The CycleChat Helmet Debate Thread

[martint235]

Sorry Justin but he didn't bring debate. He ignored 120 pages of debate and weighed in without providing any evidence or reasoned debate. Instead we got "I used to be a busy, it's a no brainer, wear a helmet or your family will be sorry"

 

[Profpointy]

No, just somebody with an opinion, which happens to be different to yours, some of you really are excelling yourselves with abusive comments, I thought better of you in engaging in decent debate but alas just nastiness seems to prevail.

I don't think opinion per se was the "problem" to be fair

 

[Mugshot]

No, just somebody with an opinion, which happens to be different to yours, some of you really are excelling yourselves with abusive comments, I thought better of you in engaging in decent debate but alas just nastiness seems to prevail.

Justin your troll fu needs some work, it's rather transparent, however you did get some replies so I'll give you 3/10.

 

[Justinslow]

Seriously think about what people are saying here - you can agree or not, but at least try and think.
Is cycling more dangerous (head injury wise) than other everyday activites eg beer-drinking - in your line of work, we'd hazard a guess you've seen quite a few head injuries following (maybe excessive) beer drinking. If this is so, do you advocate beer drinking helmets ? If not, why not?
You can of course dismiss this as silly. But other than looking silly, is it silly really

Yes it is silly, everybody has a choice when they go drinking or walking down the street throughout the world, and they choose not to wear one, just like everybody has a choice to wear a helmet or not when cycling or rock climbing or canoeing etc, but guess what, some decide they want to wear one some don't, free choice.

 

[MontyVeda]

Yes it is silly, everybody has a choice when they go drinking or walking down the street throughout the world, and they choose not to wear one, just like everybody has a choice to wear a helmet or not when cycling or rock climbing or canoeing etc, but guess what, some decide they want to wear one some don't, free choice.

so why is it... only where cycling is concerned that helmets are such a hot topic when head injuries can be sustained in many walks of life?

 

[screenman]

so why is it... only where cycling is concerned that helmets are such a hot topic when head injuries can be sustained in many walks of life?

I think you will find they are talked about in many sports, but for obvious reasons most on here are concentrated on cycling.

 

[Justinslow]

Justin your troll fu needs some work, it's rather transparent, however you did get some replies so I'll give you 3/10.

My comments are accurate, as soon as anybody dares to say something positive about helmets (in their opinion) they are rounded on by "the heavies", anecdotal evidence is fine for this debate as set out at the beginning, we are cyclists, I find @gds58 comments incredibly useful, I am not in the habit of getting blind drunk and falling over (and don't really know anybody who does) however remote the chances of 1, an accident happening whilst on the bike and 2, a helmet being "any good" are, I and others like me will not take that chance and will continue to wear a helmet.

 

[Justinslow]

so why is it... only where cycling is concerned that helmets are such a hot topic when head injuries can be sustained in many walks of life?

Is it such a hot topic, really, outside of this thread?

 

[Profpointy]

Yes it is silly, everybody has a choice when they go drinking or walking down the street throughout the world, and they choose not to wear one, just like everybody has a choice to wear a helmet or not when cycling or rock climbing or canoeing etc, but guess what, some decide they want to wear one some don't, free choice.

There are sizeable campaigns to "push" cycle helmets, with dishonest statistics and downright lies and moral blackmail, quite apart from any on-the-one-hand / on-the-other and free choice. I've started to notice that virtually no-one is ever shown on television cycling without a helmet (apart from say a WW2 drama or whatever). We had the Advertising Standards Authority banning an advert for including a helmetless cyclists because it was "irresponsible" (later ban was retracted). Free choice is being ratcheted away - especially as the "being any good" point isn't remotely been established - quite the opposite if anything.

The contrast between drinking helmets / pedestrian helmets and car passenger helmets and other (so say silly) suggestions is quite large.

 

[gds58]

Sorry Justin but he didn't bring debate. He ignored 120 pages of debate and weighed in without providing any evidence or reasoned debate. Instead we got "I used to be a busy, it's a no brainer, wear a helmet or your family will be sorry"

If you are going to quote then have the decency to do it accurately and in the appropriate context in which it was used.

 

[martint235]

If you are going to quote then have the decency to do it accurately and in the appropriate context in which it was used.

It was never meant as a verbatim (sorry word for word, you probably can't cope with big words) quote, I feel it carried the giste of what you had said. Much as I disagree with people like Justin, it has to a large extent been a debate so far which you couldn't be arsed to read.

 

[newfhouse]

If you are going to quote then have the decency to do it accurately and in the appropriate context in which it was used. N

I thought it an accurate précis of your original post. What did he miss?

 

[Profpointy]

If you are going to quote then have the decency to do it accurately and in the appropriate context in which it was used.

that was pretty much what you said to be fair, albeit not a direct quote. Didn't misrepresent your statement as far as I could see, nor mischievously paraphrase to put what you said in a particularly bad light

 

[Justinslow]

If you are going to quote then have the decency to do it accurately and in the appropriate context in which it was used.

I can't really challenge others for the language used without challenging you now can I! I'm not some kind of goody goody and by God I've had to hold my tongue in the past, but how does this help anything?

 

[glenn forger]

3/

Since gardening is more likely to result in injury than cycling per hour, have you registered on the Gardeners' World forum to shriek "It's your FUNERAL!" at our helmetless green-fingered brethren?