You Know What Really Grinds My Gears? Now with 3x more gears...

[Locke]

Originally Posted by mrkajz44

So what's the argument for not wearing a helmet? Like how do you finish the sentence:

Wearing a helmet while biking is much safer, but I don't wear one because....?

Like what could really be said there that overrides the safety factor?

It musses up my flowing golden locks!

[Superflyer]

What is it with people not signaling? I was at a light going to turn left. There were ten cars on the other side in the left lane that could go straight or turn. The first six cars did not have their signal, so of course I assume that they are going straight. Boy was I wrong, they all turned left and I am stuck there holding up traffic on my side because I did not want to take the risk of what kind of idiot is on the other side.

[CliffFletcher]

Originally Posted by mrkajz44

So what's the argument for not wearing a helmet? Like how do you finish the sentence:

Wearing a helmet while biking is much safer, but I don't wear one because....?

Like what could really be said there that overrides the safety factor?

Same argument for not wearing a helmet while walking - convenience and comfort mainly.

The rate of head injury per km travelled on foot isn’t much lower than km travelled by bicycle. We’d save hundreds of trips to the hospital and dozens of lives every year if everyone walked around wearing helmets. But we’ve decided collectively that the added safety isn’t worth the hassle.

Which is why rates of wearing helmets are very low in countries like the Netherlands. Where cycling is regarded as a normal way to get around in your day-to-day life, rather than a fitness activity (which is what it’s regarded as in N America) things like convenience and comfort become important.

[DoubleF]

The perfect storm of "Je ne sais quois", but I sliced a nearly 2.5 inch gash into my forearm with a manila envelope.

How does that even happen??? Why do paper cuts bleed so much and sting so much more than expected for something that seems kinda innocuous?

I had to resort to taping a damp paper towel to my arm so I don't get blood on stuff. A regular bandaid or 3 or 4 wasn't going to effectively cover it all.

[GGG]

Originally Posted by CliffFletcher

Same argument for not wearing a helmet while walking - convenience and comfort mainly.

The rate of head injury per km travelled on foot isn’t much lower than km travelled by bicycle. We’d save thousand of trips to the hospital and dozens of lives every year if everyone walked around wearing helmets. But we’ve decided collectively that the added safety isn’t worth the hassle.

Which is why rates of wearing helmets are very low in countries like the Netherlands. Where cycling is regarded as a normal way to get around in your day-to-day life, rather than a fitness activity (which is what its regarded as in N America) things like convenience and comfort become important.

This is a little bit of misleading stat. You need to use duration of activity not per km travelled to get the active risk for adding safety devices.

If you are comparing alternatives methods of transportation then /km makes sense. If it’s which is more dangerous Biking to the store or walking to the store then the /km metric makes sense.

But if it’s should I wear this safety device then the question should be risk per hour of activity.

[Makarov]

Originally Posted by CliffFletcher

Same argument for not wearing a helmet while walking - convenience and comfort mainly.

The rate of head injury per km travelled on foot isn’t much lower than km travelled by bicycle. We’d save thousands of trips to the hospital and dozens of lives every year if everyone walked around wearing helmets. But we’ve decided collectively that the added safety isn’t worth the hassle.

Which is why rates of wearing helmets are very low in countries like the Netherlands. Where cycling is regarded as a normal way to get around in your day-to-day life, rather than a fitness activity (which is what it’s regarded as in N America) things like convenience and comfort become important.

I walk around wearing a helmet. I'm wearing a helmet right now while I sit and type this at my desk. I must protect my big beautiful brain.

[Makarov]

Originally Posted by GGG

This is a little bit of misleading stat. You need to use duration of activity not per km travelled to get the active risk for adding safety devices.

If you are comparing alternatives methods of transportation then /km makes sense. If it’s which is more dangerous Biking to the store or walking to the store then the /km metric makes sense.

But if it’s should I wear this safety device then the question should be risk per hour of activity.

That sort of goes to Cliff's point re: how biking is regarded in countries like the Netherlands and China. There, people choose between walking to the store and cycling to the store, so the /km metric makes more sense.

[GGG]

Originally Posted by mrkajz44

So what's the argument for not wearing a helmet? Like how do you finish the sentence:

Wearing a helmet while biking is much safer, but I don't wear one because....?

Like what could really be said there that overrides the safety factor?

Lack of a place to store it.
Cost
Comfort

You believe that the reduction in gap that cars give a helmeted rider versus a unhelmeted one offsets the safety benefit of wearing a helmet.

You accept that the risk of an incident on pathway riding is one of many routine risks you accept in exchange for comfort similar to not putting 5 point harnesses in your car or not having your 7 year old in a car seat.

[CliffFletcher]

Originally Posted by GGG

This is a little bit of misleading stat. You need to use duration of activity not per km travelled to get the active risk for adding safety devices.

If you are comparing alternatives methods of transportation then /km makes sense. If it’s which is more dangerous Biking to the store or walking to the store then the /km metric makes sense.

But if it’s should I wear this safety device then the question should be risk per hour of activity.

Yes, you can parse the data in several ways.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/scienc...20respectively.

[Wormius]

Originally Posted by mrkajz44

So what's the argument for not wearing a helmet? Like how do you finish the sentence:

Wearing a helmet while biking is much safer, but I don't wear one because....?

Like what could really be said there that overrides the safety factor?

It’s the leg washing argument all over again.

[GGG]

Originally Posted by Makarov

That sort of goes to Cliff's point re: how biking is regarded in countries like the Netherlands and China. There, people choose between walking to the store and cycling to the store, so the /km metric makes more sense.

I don’t think people are making a safety based choice when deciding which method of transport to use.

I think the question being asked is when I do this activity should I wear a helmet. And for that exposure duration is what matters.

[Makarov]

Originally Posted by GGG

I don’t think people are making a safety based choice when deciding which method of transport to use.

I think the question being asked is when I do this activity should I wear a helmet. And for that exposure duration is what matters.

But isn't the duration of the trip also important? If I walk to the store, it will take me 20 minutes. If I ride my bicycle, it will only take me five minutes (so I will be exposed to the risks for a much shorter period than if I walk).

[Titan2]

Originally Posted by Wormius

It’s the leg washing argument all over again.

This is why I wear a helmet in the shower. I get dizzy washing my legs and am prone to a tumble. That, and my gut plays havoc with my centre of gravity.

[Titan2]

Originally Posted by Makarov

But isn't the duration of the trip also important? If I walk to the store, it will take me 20 minutes. If I ride my bicycle, it will only take me five minutes (so I will be exposed to the risks for a much shorter period than if I walk).

Interesting. Also, the speed of conveyance increases the risk. How is that accounted for?

[powderjunkie]

Originally Posted by CliffFletcher

Yes, you can parse the data in several ways.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/scienc...20respectively.

Well for one thing the study doesn't differentiate helmet use vs non helmet use. We can surmise that approximately 0% of drivers and pedestrians were wearing helmets, while a significant portion of cyclists were.

So the best we can say is that you are similarly likely to be killed by head injury while driving or walking without a helmet as you are cycling with or without a helmet.

How many ped, driving, or cycling fatalities (and of course we should be looking at major injuries, too) would have been mitigated with helmets? And how many cycling fatalities WERE prevented by helmet use?

Head injury was the commonest cause of death in cyclists, but most pedestrian and driver deaths were from multiple injuries.

Again, the bolded is true despite some rate of helmet use. So really the best we can say is that wearing a helmet brings cycling closer in line to the risk of walking, which seems like a a pretty reasonable target.


https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/.../00009-eng.htm

Among cyclists involved in fatal events, 13% were wearing a helmet.

In 48% of cycling fatalities, information about helmet use was reported in the Canadian Coroner and Medical Examiner Database (CCMED).Note From 2006 to 2017, 32% of individuals involved in cycling fatalities were not wearing a helmet.

It's a bit confusing because we are working off incomplete data where only half of incidents specify helmet or no helmet (and even then the numbers don't quite add up).




So we also have to do some guess work on helmet use.

In Canada, the proportion of cyclists who reported always wearing a helmet in 2017 was higher among women (49%) than among men (43%)

I couldn't find that study, but I'm guessing there were other options like 'most of the time' 'some times' and 'never'. But this is also just individuals, not time or kms. I'd venture that helmet use is higher among frequent cyclists compared to those who ride a couple times a year, and it's probably >50% of total time/kms ridden.

[Jiggy_12]

https://nationalpost.com/news/canada...n-hot-car-dies

Local idiot leaves their beautiful dog to suffer and die in a hot car in SE Calgary.

This infuriates me

[GGG]

Originally Posted by Makarov

But isn't the duration of the trip also important? If I walk to the store, it will take me 20 minutes. If I ride my bicycle, it will only take me five minutes (so I will be exposed to the risks for a much shorter period than if I walk).

I don’t think we are doing activity by activity based risk assessments here though. So if you were asking yourself how to best safely go to the store bike or walk then the per km metrics would make sense as a comparison.

But that isn’t the question being asked. The question is should I ware a bike helmet while biking and should I wear a helmet while walking. The duration of the exposure doesn’t really change the PPE you should where it’s the rate of incidents per unit of exposure that matters.

Essentially you could say because an activity is really dangerous I need to wear safety gear but because the dangerous thing is for a very short duration it is low risk to participate. Its two similar but different questions both are useful in various contexts.

Or perhaps would you ever compare walking and driving based on per km risks or would per hour make more sense?

[Zary's-Mustache]

Originally Posted by Jiggy_12

https://nationalpost.com/news/canada...n-hot-car-dies

Local idiot leaves their beautiful dog to suffer and die in a hot car in SE Calgary.

This infuriates me

Was just coming to post this. What an absolute idiot.

Also, the witnesses are also idiots. Break the effing windows and don't wait for the cops.

I'm not even a dog lover but what a horrible way to die. She should get jail time.

[chemgear]

Originally Posted by CliffFletcher

Yes, wearing a helmet is safer than not wearing one. But we don’t need to exaggerate the danger of riding a bike. It’s a very safe activity, with or without a helmet.

Originally Posted by Shazam

My friend got a terrible concussion from wiping out on his bike about 30 feet from his house. If it weren't for the helmet he'd be dead.

Such a simple thing to put on a helmet rather than getting concussed, smashing your head open like a ripe melon or turning yourself into a diaper wearing vegetable for such an obvious minor safety precaution. But I mean if your kids need the life insurance money, they need the life insurance money.

Why Derek Kieper yourself for so little gain.

EDIT: Actually, I wonder if an insurance company would outright refuse to pay out a policy if you died or got injured in an bike accident without a helmet. Would be reasonable to me.

Kinda like contributory negligence when you'd choose not to wear a seat belt and kamra finds you.

[Roughneck]

Originally Posted by mrkajz44

So what's the argument for not wearing a helmet? Like how do you finish the sentence:

Wearing a helmet while biking is much safer, but I don't wear one because....?

Like what could really be said there that overrides the safety factor?

Driving is safer with a helmet as well. Traumatic brain injuries are the leading cause of death in vehicle collisions.

Drivers giving less space to cyclists wearing helmets vs without.

But mostly, it messes up my sick flow, and I can't pull off the 'Hairmet'