On May 7, 3:21*pm, Frank Krygowski wrote:
On May 7, 3:25*pm, Jay Beattie wrote:





On May 7, 11:05*am, Frank Krygowski wrote:

Ah, Stephen, still posting absolute lies!

To review (not that it should be necessary): *I did not begin by
deciding I was against bike helmets. *In fact, I was once in favor of
bike helmets. *I wore one for almost every ride, and advised others to
do the same. *I bought the line that bicycling was a significant
source of serious head injury, and that helmets greatly reduced that
risk.

It was only after I began reading the research papers on the subject
(both pro and con), and digging for data on comparative risk, that I
changed my mind, based entirely on factual evidence. *I found that the
risk had been grossly exaggerated, the claims of efficacy wildly
overstated, and the specifications and certification tests of bike
helmets laughably inadequate.

Populaiton studies say nothing about whether a helmet is a smart
choice for an individual rider whose risk pattern may be different
from the norm, e.g., someone who rides fast or rides off road or who
rides in inclement weather including ice and snow or who rides in
close proximity to large numbers of other riders. *A person may
perceive a risk that actually exists for him or her, and you cannot
assume that a person is being hysterical or helmet whore or whatever
without seeing that person's riding environment.

There's some truth to that. *If you'll notice, I generally talk about
the low danger level of ordinary cycling.

My riding tends to be reasonably cautious. *That is, I've never been
one for trying to see how fast I could take a curve. *I've exceeded 50
mph only once on a bike. *I long ago gave up really scary mountain
biking. *I seldom ride when roads are icy or really snowy. *I watch
pavement conditions like a hawk.

I think the best chance of justifying bike helmet use, based on their
specifications and on the likelihood of head impact, would be
enthusiastic mountain biking (as opposed to just cruising in the
woods). *Second best would be track racing. *The hills on Portland's
west side when slicked down with winter rain could possibly be
another; I won't pass judgment. *I've ridden those only in dry
weather.

But I think it's obvious that the advice given by helmet promoters,
that cyclists should wear a helmet "... every time they ride their
bike..." is silly. *The level of risk certainly doesn't justify that.
And the measured results from decades of such promotion show that such
advice, to the considerable degree it's been followed, hasn't worked
to a detectable degree.

This is why population studies are meaningless to me in my personal
decision making -- except in terms of my injury reduction
expectations. *I do not expect a helmet to save my life. *However,
helmets have proven benefit in reducing scalp injury, certain upper
facial injuries and skull fractures, which are all costly to treat and
worth avoiding -- particularly for me.

It might be worth asking yourself whether you did ride, or would have
ridden as you do, *in 1973, before helmets were widely used. *What
would you have done differently?

I rode and raced without a helmet at various times -- and in fact, I
was shamed into riding without a helmet by my shaved-leg buddies as
late as '84, and yes, I did not die of a head injury. Since then,
though, I have landed on my head a number of times while wearing a
helmet and appreciated the protection. All of those accidents
occurred on wet or icy roads, some in the dark -- and all while
commuting and not racing or risk taking, except for the inherent risk
of riding in inclement weather. We have inclement weather more than we
don't, and if I avoid riding in bad weather, I wouldn't ride.

I also admit that my mental processing speed hs decreased as well as
visual acccuity. I just transitioned off skis and back on to my bike
and was descending Newberry the other day, and realized my descending
skill were woefully rusty. http://www.flickr.com/photos/brianellin/3433416816/
That's about a 15% grade. At the bottom of that picture and out of the
frame is a tight right hand turn with lots of gravel. I got scared of
wiping out on gravel, took the turn wide and just about got smacked by
a mini-van when I crossed the center line. Totally my fault and only
illustrative because in 1973, I would have made the turn carrying
twice as much speed, and the mini-van would not have been there
anyway. All of my West Hills routes are now choked with cars because
of the way the urban areas have developed. Life is more dangerous than
in 1975 due to increased traffic densities and my own decreased mental
and physical abilities and the fact that I now ride in worse weather,
being that in 1973, I lived in California. Using a comfortable and
light weight helmet seems like a reasonable measure. -- Jay Beattie.