Wear your helmet...??

[dyna-ti]

Listening to most of the pro wearers it would appear that you fall off all the time andf always fall off head first
Ive been riding now for nearly 20 years. In that time ive maybe fallen off ten times[where it hurt]usually from pot holes or a sudden appearance of a car door but also offroad from hitting a bad line
results
Mostly bad scrapes and road rash although the one time i actually hit my head i was not wearing a helmet,there was no brain damage[some might argue otherwise ]but i got whiplash of the very worst kind and its still with me nearly 5 years down the line.Doc said if i was wearing a helmet id have broken my neck.Well thank god i didnt eh?[interested to hear how the pre-wearers answer that one ]
Did fall off offroad recently but landed on my knee so maybe knee and elbow pads are of more use to the cyclist than a helmet



I like my smilies so if you have issue SOD OFF

 

[Neil G]

It makes me laugh when people say they've never hit their head cycling but Twain did make a good point when he mentioned reaction times.

Sometimes, especially when riding BMX you barely get a chance to get a hand down as you commit and get it wrong. Your going fast and hitting an immovable object (ramp coping or double) results in quite a force!

 

[twain]

Doc said if i was wearing a helmet id have broken my neck.Well thank god i didnt eh?[interested to hear how the pre-wearers answer that one ]

not sure who i'd thank to be honest. maybe if you were wearing a helmet you might have fallen differently and not broken your neck. who knows.
but if we could all make our decisions with hindsight, we'd all be time travellers and may live a little longer and without any accidents altogether. voila. problems solved

 

[We_are_Stevo]

I started horse riding in 1971 and quit around '75 when my paper round became more important as I was saving up for a 'Fizzie' - naturally I wore a riding hat in all that time (at least once a week, often more...) and inevitably fell off countless times; not once, though, did I actually hit my head...

...my Mother continued riding well into her 60's until one day she had a freak accident involving a broken tree branch that would have killed her if she hadn't been wearinga riding hat!

That's just one incident between two people over a span of around 30 years, but the riding hat served its purpose when it mattered...

...my attitude towards cycle helmets is the same.

 

[Woz]

Since in Australia it is now law to ride with a helmet, it would be good if any Retrobikers from downunder commented on:
- as the government or road safety department issued any figures proving the decision has reduced serious head enjuries (with and without car involvment)?
- as the cycling community grown with the intervention of goverment making it law and thus in theory making it safer for all ages to cycle?
- as the government published the quantity of sales of helmets and gave an indication of how it bolstered the economy through additional income?
- how many fines have been issued to cyclists failing to wear an helmet, and how much extra revenue did it provide?
- what kind of minimum requirement as the government stipulated for the helment? I assume all helmets are not equal, and therefore it would need to be defined.

And finally, do you believe things were generally better before or after the introduction of law?

 

[We_are_Stevo]

Laws are brought in when people are too (insert favourite personal derogative term here...) to make the correct informed choice...

 

[legrandefromage]

I wear one on the RB rides but no longer wear one out & about.

 

[cyfa2809]

I wear one on the RB rides but no longer wear one out & about.

Did you before? What made you stop?

 

[legrandefromage]

I wear one on the RB rides but no longer wear one out & about.

Did you before? What made you stop?

bought my first ever helmet this year!

 

[cyfa2809]

Oh well there is a first for everything.
What did you get? I think for first time buyers getting the right one is crucial.