than falling on my head. Again, I'm not saying helmets are useless, but we should view them as seat belts, or even lap belts as best.

by et-al 10y ago

eridius 10y ago

It's not hard to be going fast inadvertently. The worst bike accident I was in involved me coming down a hill, stopping at the bottom on what turned out to be an invisible bump, and flying over my handlebars. I broke my collarbone upon landing, but if I hadn't been wearing a helmet it would have been a lot worse. It just seems foolhardy to me to ride a bike without a helmet, like driving a car without a seatbelt.

cr1895 10y ago
The Netherlands is famous for its hills ;)
- eru 10y ago
  The dikes?
et-al 10y ago
> It just seems foolhardy to me to ride a bike without a helmet, like driving a car without a seatbelt. Yes, this is the analogy I've always made. Thanks for emphasizing it.

ptaipale 10y ago

>Helmets prevent brain injury, but generally you'd have to be going pretty fast, or get hit by a car really fast to land on your head to require one (and then you probably have other injuries to contend with). This is wrong. There's some research done on that over here (Finland). First of all, about two thirds of severe bicycle injuries happen without any third parties involved, cars or not. Head injuries are the worst also in this group. Second, a large part of the injuries happen at low speeds, and landing on your head doesn't require fast speeds at all. In fact many of the injuries to head happen at low speeds. And then my personal anecdotes: I've hurt myself three times on bike so much that I needed hospital to check me up. First time, I was 6 years old, fell on my own, broke a clavicle bone. Second time, I was 27 years old on my way to work, a child sprang in front of me, I went OTB and broke a radix bone. My head just chipped the ground a little bit. I started to wear helmet after that. Third time, I was 48 years old on my way from work to home, I fell on my own when I was surprised by some ice. Fairly low speed. No bones broken, but I definitely would have cracked my skull if I had not been wearing the helmet, the bang inside the helmet is something I remember. Just had to skip riding for 6 weeks due to bruises but I still have my skull. I'll probably skip riding the year I'm 69. And you need to believe that you may crack your head even in low speeds and you really should wear that helmet, it may save your life, or it may save your family from having to visit a vegetable. I did live in China some years back, and the beliefs that people had e.g. about safety belts were astonishing. Particularly the reluctance to use them for your own safety. People would even buckle up when they see the police and then take it off right away. There's probably still some way to go there: http://www.carnewschina.com/2013/03/02/fooling-the-police-with-a-safety-belt-t-shirt-in-china/ http://www.carnewschina.com/2013/03/02/fooling-the-police-wi... Finally, I totally agree with what you say about lights. In the dark, they are more important than helmet. But that's not a choice you have to make. Have both.

cr1895 10y ago
Lights (rear and front) are compulsory by law in the Netherlands too, though many still do not use them.
- Freak_NL 10y ago

mcguire 10y ago

"...but generally you'd have to be going pretty fast, or get hit by a car really fast to land on your head to require one." An uncontrolled fall from a standing height is potentially fatal. The impact tests for motorcycle helmets are typically an ~2 meter drop. https://scholar.google.com/scholar?cluster=8810703118305837213&hl=en&as_sdt=0,1&sciodt=0,1 https://scholar.google.com/scholar?cluster=88107031183058372...

et-al 10y ago
Agreed, but when people fall, they usually try not to land head first. Also, I was assuming that many commuters in other parts of the world ride more upright bikes (e.g. "Dutch" bikes) that are easier to bail off of. If I get doored while riding at 12mph on an upright bicycle, I'd be more worried about my genitals smashing into the stem of the bike than falling on my head. Again, I'm not saying helmets are useless, but we should view them as seat belts, or even lap belts as best.