On 6/21/2018 8:17 AM, Duane wrote:
On 21/06/2018 8:03 AM, Emanuel Berg wrote:
Joy Beeson wrote:

What is the hangup with claiming helmets do
not help? Why isn't it enough just to not
use a helmet oneself and ignore whatever
anyone else is doing?

Why isn't it enough just to use a helmet
oneself and ignore whatever anyone else
is doing?

Personally I don't use a helmet, but isn't that
what happens? Who is ranting about helmet use?
No one here and no one I know. But perhaps in
the road bike and MTB world people do that,
what do I know.


In my experience, the ranting goes on mostly here on RBT.Â* In the real
world people use helmets or don't.

Oh, get real, Duane! How can you pretend that the "ranting" goes on only
here?

How often have you signed up for an invitational bike ride that did not
say "You MUST wear a helmet!"?

Are you unaware of the many bike clubs having rules requiring helmets on
all rides?

Can you enter a bike race anywhere without putting on a helmet?

Have you not seen the dozens, perhaps hundreds of "bike safety"
publications that begin with "Always wear a helmet"? Many of them even
stop there, saying nothing about lights at night, rules of the road,
watching for road hazards, etc. Just "Always wear a helmet."

And the True Believers here and elsewhere probably never ride without
the magic hat; but I can assure you, when I ride I sometimes get
"Where's your helmet??" Sometimes it's an honest question, but more
often it's an obnoxious attack. The last time I got that, maybe a month
ago, it was from a woman who blared her horn trying to get me off the road.

And yes, some of the issue is about laws forbidding bicycling without
helmets. Helmet skeptics never try to pass laws forbidding helmets; but
the helmet fanatics have passed laws in many jurisdictions making it
illegal to ride a bike at all without that weird hat, even in the tamest
circumstances.

Since you're in Canada, Duane: A few years ago, my wife and I were
stopped in some tiny New Brunswick town. We had biked from our B&B about
three blocks to a restaurant (probably the only one in town). After
dinner on that Sunday evening, we biked back by totally quiet, zero
traffic residential streets. About a block from our B&B, a policewoman
came upon us and hit the cruiser lights. Here's how it went:

She: "Where are you from?" Us: "Ohio, in the United States."

She: "Don't you know you must have a helmet to ride a bicycle?" Us:
"Even ADULTS???" (Disclosu I already knew that.)

She: "Yes! That's the law everywhere in Canada!" Me: "No it's not! I
_know_ that's not the law in Ontario!"

She: "Well, they must have some special law. Helmets are required
everywhere else in Canada. Where are you going?" Me: "Our B&B is right
there." She: "Well, don't let me see you riding without a helmet."

(So what effect do you think this has on the amount of bicycling in that
little town?)

Oh, and note again: There's never been a cop saying "Hey you! Take off
that helmet if you're riding a bike!"

--
- Frank Krygowski