TBH I wouldn’t have said anything and I would have ridden with the chap. His decission only impinges on my happy little bubble in the relatively unlikely event that he takes a tumble and bumps his noggin the risk is to him not me and is relatively minimal (by his own estimation) why project your own assessment of risk onto others?

Sounds like the OPs concern wasn’t so much safety as potential inconvienience, but his own assessment of personal safety seems to have inflated a potential inconvienience to an apparent certainty…

A helemt doesn’t totally insulate the wearer from all concievable head injuries, by the same token not wearing one doesn’t make brain death a certainty.

A helmet is a risk minimisation device at best, their use is entirely discressionary under the law in this country and I think it should remain so…

I always wear a helmet myself, although I don’t actually fall off all that much and very, very seldom actually bash my head, on balance, and following a big concussion when much younger made the personal decision to always wear one.

If someone else wanted to go riding with me helmetless I’d have no real problem with that, it’s their noggin I may choose to warn them if I think there’s some significant risk of taking a tumble on the route, maybe offer a spare lid if they wanted; but once you’re a grown up you should be able and allowed to make up your own mind so far as I’m concerned…

Edit:

re-reading some of the posts on here it mostly reads like people are merrily confusing the severity of potential consequences with the likelyhood/frequency of occurance when “Assessing risk”… They are two quite different things…

I’d forgotten my helmet as I was about to begin my descent. Must’ve looked a bit strange because I was wearing knee pads

On your head?

No, but that wouldn’t have been a bad idea.

I’ve been lucky enough not to have many accidents over the last few years, but one that I did have left me with a split Giro Xen. It not only saved my skull, but also the services of an ambulance crew.

Quick question. If it was a choice between one or the other, would you take a first aid kit and survival blanket or a helmet?

What I don’t understand is the obsession with wearing a helmet while on a bicycle, but not all the other times you could hit your head.

This is interesting as I attend people with head injuries on a daily basis at work. In fact, counting back the last four shifts, I have attended 7 head injury calls (I’m a Paramedic) and with two exceptions they were all over 70. I would be far more inclined, based on personal experience, to advocate the compulsory wearing of head protection at all times for anyone getting a bit doddery on their feet 😉

Remarkably (or is it?) I have not seen a head injury, apart from facial cuts and bruises, from a road bike or mtb accident in, (guessing) 15 + calls in the past 3 years, and at least half of them were not wearing a helmet. The reasons for this are debatable and range from pure luck to the body having an instinctive reaction which protects the head in these instances.

FWIW for various reasons and based on my own risk assessment, I wear a helmet most of the time offroad, and in answer to the OP, it wouldn’t bother me at all if I rode with someone who wasn’t wearing a helmet. Personal choice, as is the pursuit of any sport which carries an increased risk of injury.

Quick question. If it was a choice between one or the other, would you take a first aid kit and survival blanket or a helmet?

Just take a charged phone and some water…

Different pieces of equipment intended for different circumstances one is a passive safeguard, the other is provision for post accident rider repair.

It’s a bit like offering a choice between a crumplezone or a spare tire when buying a car, a deliberately unrealistic choice…

This is the thing – riding a bike, even off-road, is pretty safe. Certainly compared to the alternative of sitting on the sofa, scoffing chips. Making it seem dangerous by being puritanical about helmets may do more harm than good.

Maybe the bloke was on his first bike ride for years, in an attempt to get some exercise?

If I rode a motorbike as fast as I could round Silverstone I would wear the maximum protective gear available yet if Valentino Rossi rode round Silverstone at the same speed as I did, he could quite safely do so in flip flops & a pair of speedos, so please lets not get all uppity about other adults freedom to choose to ride with or without helmets

Just take a charged phone and some water…

Different pieces of equipment intended for different circumstances one is a passive safeguard, the other is provision for post accident rider repair.

It’s a bit like offering a choice between a crumplezone or a spare tire when buying a car, a deliberately unrealistic choice…

The point I was trying to make was that many people seem to view helmet use almost as the be all and end all of cycling safety.

I’m just wondering how many of the people who are fanatical about other people not wearing helmets are as fanatical about people not bringing first aid and survival blankets.

I’m a regular crasher but in 15 years have never hit my head. I have, however, had some very nasty cuts and broken a couple of bones (just a toe and a bone in my hand, thankfully). For me I’d rather have a first aid kit to stem any bleeding and a survival blanket to avoid hypothermia.

Good grief, some people make a big deal out of things…
So what if someone wants to ride without a helmet, so what if they want to tag in behind you on a ride.

I wish that’s all I had to worry about. Don’t bother saying it’s not all you have to worry about, I know it’s not but you know what I’m saying……

Up to him what he does, as it is me. So for me I don’t want the responsibility of the helmetless hero so please go ride with someone else. Simple really

Berm Bandit – Member

Up to him what he does, as it is me. So for me I don’t want the responsibility of the helmetless hero so please go ride with someone else. Simple really

You don’t have any responsibility whether he rides with you or not.

If he’s riding 2 minutes in front of you and then smashes his skull in, would you not stop? Makes no difference from what I can see.

“Quick question. If it was a choice between one or the other, would you take a first aid kit and survival blanket or a helmet?”

I would recommend taking them all especially the survival blanket. it gets pretty cold lying on the ground for two hours with a fractured femur (lonely also), a space type blanket would have helped. They weight nowt and take up no space at all. Some pain killers would help but paracetamol would not really have cut through the pain once the shock subsidded. Helmet was fine by the way but would never ride without one (when I ride again). Can’t believe that I had riden for ages with a well equipt bag for group rides and next to bugger all for rides on my own. How stupid did I feel when the paramedic/mountain rescue folks were cutting me out of my expensive kit, not very as theyed got me on gas and were filling me with morphine (i’d recommend it). Bless them all for comming to get me and letting me know how pleased they were to see i’d wore a helmet (no shit).
So it aint just your bonce that you need to protect try the rest of you body if it does go wrong. Also i’d recommend this App on your smart phone “OS Converter” (its free). If i’d had this app the ambulance people may have been able to locate and direct someone to me quicker. Be safe one and all.

Because people are remarkably bad at analysing risks – for instance, lots of people are scared of flying, while statistically the risk of dying in the car on the way to the airport is quite a bit higher than that of dying in a plane crash.

Ah, lies, damn lies, and statistics.

Actually, if one did the same amount of journeys in a car as they did in a plane (for the sake of argument lets say two journeys a day), one is FAR more likely to die in a plane crash than in a car crash. Air travel is by far more risky.

As you say, ‘people are remarkably bad at analysing risks’.

This is interesting as I attend people with head injuries on a daily basis at work. In fact, counting back the last four shifts, I have attended 7 head injury calls (I’m a Paramedic) and with two exceptions they were all over 70. I would be far more inclined, based on personal experience, to advocate the compulsory wearing of head protection at all times for anyone getting a bit doddery on their feet

Remarkably (or is it?) I have not seen a head injury, apart from facial cuts and bruises, from a road bike or mtb accident in, (guessing) 15 + calls in the past 3 years, and at least half of them were not wearing a helmet. The reasons for this are debatable and range from pure luck to the body having an instinctive reaction which protects the head in these instances.

Look buddy, no offence and all that, but this is STW, we’ll have none of that ‘expert first hand experience’ and ‘fact’ nonsense here! 😉

I sympathise with the discomfort – I’ve taken a few people out on my local trails and no-one’s allowed to come without a helmet. Absolutely your choice as to whether you wear one or not when you’re on your own, but if i’m taking you somewhere you’ve not been before then I feel it’s my responsibility – to tell you what you’re about to ride down, point out any bits that can cause trouble, all that. So no helmet, no ride.

A mate’s brother lives opposite me and is a no-helmet kinda guy. I just refuse to go riding with him unless it’s mild until he sorts it out. He likes to go out with no tools, spares, water and having just downed a pint of coffee. Bless ‘im

The fact he goes out without tools and spares would concern me more than him not wearing a helmet!