Why people refuse to wear helmets?

Came across a rider near Ilkley on Saturday with very bad head injuries. Pretty sure he hadn’t been wearing a helmet.

Really wonder why people (particularly older blokes with those silly little roadie caps) insist on not wearing a helmet.

Marks thread ‘Ignore’

NO. Just NO!

Close thread now please.

oh, hang on.

I doubt you want a serious answer but riding on the road with out a helmet is more comfortable and just feels better. The “silly little caps” do a good job of stopping sweat running in your eyes.

because people are ignorant and selfish.

Fair enough not wearing a helmet and therefore accepting that you might sustain more damage to your head than need be, but invariably there will be someone else that will be involved clearing up the mess.

Because they are complete and utter idiots. Anyone who tries to defend not wearing a helmet is a moron.

I doubt you want a serious answer but riding on the road with out a helmet is more comfortable and just feels better.

some of the top end helmets have so many vents and are so light that the difference isn’t huge.

Backs up the selfish argument though…

Pretty sure he hadn’t been wearing a helmet.

Ok then, I’m “pretty sure” he was.

Where to go with the thread now eh ?

I’m pretty sure people are dicks.

Came across a rider near Ilkley on Saturday with very bad head injuries. Pretty sure he hadn’t been wearing a helmet.

You’re pretty sure?

Who needs facts when we have speculation…

FFS here we go…

🙄

Can’t find a smiley that is yawning.

Must admit I never wear one on the BMX at the skatepark…nor does anyone else really. Not really defending this… I just dont bother??

read the design specs for a helmet, they can help in a crash upto 15mph beyond that you are on your own.

Fall over sideways and calculate how fast your head is going and you realise that helmets are actaully pretty pointless.

by all means wear one, but they are no pancea, if you don’t want head injuries go back to bed and do not move, i would suggest sleeping on the floor just in case you fall out of bed. AND NEVER EVER USE THE SHOWER!!!!! have you seen how dangerous they are!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Why people refuse to wear helmets?

low self esteem

Anyone who tries to defend not wearing a helmet is a moron.

Moron reporting for duty, sir!

Erm.. because they are grown ups and have made a decision not to wear one?

I never bother with a helmet on my commute. It simply doesn’t warrant one in my opinion and I find I’m treated less as a “Lycra Lout” and more “Bloke on a Bike” as a result.

Personally I’d always wear one in the woods, if only just to avoid smacking my head on low branches. But if others don’t then that is their lookout.

Anyone calling non-helmet wearers “morons” needs to consider whether they wear a helmet in the car (where head injuries are just as likely) or if they should also be wearing a neck brace and spine protector when on a bike.

Everyone has a level of acceptable risk.

+1 Mrmo

I wear a helmet if I’m riding off road or on an extended road ride.

I don’t wear a helmet on the ‘mile each way’ journey I do with my daughter on the school run most days.

No idea of relative risks etc but that’s what I’ve chosen to do.

Suspect the helmet sceptics would change their minds if they saw this guy. A lot of blood (as with most head injuries) and his face had taken a proper hammering.

Suspect a build up of gravel on a tight corner. Wasn’t pretty.

Some people wear body armour,others don’t,it’s……………

his face had taken a proper hammering

Does your helmet cover your face?

?

Must admit I never wear one on the BMX at the skatepark…nor does anyone else really. Not really defending this… I just dont bother??

Yeh, I never used to when I rode bmx. I think its because when you go out on your bmx you just go out for a quick spin, a play about, to socialise etc.

Sometimes you do this on your mountain bike aswell.

Most of the squares who ride mountain bikes these days cant seem to get their heads around the fact that not every ride on your bike involves 3 hours of planning, orgainizing your camel back contents, teaking your compression damping, putting on all your fancy clothing etc.

Sometimes you just nip out for a quick spin without thinking about any of the above.

Why people refuse to wear helmets?

because cycling is really a very safe thing to do?

Please read the following so you understand what a helmet is actually meant to do.

http://www.smf.org/standards/b/b95std#add

http://www.smf.org/standards/b/b90astd

as for helmets saving lives, sometimes they do, sometimes they don’t Pro cyclists have to wear them and a number have died in recent years.

As i seem to remember the outome of helmet laws in Australia is on balance negative. Look at the netherlands do you see lots of helmets? or do you see people going from a to b using bikes?

I guess this relates to the fact that most MTBers aren’t cyclists but rather people who ride MTBs at the weekend once in a while and have bought in to the idea that MTBs are a dangerous extreme activity and need loads of body armour. In reality it is no more dangerous than most things people do in life if done sensibly.

ive been wearing a full face lid since i bought it in 1986, never take it off.

you hardly know its there after the first three months and as an added bonus it stopped my getting herpes.

Riding without a helmet feels f*&^ing amazing 😈

Suspect the helmet sceptics would change their minds if they saw this guy. A lot of blood (as with most head injuries) and his face had taken a proper hammering.

Suspect a build up of gravel on a tight corner. Wasn’t pretty.

i have ripped chunks out of my face had stiches, but my helmet wasn’t touched in the slightest.

Sometimes you just nip out for a quick spin without thinking about any of the above

and you choose to leave your helmet at home when it is next to your bike

they can help in a crash upto 15mph beyond that you are on your own.

yes at 15.01 mph any protective power stops as they litterllay turn to dust at the slightest impact.

Spoke with my kids about this and the only thing iI find strange is parents making their kids wear helmets and not wearing them themselves.
Mine wear them all the time but mainly to avoid tantrums when asked to wear one. I always wear one, rarely uphill of road in summer and sometimes delay putting it on of the trail is tame.
as for BMX without one it is not a choice I would make

As i seem to remember the outome of helmet laws in Australia is on balance negative.

two isues
1. will it affect me when i crash
2. what is the impact on everyone of us all having to compulsory wear helmets – this suggests [ other reports refute this] the view that it reduces numbers thereby makin git more dangerous for us and some aftties will die because they dont excercise [ not somehitng i care much about tbh and no proof they wont do another activity]

Let me start by saying I wear a helmet for all my riding, its a personal choice just as not wearing one is for those who choose not to.

I’m also very much not in favour of berating, belittling or arguing those who don’t in much the same way I would not expect to be picked on for my own choice to wear a helmet…

I don’t see why anyone needs to be “Pro” or “Anti” helmet TBH… Understand the risk and make a decission; wear one if you like, Don’t if you don’t fancy it. But keep your world view to yourself…

I honestly don’t care if you wear helmet, a Fez, a hollowed out log or nothing at all on your noggin, it’s your choice.

I rode into a small ‘puddle’ at speed last week on an otherwise uneventful ride. Puddle turned out to be a sinkhole and I went OTB and headbutted the ground before I could react.

The helmet undoubtedly protected me from a nasty bump and potential scratch/gash. I took it off to inspect for damage after the fall due to the force of impact.

To say helmets are pointless is total nonsense. There are a few occasions I don’t wear one, but very rarely. I realise it’s not going to save me if I ride out in front of an 18 wheeler.

Personally I couldn’t give a shit if people ride with helmets or not. It’s their choice.

Most of the squares

Are you the fonz?

I honestly don’t care if you wear helmet, a Fez, a hollowed out log or nothing at all on your noggin, it’s your choice.

I like the idea of a Fez wearing road club.

only thing iI find strange is parents making their kids wear helmets and not wearing them themselves.

I would guess that they feel their kids are more likely to crash than they are, and hence, more likely to need the helmet.

I rarely wade into the helmet argument, because it’s like banging your head on a wall, but I read an interview with James Cracknell, a man whose life was saved by a helmet and is still recovering from pretty serious brain damage. He said something like-

“Anyone going on a ride without a helmet clearly does not care enough about their children, family or friends. How can you go out knowing you’ve not done the main thing that can save your life on a bike when you have people who love you?”

Which is a pretty convincing argument, and I suspect that these folk who won’t ride with helmets have never had a head injury on the bike.

To say helmets are pointless is total nonsense.

not totally pointless just massively over rated.

People are inherently lazy, and i would rather people cycle than drive to the gym, cycle than drive to a golf course etc. Anything that provides a disincentive, ie helmets is bad.

If you want to enforce compulsary helmets fine, personnally i would rather the police spend there time catching speeding drivers, RLJ, mobile phone using drivers etc.

As for the person riding through a puddle, may i be the first to say you’re a muppet, has it never occured to you that the puddle may hide something? that maybe riding slowly incase there is a hole, or to ride around?

I rarely wade into the helmet argument, because it’s like banging your head on a wall, but I read an interview with James Cracknell, a man whose life was saved by a helmet and is still recovering from pretty serious brain damage. He said something like-

and as said earlier cyclists die wearing helmets, they are not a panacea, they may help they may not.

I don’t feel comfortable riding without a helmet, but it’s peoples own choice if they wear one or not. My helmet saved me when i crashed and went head-first in to a dry stone wall.

Also to pick up on someones point earlier about pro-cyclists still dying whilst wearing helmets. They are often traveling at 80kph and hitting something very solid when that unfortunately happens. I was reading something from jonathan vaughters a year or so back where he demonstrated info relating to his riders that fewer concussions came from low speed impacts after the helmet law was introduced.