Why do I read so many articles promoting the use of bike helmets, when they really don't seem necessary?

Question

I have read many articles saying how bike helmets should be always used and how many lives they save, but I really have never ever found my self in a situation where I might need one. I recently found a websit that actually shows the truth in statistics about bike helmets: http://www.kenkifer.com/bikepages/advocacy/mhls.htm

In response to all of the disagreements that I have gotten so far, here is my reasoning:

http://www.smf.org/
The website "Snell"(^) highly promotes the usage of bike helmets, and is highly reliable. Now lets take my original source (http://www.kenkifer.com/bikepages/advocacy/mhls.htm), which uses Snell's data (http://www.smf.org/articles/injury.html) and shows what it actually means. If you think he's just making this up, figure it out for yourself, trust me it works out, and is 100% true. Here's what what was said:

According to John Hopkins, there are 300 injuries per million bicycle trips and 1.8 billion cycling trips per year. This works out to about 540,000 injuries per year, but even if we assume that each cyclist has an cycling trip every day, that is an average of over nine years between injuries for each cyclist.

He goes on to say that if you figure head injuries, assuming a bike ride every day, it'll be one every 630 years, and for fatal injuries, every 8,427 years.

Here's the actual section of the article:

According to John Hopkins, there are 300 injuries per million bicycle trips and 1.8 billion cycling trips per year. This works out to about 540,000 injuries per year, but even if we assume that each cyclist has an cycling trip every day, that is an average of over nine years between injuries for each cyclist. The number of cycling head injuries requiring hospitalization (from the same source) is 7,700 per year or about 1.5% of the total cycling injuries (about 630 years between head injuries of this severity), and John Hopkins estimates the number of deaths due to head injuries by cycling is about 70 to 80% of the total cycling deaths or say 560 to 650 head injury deaths per year (about three million trips per head injury death, or 8,427 years between these fatalities, assuming a trip every day).

This is only a portion of his entire web page, and I strongly suggest those who disagree to read it.

Also, please cut the "Darwin" junk.

READ THE ABOVE TYPE, AND TELL ME WHY I'M WRONG!

do not tell me 'do you know what it would feel like if you ...........' because unless you can prove what I wrote wrong, then I have about as much a chance as winning the lottery.

By the way, I have never even ridden on a highway, and don't plan to.

Answer 1

just because you personally havnt needed one doesnt mean they do nothing, even the smallest fall could do major damage to your head, not only will you get a major headache you may also suffer from more serious issues, ie. brain damage, skull fractures, or worse off a fatal blow to the head ..

you really never know..

ps.. just because you know how to ride and are careful doesnt mean everyone around you will be such as cars driving etc.. you might be riding slow but you get hit bya car you will be glad you wore a helmet..

Just my opinion take it or leave it :)

Tyler..
Executive Director
Automatic Builder
Create passive income from home
http://www.workathomefree.ws

Answer 2

What the website shows is one person's use of statistics to shore up his stance AGAINST mandatory helmet laws.

This is no different than having the helmet companies and others associated with cycling using statisitics to shore up their argument FOR mandatory helmet laws.

I think the use of helmets is a smart choice - but unless the law is enforced, it makes no sense to have it on the books. For example ... there are "bike police" (which means city cops covering their beat on bicycle, not necessarily simply looking for cyclists breaking the law) that do not wear helmets - even though they are REQUIRED to do so by law, and as part of their job description. What message does that send to yougn kids and other adults about the law?

If the area is relatively high in automobile traffic, or if the surface is rough or has little shoulder ... using a helmet makes a lot of sense. Sure, the design of helmets could be better - but something is often better than nothing, in this case.

If the cyclist rides at high speed (which means above 8 mph = 13 kmh ... the maximum rating for a car or truck bumper), the helmet makes even more sense.

If riding off road, the incidence of head impacts can be much higher (a glancing branch, a whip effect from a vine, a bump from a slip on a rock, etc). The cyclist is traveling slower, so the energy of impact is reduced ... but the frequency more than makes up the difference.

Personally, I'm strongly in favor of helmets for all ages when riding in any open vehicle - including bicycles and motorcycles. As an adult, I try to set a good example for ALL the children in my neighborhood ... I wear one every time the rubber hits the road. And yes - I have personal experience where the helmet made a difference ... even in an impact with a motor vehicle.

Answer 3

Although a bike helmet may seem flimsy or silly and definitely unfashionable, through personal experience and witnessing other semi-major crashes, I can tell you that helmets do work and help! I was knocked off my bike and the my head hit the pavement. I heard the helmet make contact with the cement. Granted, I would've just had a nasty scrape and accompanying headache, but why take the chance? Just the other week on a group ride, one guy was going downhill too quickly and slid over 40 feet. After the accident, he looked at his helmet and a big chunk of styrofoam was missing from the bottom edge of the helmet. The piece was about 3 inches long. Had he not had his helmet on, he may have lost a chunk of his head instead.

So, although I don't think the bike helmet will save your life if you crash head-on into an SUV or something, it does save you in the less serious accidents, possibly keeping those accident less injurious than they could have been.

Answer 4

It is definitely better to wear a helmet.
When it comes to the head, any protection is better than none. It's been shown that the more head traumas, the more likely a person is to get dementia.


I went to that website, and then to the FAQ about them.Interesting reading but his point was more about legislation of mandatory helmets.

After falling from a bike twice at age 55, I'm not sure how effective they were, or why helmet manufacturers say helmets have to be replaced after hitting the ground one time. The 2nd time I fell it didn't seem to protect any less.

I had a very bad accident a year or so after that. I had on a helmet, but it was a little loose. I flew forward and to the side, hitting my forehead on a wrought iron fence, Then I fell to the sidewalk, hitting the helmet. I lay there in agonizing pain, trying to figure out how bad I was hurt. Somebody called an emergency vehicle. my first time in one. They strapped me onto a board, zipped me to the hospital, and x-rayed me.
They had figured I had a broken arm, I didn't. They were not sure if I had a concussion or not, telling me what signs to watch for. I certainly was stunned.

So, my opinion, for what it's worth.

Bicycle helmets help. They don't cover enough of the head however. Now I wear a skateboard helmet. They don't look as snazzy, but they cover a head much better. Bicycle helmets look silly, skateboard helmets look like they do what they are supposed to do.

Also I now ride a Trikke 8 cambering vehicle with air tires. It works the whole body, It is safer to stand on two platforms that sit on a tiny seat, and most of all IT'S MORE FUN!

Oh Yeah, I don't sell them,I just love to ride!

Answer 5

Helmets help keep you pretty. If you want to wear a full face one, then that is your choice. Fashion and peer pressure dictates what is coolest. A skate helmet will help protect you, but a fullface one such as bmx racers use helps protect your face.

People who try to say that it gives wowsers something to campaign about have never seen or been in a cycling accident where the helmet has absorbed the impact saving the person from the injury they would have recieved if not wearing a lid.

Renee Junga would be dead if she had not been wearing a helmet. I have seen the pictures of her helmet. It was cracked open like an egg. Better the helmet than her head.

Answer 6

The seat belt legal regulations are there to hold us dependable on the line if we get into an accident. As for using a motor bike without helmet, I say do no longer, using indisputable fact that while you're in a accident or flung out of your bike you are going to have regardless of to guard your head (believe me i understand, considering that approximately 2 yrs interior the previous i replaced into in a bike accident related to a pickup truck and boy replaced into once I chuffed that i replaced into as quickly as donning a helmet or i does not be right here at modern)

Answer 7

1) Basically because it is a legal requirement when you ride a bicycle in a public place in Australia and some other places.

2) promoting helmets gives the whackers something to do.

3) Helmets do give some small assistance and protection in minor crashes where motor vehicles are not involved.

4) Helmets are of no use in crashes with motor vehicles as the impact speeds for which they are designed are only minor.

5) Helmets can cause head rotation injuries in some crashes.

6) There is no scientific evidence to support the claim that bicycle helmets save lives.

7) Most antedotal reports on the usefulness of bicycle helmets are only talking about saving cosmetic injuries.

8) Whenever you think of Compulsory Helmet Wearing, you should always remember that these campaigns were often instigated by medical doctors and this should remind you how gullible they really are. Which will cause yo to question their medical skills. This may really save your life.

Answer 8

Dude....are you serious? Do you actually buy into this crap? Do you ride at all? If you do ride, you would know the dangers that we face. I for one know that motorists are not really looking for us. If you have never "almost been hit by a motorist" then I don't believe you really ride. One wipe out on your bike (if you actually ride) and you will know that a helmet is invaluable. Either that, or you have already hit your head a few times, which I am begining to see by your responses might be the case.

Answer 9

the one time you dont wear a helmet will be the time you have an accident. do you really want to take that chance? i wear my helmet whenever i ride, and its saved my life a few times already, and it not because im an inexperienced rider- lots of motorists drive dangerously and dont pay attention to cyclists.

the guy who wrote that article is weird...
heres another example. the law says i have to drive on the right side of the road. but i dont want to. i think i should have the choice to drive on the left side of the road if i want to. so why is there a law about it? for the safety of myself and others, i have to drive on the right side so i dont get into an accident.

the same thing applies to helmets. your taking a big risk by not wearing one. IF you happened to get into an accident, your gonna be a dead or a veg. if you have a helmet, you can just walk away with a few scratches. your helmet or your head?

my advice: drop a $100 on a nice looking helmet that appeals to you. i spent $170 on my helmet and i like to wear it because it looks cool. everyone who sees it says so. check it out.
http://www.marchasmiticas.com/images/misc/specialized2005/specializedDecibel.jpg

Answer 10

The "truth" is that I have personally destroyed three bike helmets in my 17 years of serious cycling, and none of them were done while riding fast or doing anything dangerous.

You do what you want, but I guarantee I'll outlive you by a long shot. That's called "Darwinism", and it's the reason the slow, weak, and stupid members of a species die out before passing on their inferior genes.

Answer 11

It's an insurance policy. Most people pay hundreds of dollars per month for insurance (auto, home, unemployment, etc.) even though most never actually needed to use the services promised by the insurance policy because nothing bad ever happens to them. Same thing with bike helmets, except you don't have to keep paying for a bike helmet every month.

It's your right to decide that it's unnecessary for yourself, but it's not your right to say it's unnecessary for everyone else. Let those who wants to wear them wear them.