AIBU // Bike Helmets...

[TryingToDad]

All my four children, and I, wear helmets when we're out on our bikes. My husband frequently removes his, or doesn't wear one altogether, usually claiming it makes his head too hot. I think he's a bloody idiot and I'd rather not have to explain to my kids why Daddy died because his head was too hot!!! AIBU or should I chill out a bit...? His suggestion...

No helmet no bike. I don't compromise on safety. Too selfish of him too

Take his suggestion and chill out.

The most judgemental are usually the least informed.

"There is no evidence that helmets save lives or serious injury."
I'm sure a thousand and one brain specialists and a and e consultants would disagree with you.

@Tabbymumz but that would also mostly be anecdotal. They will only see the small minority of very serious cases. And even then in most cases they cannot know for sure that a helmet would have prevented the brain injury.

As above there is some evidence that helmets sometimes make injuries worse because the size and weight. Actualbtestinfband evidence shows they are only good under 12mph, most cyclists go above that.

Brain injury is just as likely, possibly more so in a car, as a pedestrian, in some sports (that don't wear helmets). Why don't we wear them then?

I'm children it makes sense as they have softer skulls, and they tend to travel at slower speeds wear they work better, and they are more likely to fall off as they are less confident in balance.

@HouchinBawbags, your poor DS! That sounds horrific, I hope he's ok now.

Does he still ride a bike, or has it put him off?

These are all the same style of excuses that were trotted out when seat belts were introduced

Yep, and helmets for motor cyclists.

Being an old fart, I can remember the days before motor bike helmets were compulsory, and used to ride pillion without a helmet. It feels fabulous, the wind through your hair at 70mph is really exhilarating.

Then I spent a few days on a plastic surgery ward (rhinoplasty) and saw a young women who'd had surgery to try and repair some of the damage to her face that she'd done coming off a moped at low speed.

It was horrific, and she had some brain damage too. I bought a full-face motorbike helmet almost as soon as I came out of hospital, and never rode a bike without one again.

DP is a few years younger than me and helmets were compulsory by the time he was old enough for motorbikes. He visibly shudders at the very thought of getting on a bike without one.

I think that, in time, cycling without a helmet will be seen as being as ridiculous as getting on a motorbike without one. I also think they make cyclists more visible.

An awful lot of the comments seem to be "I know of a nasty injury that was nothing to do with cycling, therefore people should wear bike helmets just in case"

I think that, in time, cycling without a helmet will be seen as being as ridiculous as getting on a motorbike without one.

What do you think of the experience of New Zealand and Australia that when cycling helmets were made mandatory, cycling participation when down but injury rates went up?

I also think they make cyclists more visible

If a helmet makes the difference between a cyclist being visible or not, that cyclist needs to work on their road skills!

I find the more I look like a human and the more of my face is visible, the better interaction I have with other road users. Bicycle helmets reduce that.

I'm sure a thousand and one brain specialists and a and e consultants would disagree with you

I refer you back to the Netherlands.

An older guy has just ridden up my road without a helmet. He was bald. To be honest I'd be more concerned about getting a sunburnt pate than falling off and cracking my head open.

As for being more visible, cyclists SHOULD wear hi vis and make sure they have decent lights in winter. But I think pedestrians should, too (not the lights but but wear something light coloured).

I think that, in time, cycling without a helmet will be seen as being as ridiculous as getting on a motorbike without one. I also think they make cyclists more visible

Possibly, but they will have to improve protection and fit before that happens and they'll need to be effective at more than 12mph. I usually cycle along at about that speed but can go considerably faster downhill.

It isn't the same as seat belts as there are numerous studies and tests that show empirically that seat belts save lives. We have none of that data for cycle helmets. In fact most of the evidence we have shows that helmets make very little difference in most accidents.

I think it should be made the law to wear one. When I was a child in the early 80’s I fell off my bike riding it round the footpath at home in the garden. I landed on one side of my forehead and knocked myself out, I soon came round but couldn’t remember what had happened and had a lump the size of an egg on my head. That side of my head still has a very small lump. I don’t think anyone wore helmets then, I don’t even know if they were around.

One of my friends son came off his bike last year head and got a huge gash on his head, he can’t have been wearing a helmet because of where the gash was.

I just don’t think it’s worth the risk of not wearing one.

@TabbyMumz

Breathless, because the risks are low in other scenarios. Riding at bike you are moving at some speed and could hit kerbs of bumps, or indeed other people, or cars. So the risk is higher than say walking at a slow pace, where your brain can make judgements about where to put their feet etc. Its not hard to see that is it? Some people do wear helmets climbing ladders. We dont wear them in cars because the car itself offers some protection, but they do wear them in race cars. Just because people dont wear them in other situations doesnt mean you shouldn't, when you can. I suspect you would eat your words if you ended up cleaning up someone you loves' mess several times a day, because brain injury turned them incontinent. Or sitting crying to yourself silently when they cant tell you what they want.

No they aren't. Risks as a pedestrian are similar to bikes, risk as a driver of a car are more than a bike and far more justifiable.

@Geekster1963 have you read the posts stating that all countries with compulsory helmet wearing have seen a decline in cycling, but an increase in serious injury. The benefits of cycling to health far outweigh the risk of injury

@LakieLady

These are all the same style of excuses that were trotted out when seat belts were introduced

Yep, and helmets for motor cyclists.

Being an old fart, I can remember the days before motor bike helmets were compulsory, and used to ride pillion without a helmet. It feels fabulous, the wind through your hair at 70mph is really exhilarating.

Then I spent a few days on a plastic surgery ward (rhinoplasty) and saw a young women who'd had surgery to try and repair some of the damage to her face that she'd done coming off a moped at low speed.

It was horrific, and she had some brain damage too. I bought a full-face motorbike helmet almost as soon as I came out of hospital, and never rode a bike without one again.

DP is a few years younger than me and helmets were compulsory by the time he was old enough for motorbikes. He visibly shudders at the very thought of getting on a bike without one.

I think that, in time, cycling without a helmet will be seen as being as ridiculous as getting on a motorbike without one. I also think they make cyclists more visible.

But here is the thing - whether helmets are justified for one activity does not tell us whether they are justified for another. You have to look at the data, the kinds of injuries, the population data etc.

Did you know there was a time when people thought it would be a good idea for all motorists to wear a helmet, because the risks of driving, which are greater than the risks of biking, seemed to suggest that it would help. This was not popular however with motorcar companies who felt it would make people see driving as dangerous, and so they suppressed it.

A big part of the reason so many people see biking as dangerous feel special equipment is required is because of all the propaganda telling us it requires a helmet, unlike "safe" activities such as driving in a car.

@mencken

the fault in the accident at post 2 was 100% with the killer driver who was playing with her dickphone while the car was moving. I hope she is sent to prison for a very long time for manslaughter. Nothing to do with the cyclist victim or his helmet.

kids do need bike helmets because they muck about. Not so clear cut for adults, yes they can save lives but they can also cause injuries. That's why helmets for adult cyclists are not mandatory.

cycle racers do need helmets.

teach your kids to do as they are told regardless of what an adult is doing.

I was reading this thread and wondering when someone would point out the bleeding obvious as Mencken has done in her first para