Biking with or without a helmet

[pingpong]

How many people bike? If you bike, do you wear a helmet? If not, why don't you wear one. Is it because it looks bad or is it because it is uncomfortable? How safe do you feel without riding your bike without a helmet?

[miestersean]

I usually wear one just for the peace of mind.

[DuchSauce]

Only if I'm mountain biking, if I'm going for a leisurely ride then no--it's uncomfortable.

[kdotc]

gangstas don't need helmets hahhahhaha

[adrianc]

gangstas don't need helmets hahhahhaha

yea. Ganstas only need bullet prove vests and be quick on the draw.

[kdotc]

ya...gangstas don't got time to put on a helmet

[reno]

ya...gangstas don't got time to put on a helmet

nor do they got time to pedal... =P
gansta only need backups!

[twelvedeck]

1 wheel = helmet
2 wheels = helmet
3 wheels = no helmet

[AznWing]

dont like to wear a helmet but the stupid law shit makes you

[lee-lee]

no helmet, no bike. TTC!!! (for those not from toronto, that the bus/subway)

[kdotc]

^ i don't get it!! u mean u don't know how to ride a bike? lol ..... with all these incident on the ttc...like today i heard some1 got hit by a train on yonge line....ttc'ers will start wearing helmets lol

[lee-lee]

no helmet...makes hair go flat. i'll brave it on the ttc.

[kdotc]

lol this past week is just insane on the ttc............dont ride alone at night ;)

[lee-lee]

something happened on the ttc? no choice, it's either take the ttc or walk...

[kdotc]

u dunno about the satbbing incidents? one was in a train and one was like near kennedy station.......hey shouldn't u b sleepin lol

[lee-lee]

read post here about sleep-->http://www.popularasians.com/showthread.php?t=3748&page=16

now, i'm all paranoid about the ttc. how am i gonna get around now...i'm gonna go buy a helmet and bullet proof vest tomorrow...

[kdotc]

u've been up for 2 hrs already lol go sleep

u neeed hookups? =p

[lee-lee]

^naw, i have connections. true, i have to sleep now...have fun making fun of ppl!

[kdotc]

lol i don't make fun of ppl ......... ya u better sleep =p

[reno]

u dunno about the satbbing incidents? one was in a train and one was like near kennedy station.......hey shouldn't u b sleepin lol

not like a helmet gonna protect u from stabbing
unless... u go headbut the guy with ur helmet and pwn him hard =D

[kdotc]

it prevents headshot lol

[reno]

it prevents headshot lol

well u know how helmets have like gaps in them for ventilation
wat if it goes thru there
ur still gone =P

[Knoctur_nal]

no helmet when kickin it freestyle on the two wheeler.

[lee-lee]

i'm gonna buy a couple of bullet proof vests and then sew it to make a full body suit. i'm gonna look like the michelen woman. haha

[DuchSauce]

^just tie a bunch of pillows and or stuffed animals to yourself.

[lee-lee]

^just tie a bunch of pillows and or stuffed animals to yourself.

-noclue pillows and stuffed animals aren't bulletproof. besides i heard, pillows make u look fat. hahhahahahahhhahaha-bigsmile

[kdotc]

lee-lee is one weird peson lol

[lee-lee]

lee-lee is one weird peson lol

hey! i prefer off-centered!

[kdotc]

lol lee-lee is off-centered =p

this reminds me..i need a bike lol...so i can join some ppl..biking to ashbridges bay =p

[ah_wong201]

don't be a squid... wear ur lids

[ItsRobertttt]

lol this thread was about helmets and then it became stuffing yourself with pillows and stuff animals? LOLS

[dann]

^ that would absorb some shock :P

[fearless_fx]

it prevents headshot lol

boom! headshot! -tongue2

[Arisaki]

It's the law to have helmets when biking here which is what my friend says. I only wear my helmet if I'm riding on major streets. Riding with a helmet can get annoying as I always have to tie my hair up. I feel safe with an helmet on major streets and roads.

[hiake]

ScientificAmerican.com May 10, 2007

Strange but True: Helmets Attract Cars to Cyclists By Nikhil Swaminathan

Although you might not want to leave your protective gear at home, just know that if you do, drivers will be a lot more scared of hitting you.

Spring is in full swing now, and a number of the straphangers (read: subway riders) in New York City, as well as citizens in other locales, are getting new tubes and tires and dragging their bikes out of storage. Bicycle riding is the skill you reportedly never forget, but there's a raging debate about whether or not you should forget your helmet when you hop on your two-wheeler.

Last September a plucky psychologist at the University of Bath in England announced the results of a study in which he played both researcher and guinea pig. An avid cyclist, Ian Walker had heard several complaints from fellow riders that wearing a helmet seemed to result in bike riders receiving far less room to maneuver—effectively increasing the chances of an accident. So, Walker attached ultrasonic sensors to his bike and rode around Bath, allowing 2,300 vehicles to overtake him while he was either helmeted or naked-headed. In the process, he was actually contacted by a truck and a bus, both while helmeted—though, miraculously, he did not fall off his bike either time.

His findings, published in the March 2007 issue of Accident Analysis & Prevention, state that when Walker wore a helmet drivers typically drove an average of 3.35 inches closer to his bike than when his noggin wasn't covered. But, if he wore a wig of long, brown locks—appearing to be a woman from behind—he was granted 2.2 inches more room to ride.

"The implication," Walker says, "is that any protection helmets give is canceled out by other mechanisms, such as riders possibly taking more risks and/or changes in how other road users behave towards cyclists." The extra leeway granted to him when he pretended to be a woman, he explains, could result from several factors, including drivers' perceptions that members of the fairer sex are less capable riders, more frail or just less frequent bikers than men.

Randy Swart, founder of the Bicycle Helmet Safety Institute (BHSI), says that studies such as Walker's run the risk of misleading cyclists as to the effectiveness of helmets. "The cars were giving him, on average, a very wide passing clearance already," he explains, noting that most vehicles typically stayed well over three feet from the bikes, rendering the 3.35-inch discrepancy to be insignificant. "If you really want the greatest passing distance, you should wobble down the road," looking as inept as possible, he adds.

Walker actually reanalyzed his data recently to counter this line of reasoning. "I assessed the number of vehicles coming within one meter [roughly 3.3 feet] of the rider, on the principle that these are the ones that pose a risk," he says. "There were 23 percent more vehicles within this one-meter danger zone when a helmet was worn, suggesting a real risk."

Dorothy Robinson, a patron of the Bicycle Helmet Research Foundation and a senior statistician at the University of New England in Armidale, Australia, published a 2006 review article in the BMJ (British Medical Journal) about regions in Australia, New Zealand and Canada that introduced legislation that spurred an over 40 percent increase in bicycle helmet use among their populaces. The newly instituted laws, she found, did not have a significant effect on bicycle accidents resulting in head injuries, the primary purpose of the gear. Her conclusion was "helmets are not designed for forces often encountered in collisions with motor vehicles" as well as that they "may encourage cyclists to take more risks or motorists to take less care when they encounter cyclists."

Coincidentally, around the same time as Walker announced his results, New York City released a report on bicycle deaths and injuries: 225 cyclists died between 1996 and 2005 on New York streets; 97 percent of them were not wearing helmets. Of these deaths, 58 percent are known to involve head injury, but the actual number could be as high as 80 percent. Comparing the helmet to a seat belt in a car, Swart of the BHSI says, "When you do have that crash, you better have it on."

Walker, whose much-publicized report may inspire a new generation of bareheaded riders, won't make any specific recommendations to other cyclists (and neither will Scientific American), though he notes that when it comes to riding in traffic, motorists are the real problem. "If people read the research and decide a helmet makes them safer, they should wear one; if they read the research and decide it doesn't, perhaps they don't need to," Walker says, adding the caveat, "But they do need to read the research!" And watch out for cars.

Credits: SciAm.com (http://www.sciam.com)

So yeah, maybe biking without a helmet is a good idea...

[csquare]

i dunno if biking with a helmet attract cars...rofl but how often do u see ppl wear helmets when u bike...just take a look around next time...yet in many places u are required to =_= ppl should have a choice whether they want to or not

[asianviez]

city biking really need 1
watch out
some stores told me helmets only good 4
1 or 2 years?
is that be4 or after crashing!

[YoJay]

i dont wear a helmet cos i dnt have one, haha.
i dnt think its really needed if your careful enough, but i can understand unexpected incident can occur so it will be best off with one

[g9news]

I don't think it is safe to ride a bike without helmet. It is also illegal to ride without helmet in Australia

[pto88]

why someone would consider biking without a helmet is nuts!!

[roarixer]

I bike all the time and I never wore a helmet before.

[DeuCe09]

helmets are for losers. :P

[fearless_fx]

dont be dumb, protect ur noggin

[kdotc]

helmets are for losers. :P

ya..cooool ppl show off their sexy hair hahahahaha

[dann]

speaking of which... considering i work with bikes... helmets are a must for 18 years and under... so you children can get fined for not wearing helmets here lol its against the law!

as for adults, no need, but if you break your face, dont go complaining lol

[uberpow]

Slow biking + neighborhood+ no tricks= no helmet
cmon nobody gets hurt like that

Fast biking+ rocky terrain+ "its dangerous"= SUPER HELMET
i think everybody agrees to that

[dragong87]

i wear a helmet.. but i don't bike that often... don't know where it is now... :P

[BORNCHINESE]

> > Nah I don't wear helmet's the stuff sticks to your hair and hurts to get out, and it's not like some car is randomly gonna come out of the damn streets and gonna hit chyo ass unless you stupid enough to ride in the streets.

[skywalka]

it illegal to ride with out one in australia

[Flavs83]

I bike without helmet .. it is a hassle to put it and it gets on my eyes. I rather go without helmet.

[kickunow]

around where i live i think i've only seen like 2 ppl riding a bike with a helmet on lol

[csquare]

i never wear a helmet, imo it doesn't really do jack for you, most of the time when u fall the only injuries are scrapes on the knees or elbows =_= and why should the authorities make u wear it? since when did they ever care about my safety, i mean if they did they prob woulda taken old ppl off the roads n prevent them from driving cuz thas where the real danger is

[dann]

i never wear a helmet, imo it doesn't really do jack for you, most of the time when u fall the only injuries are scrapes on the knees or elbows =_= and why should the authorities make u wear it? since when did they ever care about my safety, i mean if they did they prob woulda taken old ppl off the roads n prevent them from driving cuz thas where the real danger is

maybe not for you, but theres also the safety for those who sold you the bike lol

if you break your face, they dont want to risk having you sue them for a faulty bike, even if it was a perfectly fine bike


and plus, what if out of a blue moon some guy pulls up, and you flip onto his car, and still break your face?

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