# he said he wouldn't wear a helmet so I just started crying **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 29, 2008, 6:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/he-said-he-wouldnt-wear-a-helmet-so-i-just-started-crying/439618 "2008-02-29T06:52:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2008, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/he-said-he-wouldnt-wear-a-helmet-so-i-just-started-crying/439618/41 "2008-02-29T17:07:23Z")
This is probably the wrong reaction, but the thread title made me laugh. ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2008, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/he-said-he-wouldnt-wear-a-helmet-so-i-just-started-crying/439618/42 "2008-02-29T17:13:57Z")
[QUOTE=saoirse] 2) They make it hard to hear. [/QUOTE] [Whiskey](http://www.dpi.wa.gov.au/cycling/images/helmet_hair.jpg) [Tango](http://www.cchosp.com/images/bike_helmet.jpg) [Foxtrot](http://omitted.net/images/danfoxysfall.jpg) [?](http://images1.comstock.com/Imagewarehouse/TS/SITECS/NLWMCompingVersions/C0026/C0026979/C0026979.jpg) If you are wearing it so that it is obstructing your hearing, seriously you need to learn how to put it on correctly. During my google search to find the above images, I also found an X-ray of guy that doesn’t wear a [helmet.](http://www.tech2.com/media/images/img_4670_brainy.jpg)🙂 You also might find this [account](http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://herpolhode.com/rob/xray/20030521-supine.jpg&imgrefurl=http://herpolhode.com/rob/xray.html&h=1200&w=1600&sz=593&hl=en&start=267&um=1&tbnid=nFWe1mrigtHrsM:&tbnh=113&tbnw=150&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dbicycle%2Bhelmet%26start%3D252%26ndsp%3D18%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26safe%3Doff%26sa%3DN) interesting. > [@](#): > > coming > downhill i hit a pothole and fell from the bike. kindly > passersby stopped to help me out. one of them put our bikes > on the bike rack on top of his car and drove us to the stanford > medical center. i remember apologizing profusely for getting > blood all over his car. i had broken three ribs in five places, > smashed the clavicle, and split the scapula from bottom to top, > just short of the socket. the shoulder joint is fine but there > was lots of damage around it. **of course i had my helmet on > and if this accident was any indication i suggest you follow my > example. the helmet was destroyed but i had only minor bruising > on my head and no concussion, not even a headache.** > > road rash too, but never mind that. If you still aren’t convinced, you might want to look at this science fair project about the need for a helmet in [low speed accidents](http://www.stevespanglerscience.com/experiment/00000194) AKA are you smarter than an 8th grader? Also if you are getting distracted by your bike helmet, maybe you should consider not going out alone in public. How is a helmet distracting? 😕 [Disturbing ad for wearing helmets](http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.frederiksamuel.com/blog/images/prohelm.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.frederiksamuel.com/blog/2006/03/initiative-prohelm.html&h=500&w=736&sz=147&hl=en&start=3&um=1&tbnid=m-BmIm7Hl50FmM:&tbnh=96&tbnw=141&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dbicycle%2Bhelmet%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26safe%3Doff%26sa%3DN) Work safe, but graphic. don’t say I didn’t warn you. ---
**Author:** ![Valgard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/7feea3/32.png) [@Valgard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Valgard)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2008, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/he-said-he-wouldnt-wear-a-helmet-so-i-just-started-crying/439618/43 "2008-02-29T17:15:21Z")
I ride a lot, both on and off road, and I wear my helmet every single time (been doing so since high school). I have taken spills down stairs when I was trying something dumb, had chains jump the derailleur and jam, throwing me off the bike with no warning, had high-speed flats, had collisions/near collisions with people/cars/pets/riders/vegetation, you name it. Stuff happens, sometimes my fault and sometimes not. I’d actually be more concerned about an accident if I was in a big mob of other riders. Helmet has saved me some grief before. Fer chrissakes, a helmet is $50 worth of foam and plastic. If it saves you just one painful knock on the noggin (and it will) then it’s worth it, let alone a trip to the hospital. Even if you don’t chalk it up to pregnancy hormones I think you were totally right to push your hubby to put on the brain armor. ---
**Author:** ![saoirse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@saoirse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saoirse)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2008, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/he-said-he-wouldnt-wear-a-helmet-so-i-just-started-crying/439618/44 "2008-02-29T17:17:49Z")
[QUOTE=Mr Bus Guy] If a car hits you, ain’t no helmet going to help your head. [/QUOTE] And that’s more likely if you’re wearing a helmet. [QUOTE=Praetor] 5. This is just silly. I seriously doubt drivers passing a bicyclist give any more or less room because of safety equipment. [/QUOTE] [Doubt no more.](http://www.bath.ac.uk/news/articles/releases/overtaking110906.html) ---
**Author:** ![isewsometimes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/45deac/32.png) [@isewsometimes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/isewsometimes)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2008, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/he-said-he-wouldnt-wear-a-helmet-so-i-just-started-crying/439618/45 "2008-02-29T17:33:38Z")
Hi, Just wanted to back this post up. I had a similar experience this last spring (2007). My boyfriend is a regular commuting cycler and often rides his bike through the metropolitan area of Salt Lake City. Well, when I got a bicycle in March, I immediately bought a helmet and realized that he hadn’t been wearing one all this time! I asked him about it and he said “Well I wear a helmet when I go on like a _bike ride!_” “Well that’s not good enough,” I said, “You are much more likely to get hurt by a car in traffic than when you are riding your bike on a desolate trail.” He didn’t buy it. I pouted about it for a while, and then decided not to be his mom (he hasn’t committed to love me and a fetus forever, yet). For a while, everytime he would go out the door with his bike I would say “You should wear your helmet…” and he’d reply “yeah yeah” and head out the door (without helmet). In May I went to the Czech Republic for 5 weeks. When I returned, my boyfriend was obviously excited to see me after my long absence. The next time we went out on our bikes, he brought his helmet. Curious… Then the next time he had it, and the next time, and the next time!! Sounds like he just needed some time to adjust to the helmet idea (and pretend it was his idea, not mine). Oh those guys!!! ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2008, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/he-said-he-wouldnt-wear-a-helmet-so-i-just-started-crying/439618/46 "2008-02-29T17:43:21Z")
[QUOTE=saoirse] [Doubt no more.](http://www.bath.ac.uk/news/articles/releases/overtaking110906.html) [/QUOTE] Fine, I’ll avoid bicycling in Salisbury and Bristol then. They sound like vicious places if a professor can get smacked twice during the course of a study when I’ve only been hit once ever. 😉 As for a leisurely bike ride and no need for a helmet, the one and only time my husband went over the handlebars of his bicycle was riding through the relatively slow-paced streets of our suburb’s “downtown” area. He landed on his shoulder (doing a tucked-in roll, no less) with enough force to shatter a chunk of bone off the top of his humerus, which put him out of work for weeks, required physical therapy, etc. Landing on an unhelmeted head would have been brutal. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Il\_Palazzo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Lord\_Il\_Palazzo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Il_Palazzo)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2008, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/he-said-he-wouldnt-wear-a-helmet-so-i-just-started-crying/439618/47 "2008-02-29T17:49:37Z")
[QUOTE=saoirse] 4) They give you the false impression that you’re safe. [/QUOTE] What in the name of all that makes sense! Does you car have airbags? Do you wear a seat belt while driving? Why? They just give you a false impression that you’re safe. Seriously, not taking safety precautions just because there is some amount of danger with or without them is one of the stupidest things I’ve heard in quite some time. Yes, riding a bike carries some risk. That is why equipment is available to reduce that risk. Short of futuristic sci-fi force fields, nothing will provide completely invincibility while biking. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t eliminate as much risk as is reasonably possible. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Il\_Palazzo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Lord\_Il\_Palazzo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Il_Palazzo)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2008, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/he-said-he-wouldnt-wear-a-helmet-so-i-just-started-crying/439618/48 "2008-02-29T17:50:42Z")
[QUOTE=Staggerlee] 1. They look shit. [/QUOTE] Oh, and hospital gowns don’t? ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2008, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/he-said-he-wouldnt-wear-a-helmet-so-i-just-started-crying/439618/49 "2008-02-29T18:07:13Z")
[QUOTE=Airman Doors, USAF] The odds are so low, why would you worry about it? [/QUOTE] Curiously, this same argument doesn’t prevent people from spending hundreds of dollars on lottery tickets. [QUOTE=Fugazi] You know, I never wore a helmet as a kid either. I wonder how me and all my friends made it to adulthood. Sometimes I think that we as a society have grown a little too risk adverse. [/QUOTE] I completely agree. The application of progressively more stringent safety standards and equipment designed to mitigate the risk and severity of injury has left us with a dearth of population reducing hazards in daily life, which has resulted in excess population with attendant resource depletion and low utilization in the medical trauma and occupational therapy sectors. Far from promoting the use of safety equipment and practices designed to alleviate injury we should encourage unsafe behavior in the hope of thinning the crowd and keep the hospital industry in work. [QUOTE=Zambini57] But, I don’t wear a helmet, because if I do then I can’t wear my headphones. [/QUOTE] You should get yourself [a pair of these](http://www.mostly-harmless.de/joo.html) as well, to further avert any sense of danger or hazard. I’m still waiting for someone to provide a credible rationale for not wearing a helmet that a five year old can’t punch logical holes through. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2008, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/he-said-he-wouldnt-wear-a-helmet-so-i-just-started-crying/439618/50 "2008-02-29T18:08:04Z")
[QUOTE=saoirse] [Doubt no more.](http://www.bath.ac.uk/news/articles/releases/overtaking110906.html) [/QUOTE] From your link > [@](#): > > The average car passed 1.33 metres (4.4 feet) away from the bicycle, whereas the average truck got 19 centimetres (7.5 inches) closer and the average bus 23 centimetres (9 inches) closer. It does not say if these distances are with or without helmets. No matter, three feet is plenty of room. I’m fine with that. As a matter of fact, I am fine with any passing distance that is \>0. However if the car/truck/bus passing distance gets = 0 or \<0 I want all the protection I can get. That means I wear a helmet. I still want to know how a helmet obstructs your hearing, and is distracting. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Whammo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8dc957/32.png) [@Whammo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whammo)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2008, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/he-said-he-wouldnt-wear-a-helmet-so-i-just-started-crying/439618/51 "2008-02-29T18:18:22Z")
[QUOTE=Airman Doors, USAF] This is a bicycle. right? Were it a motorcycle I would agree that he should wear a helmet, but a bicycle? I’ve never worn a helmet, and my son notwithstanding I’m not going to start now. I’ve been hit by cars, I’ve been thrown over the handlebars, I’ve slipped chains and fallen off, hell, I’ve left skin all across Central Pennsylvania. But I never hit my head. Not even once. The odds are so low, why would you worry about it? [/QUOTE] Funny… my uncle was in a coma for a couple of days after a bike accident that he still cant remember. ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21906_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2008, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/he-said-he-wouldnt-wear-a-helmet-so-i-just-started-crying/439618/52 "2008-02-29T18:44:44Z")
[QUOTE=saoirse] 5) The most important factor, by far, in your likelihood of injury is how close cars are to you when they pass. If you wear a helmet, they pass very close, and increase your risk of injury. (They pass furthest from a cyclist if the individual is a woman without a helmet. The most effective piece of safety equipment you can wear is a good wig.) [/QUOTE] I think I can honestly say that I don’t pay attention to what a bicyclist is wearing or not (OK, maybe if he’s got nice buns in spandex…) and I give him or her as wide a berth as I can. Back when 2 wheels were all I had to get around, I hated when cars passed too closely - especially the asses who thought it was fun to lay on the horn just as they got beside me. :rolleyes: But my own casual, unscientific observations are that people around here give bikers plenty of room, regardless of their attire. ---
**Author:** ![Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troy_mcclure_sf/32/4150_2.png) [@Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Troy_McClure_SF)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2008, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/he-said-he-wouldnt-wear-a-helmet-so-i-just-started-crying/439618/53 "2008-02-29T18:46:35Z")
Wearing a helmet is asking for trouble and just plain stupid, no matter how one can feebly attempt to justify it. Of course, same goes for Critical Mass. ---
**Author:** ![saoirse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@saoirse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saoirse)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2008, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/he-said-he-wouldnt-wear-a-helmet-so-i-just-started-crying/439618/54 "2008-02-29T18:48:40Z")
[QUOTE=FairyChatMom] I think I can honestly say that I don’t pay attention to what a bicyclist is wearing or not (OK, maybe if he’s got nice buns in spandex…) and I give him or her as wide a berth as I can. Back when 2 wheels were all I had to get around, I hated when cars passed too closely - especially the asses who thought it was fun to lay on the horn just as they got beside me. :rolleyes: But my own casual, unscientific observations are that people around here give bikers plenty of room, regardless of their attire. [/QUOTE] I’m pretty sure the people observed in the study were not making conscious choices. At least, I hope not. ---
**Author:** ![SnakesCatLady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4af34b/32.png) [@SnakesCatLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SnakesCatLady)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2008, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/he-said-he-wouldnt-wear-a-helmet-so-i-just-started-crying/439618/55 "2008-02-29T18:58:24Z")
Interesting topic. This past Tuesday I attended a fundraising dinner for the Children’s Miracle Network. The child “ambassador” who attended this year had been the victim of a catastropic brain injury when he rode his bike down a steep hill and into a brick mailbox. He suffered a “degloving” injury, where his scalp split and peeled off like a glove, and they had to pick skull fragments out of his brain. No, he was not wearing a helmet. In addition to CMN, he works with Safe Kids to show off the nice Frankenstein scar on his head and encourage other kids to wear helments. ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2008, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/he-said-he-wouldnt-wear-a-helmet-so-i-just-started-crying/439618/56 "2008-02-29T19:11:46Z")
[QUOTE=Stranger On A Train] I’m still waiting for someone to provide a credible rationale for not wearing a helmet that a five year old can’t punch logical holes through. Stranger [/QUOTE] > [@Troy McClure SF](#): > > Wearing a helmet is asking for trouble and just plain stupid, no matter how one can feebly attempt to justify it. Ha! Let’s see your five year old punch holes though reasoning like this! Go ahead. I dare you. It really is taking longer than we thought. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troy_mcclure_sf/32/4150_2.png) [@Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Troy_McClure_SF)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2008, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/he-said-he-wouldnt-wear-a-helmet-so-i-just-started-crying/439618/57 "2008-02-29T19:37:08Z")
Fair enough, but if you’re interested in a half-intelligent debate and you’re presented with > [@wolfman](#): > > I already have a custom made helmet, it’s called a skull it’s kinda hard to get it up. And admittedly, I’m less interested in calling out the OP’s event. Calling Critical Mass a “big bike ride” is like saying President Bush “might’ve made an oopsie.” At least in SF, anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e36b37/32.png) [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airman_Doors_USAF)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2008, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/he-said-he-wouldnt-wear-a-helmet-so-i-just-started-crying/439618/58 "2008-02-29T19:39:08Z")
I bow to the opinions of the experts. Please disregard my previous post. ---
**Author:** ![redtail23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/3e96dc/32.png) [@redtail23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/redtail23)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2008, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/he-said-he-wouldnt-wear-a-helmet-so-i-just-started-crying/439618/59 "2008-02-29T19:43:39Z")
Another vote for helmets. I know too many skulls that they’ve saved not to. I didn’t have computers when I was a kid. Does that mean I should refuse to use one now? :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Trunk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/87869e/32.png) [@Trunk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trunk)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2008, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/he-said-he-wouldnt-wear-a-helmet-so-i-just-started-crying/439618/60 "2008-02-29T19:57:15Z")
[QUOTE=Mama Tiger] And it’s really not like wearing a bicycle helmet is uncomfortable – heck, in hot weather it’s even an _excellent_ way to keep your head cool, it doesn’t weigh anything to speak of, being made of styrofoam, and it doesn’t block your vision. So since there’s really no good reason _not_ to wear one and lots of good reasons _to_ wear one, I just don’t understand what’s the big deal. [/QUOTE] What? They don’t keep your head cool. They’re vented so as to provide as much airflow to the head as possible, but they don’t keep your head cooler than not wearing one. FWIW, I wear one, but I still think the benefits they provide are way overrated, especially for a slow ride like critical mass. > [@Rick](#): > > 1 in 8 of the cyclists with reported injuries has a brain injury. This doesn’t mean the odds “aren’t that low”. It means that OF REPORTED INJURIES, 1 in 8 is a brain injury. That means that even if you injure yourself seriously enough to report it (which is a small fraction of all crashes), you still only have a 1 in 8 chance of it being a brain injury. They’re not that great. However, there isn’t much downside to them, so I still wear one. Oh, and I really hope the OP going through those thoughts of “if he loved me and my embryo” is just crazy-pregnancy think. The dude is just thinking, “I don’t want to wear a helmet”. Besides, whoever heard of borrowing a bike for “critical mass”? CM is for bikers trying to make a statement about their recognition as vehicles. Also, reflectors and lights for your adult husband on a critical mass ride? Jesus, I’d try to tone down the mother-birding before that kid shows up. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/he-said-he-wouldnt-wear-a-helmet-so-i-just-started-crying/439618.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/he-said-he-wouldnt-wear-a-helmet-so-i-just-started-crying/439618.md?page=4)