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Our family does without a car and I take my daughter to school or pick her up in my cargo e-bike. Neither my wife or I wear helmets as speeds are slow around he

by jchrisa 13y ago

Our family does without a car and I take my daughter to school or pick her up in my cargo e-bike. Neither my wife or I wear helmets as speeds are slow around here and there are plenty of other family bikers. I think my daughter is safer when I'm not wearing a helmet, as I can see and hear better and most importantly it's easier to make eye contact with drivers when you don't have a helmet on.

eCa 13y ago
What kind of helmet impairs vision and hearing? I haven't heard this before so I'm curious.
- alistairSH 13y ago
  Downhill racing helment? Motorcycle helmet? Neither of which you'd normally wear on a road bike.
  - reubenmorais 13y ago
    Or in a commute/recreational ride, which is the type of bike riding we need to increase.
- jchrisa 13y ago
  Would you be able to take in all the sites and sounds around you on a nature hike, say you are going birdwatching or something, just as well with a foam hat on? If you can see your helmet at all then that's part of your peripheral vision you are sacrificing. And if you can't see your helmet it's probably not gonna do much in a car crash anyway... I prefer not to get hit and one way to do it is ride in a part of the world that respects people on bikes. When I lived in Mountain View I wore a helmet... but I also didn't bike much.
  - reubenmorais 13y ago
    >And if you can't see your helmet Properly worn bike helmets are invisible to the person wearing it (except for the head visor extension if you use one, and that's above you so doesn't really get in the way). >it's probably not gonna do much in a car crash anyway Bike helmets aren't designed to protect you from a crash with a car, so yes, it's probably not going to do much, even if it was in your peripheral vision.
- jessaustin 13y ago
  Every helmet I've ever tried impairs hearing at speeds easily reachable on a bicycle. When I hear the rushing of air in and around a helmet, my aural sensitivity and awareness of overtaking motor vehicles is decreased. This isn't so much of an issue on high speed roads, as many vehicles on such roads can approach without making much noise. However, it's huge on city streets on which most vehicles don't exceed about 40mph. My hearing isn't even that good, but when I've been riding in traffic for several weeks, without turning my head I can easily tell UPS trucks (very dangerous) from SUVs (not paying attention but fairly predictable) from straight trucks/semis (pretty safe since they are on alert in urban environments; just don't pass them unless you know you can get clear before they turn).
jchrisa 13y ago
I don't want to dwell on the negative, but a big reason I don't wear a helmet is because I think they send the message that what I'm doing is dangerous when it's exactly the opposite. And that message is part of the whole complex of ideas keeping otherwise healthy people in their cars. It's been documented (and backed up by my and others anecdotal experience) that motorists are more respectful of riders without helmets. There are plenty of resources here's one http://cyclehelmets.org/ http://cyclehelmets.org/
- rdtsc 13y ago
  > I think they send the message that what I'm doing is dangerous when it's exactly the opposite. I would imagine most people would qualify what you are doing as dangerous. There maybe nothing technically wrong you do while riding, but if you are sharing the road with cars it takes one tired, drunk, texting or senile or otherwise inattentive driver to squash both you and your daughter. They don't even need to go that fast. I have seen it myself -- dad hauls his kid in one of those trail-behind carriers, it is nighttime already. Rush hour traffic. Flag barely seen, not big or high enough. People coming home tired and overworked, I've seen a close call once. Very scary stuff. Honestly I was thinking "what a dumbass" about that particular parent. And I can't see how it would be otherwise in that one case. Most bicyclists I know have had serious falls. Some been hit by cars on rural roads. Out of my acquaintances that are motorcyclists, many are now ex-acquaintances and that is not because we fell apart but because they are dead now. It is often not their fault, it is a drunk driver, or other drivers' fault, it just they are exposed and vulnerable around large heavy SUV sized cars moving around. > that motorists are more respectful of riders without helmets. Use of "respectful" here is a bit funny? It would seem they are not thinking exactly "respectful" thoughts, probably thinking "What is this crazy guy doing here? He is going to get himself killed!". Well ok maybe it doesn't matter as long as cars stay away, but that doesn't' help promote the idea of safety, it promotes the negative idea -- people who bike are crazy unsafe and need to be protected from themselves.
  - jchrisa 13y ago
    Maybe where you live but here the city makes big strides and on nice days easily 20% of the dropoffs in our preschool are by bike.

by jchrisa 13y ago

eCa 13y ago

What kind of helmet impairs vision and hearing? I haven't heard this before so I'm curious.

alistairSH 13y ago
Downhill racing helment? Motorcycle helmet? Neither of which you'd normally wear on a road bike.
- reubenmorais 13y ago
  Or in a commute/recreational ride, which is the type of bike riding we need to increase.
jchrisa 13y ago
Would you be able to take in all the sites and sounds around you on a nature hike, say you are going birdwatching or something, just as well with a foam hat on? If you can see your helmet at all then that's part of your peripheral vision you are sacrificing. And if you can't see your helmet it's probably not gonna do much in a car crash anyway... I prefer not to get hit and one way to do it is ride in a part of the world that respects people on bikes. When I lived in Mountain View I wore a helmet... but I also didn't bike much.
- reubenmorais 13y ago
  >And if you can't see your helmet Properly worn bike helmets are invisible to the person wearing it (except for the head visor extension if you use one, and that's above you so doesn't really get in the way). >it's probably not gonna do much in a car crash anyway Bike helmets aren't designed to protect you from a crash with a car, so yes, it's probably not going to do much, even if it was in your peripheral vision.
jessaustin 13y ago
Every helmet I've ever tried impairs hearing at speeds easily reachable on a bicycle. When I hear the rushing of air in and around a helmet, my aural sensitivity and awareness of overtaking motor vehicles is decreased. This isn't so much of an issue on high speed roads, as many vehicles on such roads can approach without making much noise. However, it's huge on city streets on which most vehicles don't exceed about 40mph. My hearing isn't even that good, but when I've been riding in traffic for several weeks, without turning my head I can easily tell UPS trucks (very dangerous) from SUVs (not paying attention but fairly predictable) from straight trucks/semis (pretty safe since they are on alert in urban environments; just don't pass them unless you know you can get clear before they turn).

jchrisa 13y ago

I don't want to dwell on the negative, but a big reason I don't wear a helmet is because I think they send the message that what I'm doing is dangerous when it's exactly the opposite. And that message is part of the whole complex of ideas keeping otherwise healthy people in their cars. It's been documented (and backed up by my and others anecdotal experience) that motorists are more respectful of riders without helmets. There are plenty of resources here's one http://cyclehelmets.org/ http://cyclehelmets.org/

rdtsc 13y ago
> I think they send the message that what I'm doing is dangerous when it's exactly the opposite. I would imagine most people would qualify what you are doing as dangerous. There maybe nothing technically wrong you do while riding, but if you are sharing the road with cars it takes one tired, drunk, texting or senile or otherwise inattentive driver to squash both you and your daughter. They don't even need to go that fast. I have seen it myself -- dad hauls his kid in one of those trail-behind carriers, it is nighttime already. Rush hour traffic. Flag barely seen, not big or high enough. People coming home tired and overworked, I've seen a close call once. Very scary stuff. Honestly I was thinking "what a dumbass" about that particular parent. And I can't see how it would be otherwise in that one case. Most bicyclists I know have had serious falls. Some been hit by cars on rural roads. Out of my acquaintances that are motorcyclists, many are now ex-acquaintances and that is not because we fell apart but because they are dead now. It is often not their fault, it is a drunk driver, or other drivers' fault, it just they are exposed and vulnerable around large heavy SUV sized cars moving around. > that motorists are more respectful of riders without helmets. Use of "respectful" here is a bit funny? It would seem they are not thinking exactly "respectful" thoughts, probably thinking "What is this crazy guy doing here? He is going to get himself killed!". Well ok maybe it doesn't matter as long as cars stay away, but that doesn't' help promote the idea of safety, it promotes the negative idea -- people who bike are crazy unsafe and need to be protected from themselves.
- jchrisa 13y ago
  Maybe where you live but here the city makes big strides and on nice days easily 20% of the dropoffs in our preschool are by bike.