Controversial cycling safety statement

[Stoffel76]

All The Gear All The Time...

 

There was a sad story a while ago about an experienced bike rider who was riding his kids quad bike in the garden with no helmet, had a soft fall but hit his head on the wall and died...

 

I was just getting into the offroad motorbiking scene and a friend & I were riding in the bush. My sum total of MX gear at that point was a helmet and gloves. My buddy (fortunately) was wearing MX boots and knee guards. He ended up in a ditch and went over the handlebars, klapping the handlebar with his knee. The one bolt holding the handle bar on sheared off! If it wasn't for the proper kit he'd have smashed his knee up for sure...

 

Life is about choices. Wear gear, don't wear gear - it's up to you. Just make sure you can deal with the consequences.

[Andyr249]

I was once riding an easy trail I had ridden tens of times before without any problems. This particular time I got it a bit wrong in the one corner and went down. Luckily I was wearing my helmet.

What happens if you riding along on the trail well within your technical ability and you just slightly offline because of a bit of debris and you hit the deck? Helmets are sometimes a pain, especially in summer with the heat, but much less of a pain than you would have without one!

[EigerSA]

More people suffer sever head injuries/deaths from collisions involving vehicles and pedestrians than cyclists do, so following everyone's logic here, we should all be wearing a helmet when walking or driving. There were more deaths last year resulting from people just sitting down and minding their own business than cyclists deaths resulting from no helmet. The last few cycling related deaths/serious injuries that I'm aware of involved cyclists who were wearing helmets, no real protection from 2 tons of metal on wheels. I'm far more careful when I'm not wearing a helmet than when I am. If you don't want to wear a helmet, you are perfectly entitled not too, and for those that are so concerned about safety, wear your helmets, and leave the rest of us alone!

[RacerX]

Not wearing a helmet is not only arrogant, it's selfish - it's not about you and your head, it's about the family members that should not have to look after a vegetable.

That's just stupid. If you take that point of view, getting on your bike at all is arrogant and selfish - if you have any sort of bike handling skills and don't usually fall on your head for no reason, you're much more likely to get taken out by a car/truck/bus where all a helmet does is keep your nut in one piece so you look good at your funeral.

Riding your bike is risky - too many people don't understand the big risk picture and rely almost purely on a helmet to keep them safe. Good skills, constant awareness of your surroundings, avoiding dangerous areas, visible clothing and using lights at night are all WAY more important than wearing a helmet. Sure, the helmet helps in certain cases, and I usually wear one, but I will not criticise anyone for not wearing one - they could be Hans Rey for all I know.

[rock]

who says you can't bunny hop on a road bike, I have a bike with drop bars and I bunny hop up pavements all the time, and pot holes for that matter.....

[Caerus]

Finally some common sense

[Weight Weenie]

I sure you still use a seatbelt if driving to the corner cafe, so why not wear a helmet then ?

Prevention is still better than the cure...

 

You may be a good riderm but you cant control the actions of others around you.

If you get hurt without a lid, then the world will be blaming cyclists again, not the guilty party.

We have enough enemies as is, please dont make it worse

[GuyP]

 

She replies "You are very naughty daddy, you are riding your bike without a helmin on, go to the wall and fold your arm"

 

 

Good one!

My kids (ages 6 and 10) automatically put their pip protectors on as a matter of course, even if just riding in the garden! They know they've only got one pip, and they're not going to waste it!

[Topwine]

.. Maybe thats just the Engineer in me

 

Wow, you call yourself an engineer and then argue the way you do ?

 

You are obviously young and naive. I don't have a problem with that, and it looks like nobody will convince you anyhow. You are in a defensive mode and your mind is not thinking clearly. One day, when you are older and wiser, you will reason differently.

 

Just tell me this, if you have a degree in engineering, did they teach you something about safety factors in designing ?

[Lounge Lizard]

I ride sometimes with no helmet & listen to my MP3 player, what the problem.

 

I think they are talking about guys who ride often.....not ride sometimes ;-)

[Gumpole]

That's just stupid. If you take that point of view, getting on your bike at all is arrogant and selfish - if you have any sort of bike handling skills and don't usually fall on your head for no reason, you're much more likely to get taken out by a car/truck/bus where all a helmet does is keep your nut in one piece so you look good at your funeral.

Riding your bike is risky - too many people don't understand the big risk picture and rely almost purely on a helmet to keep them safe. Good skills, constant awareness of your surroundings, avoiding dangerous areas, visible clothing and using lights at night are all WAY more important than wearing a helmet. Sure, the helmet helps in certain cases, and I usually wear one, but I will not criticise anyone for not wearing one - they could be Hans Rey for all I know.

 

how many cycling deaths have been reported on the Hub this year.. 10.. 20? I haven't been counting.

How many of these have been wearing a helmet.. all of them probably.

 

if you want to be completely safe while cycling... dont cycle.

 

if you want to be a responsible cyclist, get a good life/disability policy.

[Topwine]

I would just like all the people saying this and that to go and speak to people that do other extreme sports and find out their views as to why they dont wear helmets.

 

Well, I'll advise you to go and look at the statistics. The top guys in extreme sports like kayaking etc, all either die or get seriously injured if they continue to do what they do, the way they do.

 

There is a saying in the financial world: You get bold traders and you get old traders, but you don't often find an old, bold trader ! This you can extrapolate to extreme sports as well.

[Danger Dassie]

Besides the fact that wearing a helmet is apparently law. Consider others around you, using Groenkloof and NF as an example, they are very specific about the helmet rule. Ignoring this puts land access at risk, because those land owners do not want to have those kinds of problems. Wether one agrees or not.

 

Theres plenty data and studies on the reasoning about wearing a helmet, the most blindingly obvious one being that you only have to knock your head once.

By all means, don't wear a helmet, everything is about choice, but don't try to argue the logic of not wearing a lid. Just man up and acknowledge the risk factor.

 

Far as iPods and heavy traffic goes, we could apply that same argument to driving and car radios then avoid it altogether.

[Caerus]

I think they are talking about guys who ride often.....not ride sometimes ;-)

 

 

I ride three times a week, all year round, and have been doing so for over 12 years - The sometimes , is when I ride to the shop or along the beachfront.

[rudi-h]

who says you can't bunny hop on a road bike, I have a bike with drop bars and I bunny hop up pavements all the time, and pot holes for that matter.....

 

the bunny hop part is not the problem... it's the landing and keeping upright on the corrugated shoulder part after you've been pushed off the road by a taxi.

 

well, I guess I understand the views of the general public better now. That means that some people will allways shout / chirp and curse at me on my Sunday afternoon ride, with IPods in their ears...

 

It still makes me wonder... I've not heard of a lot of guys paralyzed from a dog collision on a lazy sunday afternoon ride, but I have heard of numerous guys (the last few weeks) with helmets killed during car collisions... Also hear about a lot of guys being bike jacked - yet I've never been cursed at for not having pepperspray / baseball bat / gun in my back pocket... ain't that more irresponsible / selfish???

 

But I don't want to start a new debate, just wanted to hear what the Hubbers think about the whole safety issue. Not worth commenting any further, cause this is one of those arguments that can carry on for 2000 posts without reaching any agreement / conclusion.

 

I guess the bottom line is to just think what you're doing, and keep SAFE!!!

[Caerus]

Wow, you call yourself an engineer and then argue the way you do ?

 

You are obviously young and naive. I don't have a problem with that, and it looks like nobody will convince you anyhow. You are in a defensive mode and your mind is not thinking clearly. One day, when you are older and wiser, you will reason differently.

 

Just tell me this, if you have a degree in engineering, did they teach you something about safety factors in designing ?

 

 

So what is young & naive? Im 33, or isthat still young - Oh so brilliant one. Whats a helmet gonna go when hit by a bus, not much really. Helmets are only designed from a "Safety Perspective" to absorb a small amount of the force, not too completly stop your head from becoming squashed Yeah they taught me plenty.