I love helmets

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Mugshot

Cracking a solo.
I can see you are passionate about this,
There are aspects which I am passionate about. My biggest bugbear is that far too often people feel entitled to tell me, and others, that we should be wearing a helmet and it isn't usually done politely. It is rare that any of the individuals concerned have any idea of the counter arguments and it is frequently people that have no desire to ever throw a leg over a bike that feel they can tell me what I should or should not be wearing or doing. Even more frustrating is trying to discuss the issue, it seems almost impossible for people to actually listen to what you have to say, there is only one point of view and that is theirs, anything I say is instantly dismissed as nonsense and ignored.
I don't want to turn up for a bike ride with people I don't know who immediately feel obliged to deride and question my decision to not wear a helmet, particularly when they are not prepared to listen to the reasons why. I don't want family members, work mates or total strangers cajoling, nagging or demanding that I or anybody else should wear a helmet, particularly when the only "evidence" they have is that because it's a helmet it must be good or some spurious anecdote they've heard.
If somebody wants to wear a helmet that's fine by me, but if they or anybody else feels such a need to point out that I don't they should at least have the decency to listen to me when I explain why.
 

Mugshot

Cracking a solo.
[QUOTE 3327389, member: 45"]I have some groups in mind. I'd have hoped that those using the figures about pedestrians would have thought a bit further than the overall numbers.[/QUOTE]

Hmmm well I also wrote this too,

there are people here that really know their stuff, I find it is worth listening to them

So I was hoping I could do a little bit of listening.
However having given it some thought, would you have rathered I'd put pedestrians rather than walkers? I think I would have.
 

Mugshot

Cracking a solo.
[QUOTE 3327457, member: 45"]Sorry, early morning grumpiness, coupled with getting confused between the genuinely inquisitive and the awkward sods.

Older people. Drunks. You'll find that these rank pretty high in the "pedestrian" group for head injuries. Seeing as I don't get drunk, don't fight, am not frail elderly and cross the road responsibly, I'm not convinced that the pedestrian stats relate accurately to me.[/QUOTE]
If we're talking about groups rather than individuals though wouldn't the potential benefits of wearing a helmet apply to the drunks and the infirm?
 

Big Nick

Senior Member
You demonstrate here what to me is one of the biggest if not the biggest issues when it comes to these discussions. You are approaching the subject from a position of ignorance and showing no desire to look at the evidence from the other side of the argument, or alternatively you completely and willfully ignore it. Yet you appear to still feel fully entitled to tell people what they should be doing.

There is a wealth of information on these pages concerning this subject and there are people here that really know their stuff, I find it is worth listening to them and reading the links they put up. May I suggest you do this so you can approach the subject with at least a working knowledge rather than basing your whole argument on a personal anecdote.


@User put it a little more succinctly.

Do you know how arrogant you sound? So you're entitled to tell people what they should be doing are you?

What's your formal qualifications to comment with any authority apart from reading the ramblings of those on here to support your side of the debate?

I could not really care less whether you wear a helmet or not but people like you immediately go on the offensive as soon as someone supports their use being quite offensive calling people ignorant, uneducated and troll

There's then the risks of walking that's thrown in, sorry but aren't we talking about cycling?

Accept some people, actually many people, when travelling at cycle speeds would prefer to have the limited protection afforded by a cycle helmet than be without. In your world they are all wrong but you are not, get over yourself
 

Mugshot

Cracking a solo.
Do you know how arrogant you sound? So you're entitled to tell people what they should be doing are you?

What's your formal qualifications to comment with any authority apart from reading the ramblings of those on here to support your side of the debate?

I could not really care less whether you wear a helmet or not but people like you immediately go on the offensive as soon as someone supports their use being quite offensive calling people ignorant, uneducated and troll

There's then the risks of walking that's thrown in, sorry but aren't we talking about cycling?

Accept some people, actually many people, when travelling at cycle speeds would prefer to have the limited protection afforded by a cycle helmet than be without. In your world they are all wrong but you are not, get over yourself
I'm not trying to tell people what to do, I suggested that you read up a bit about an issue you quite obviously know little about it, I'm not suggesting I do but I am at least willing to read the arguments from all sides.
If you take the time to look through the many previous threads on the subject you will find not merely the ramblings of the members of this forum but also links to studies and reports from various agencies which give figures concerning casualty rates on UK roads for all forms of transport, these are official figures not ramblings or speculations.
I have outlined the reasons why I go on the offensive in some of my posts, it most certainly is not a default position for myself and it does not appear, as far as I'm concerned to be the default position for anybody else that has a similar standpoint to my own. At the risk of repeating myself these debates will almost always end the same way;
"Helmets are great, wear a helmet or you'll die."
"Have you actually looked at the evidence?"
"I fell off once and bumped my head, my helmet saved my life."
"Try looking at it from another angle."
"How dare you suggest I may be mistaken, my helmet saved my life and I don't care if you want to die!!!!"
And thread gets locked
I have never suggested that anybody is wrong to wear a helmet, I have said that they are wrong to not at least consider the other side of the argument and they are wrong to tell me that I am <insert suitable insult here> for not wearing one.
 
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Mugshot

Cracking a solo.
[QUOTE 3327533, member: 45"]Be fair, it is mainly ramblings.[/QUOTE]
What's a forum without a good ramble?
 

Big Nick

Senior Member
Which I would gladly accept, without even demanding you wear a helmet in the pub.
The need for which would depend on the pub
 

Mugshot

Cracking a solo.
There's then the risks of walking that's thrown in, sorry but aren't we talking about cycling?
I've been thinking about this and I wonder if we're approaching things from different directions and failing to meet in the middle.
I'm talking about the risks, either real or perceived, where you could suffer a head injury. I really struggle to see cycling as being such a risky activity that it requires the wearing of a helmet in case you bump you head whereas other activities where you may bump your head are seen as being not sufficiently risky to merit protective headgear. Already in this thread people that routinely wear helmets have spoken about limited protection and wearing them just in case, I find it interesting that this isn't applied to other essentially safe everyday activities.
*Anecdote alert*
I have a friend, who doesn't ride a bike, that used to regularly bring up the subject of helmet wearing and how he thought I should. One day he told me he was very proud that his son, who's around 8 or 9, automatically put his helmet on when he went out on his bike in the Cul de Sac. I asked whether he also wore a helmet on his scooter as my friend had mentioned that he was getting quite fast on it. My friend stomped off saying how I was pathetic.
I honestly cannot see where the line is between the two activities and there appears to me to be many other examples of this.
Is there anything in particular about cycling which makes you see it as needing a helmet, you've mentioned you've fallen and bumped your head but is there anything else? Is it the speeds involved or the environment you ride in or something else that makes you look for added protection?
 

GrasB

Veteran
Location
Nr Cambridge
I stopped wearing a helmet after suffering neck injuries from helmet snagging from lowish speed offs. Since then I've had two instances of left hooks where I've ended up going over the handlebars of my bike my front wheel has hit a pot hole. On both occasions I've not been wearing a helmet & there's been tell-tail marks on my bandanna/cycling cap which say my head was less than 2mm away from the ground. Both times I've not had a single mark or bruise on my head, yet I'm a skinhead and wear my bandanna/cycle caps tight, this means there's been virtually no clearance between my head & the ground. I hate to imagine what sort of force would have been placed on my neck had I been wearing a cycle helmet as on both occasions I was doing well over 25mph, if not 30mph, when I hit the pothole.
 
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Big Nick

Senior Member
Speed I suppose and the fact that cycling on roads you come into contact with many poor drivers who simply don't see or ignore your presence on the road.

I realise that other parts of my body will probably be the parts injured in a crash but I value my head the most so add some protection however small that may be to try and lessen any possible head impact.

I've also ridden motorcycles for 30 years so I suppose putting on a helmet when I take to two wheels has become the norm for me
 
U

User6179

Guest
I stopped wearing a helmet after suffering neck injuries from helmet snagging from lowish speed offs. Since then I've had two instances of left hooks where I've ended up going over the handlebars of my bike my front wheel has hit a pot hole. On both occasions I've not been wearing a helmet & there's been tell-tail marks on my bandanna/cycling cap which say my head was less than 2mm away from the ground. Both times I've not had a single mark or bruise on my head, yet I'm a skinhead and wear my bandanna/cycle caps tight, this means there's been virtually no clearance between my head & the ground. I hate to imagine what sort of force would have been placed on my neck had I been wearing a cycle helmet as on both occasions I was doing well over 25mph, if not 30mph, when I hit the pothole.

Outcome bias
 

benb

Evidence based cyclist
Location
Epsom
This thread proves yet again that human are absolutely terrible at risk assessment, but brilliant at trumping evidence with anecdote.
 
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