on December 2, 2018
JAN 30, 2009 – 12:00AM
I saw an interesting statistic the other day.
According to a Consumer Reports survey of 1,000 Americans on risky behaviors, 58 percent said they never wear a helmet when riding a bike.Y
ou’ll notice I wrote “interesting,” not “surprising.”
I’m not sure how representative 1,000 respondents can be. I know nothing about their makeup, whether they’re young, old, regular cyclists or whatever.
But just over half going helmetless seems about right.
Heck, I used to go lidless when I first starting riding to work. To be honest, I never really thought about it.
I never had a helmet as a kid. I never had a helmet through college. I only wore a helmet as an adult when I rode in organized events where they were mandatory.
That changed, though, when my ride to work took me by my daughter’s school. I wanted to set a good example, doncha know, and didn’t want to be a hypocrite. How could I expect her to wear a helmet if I didn’t?
I’ve ridden with a brain bucket ever since.
Though 92 percent of cyclists killed in 2007 reportedly weren’t wearing helmets, there’s no way to predict how many would have lived had they been helmeted. Still, I think that’s a pretty good bit of circumstantial evidence.
There is, however, a faction that holds helmets do more harm than good. Some folks say helmet use leads to more accidents as cyclists adopt riskier behaviors. Some suggest helmets actually cause rotational injuries. And there have been a few documented cases of young children being strangled by bike-helmet straps.
And then there’s what I reckon is the greatest barrier to helmet use: helmet hair. My hair, at least, is so unspectacular, I don’t really care how mussed it becomes. In fact, I sort of enjoy heading for work with still-wet hair and seeing the resulting waves across my crown that I couldn’t begin to duplicate without gobs of product.
I understand those arguments against helmet use, and I support the right of a cyclist to make the decision for himself or herself whether to go lidded or lidless.
I do, however, have just enough first-hand anecdotal evidence that ensures I’ll never be caught without a hard hat. When I was plowed by a car a couple of months ago, my (helmeted) head cracked against the windshield. To my knowledge, I didn’t suffer any head trauma.
My helmet, however, was traumatized. The outer shell was shattered; the inner foam was cracked all the way through. I hate to think what would have happened to my noggin if it hadn’t been protected.
It’s just a little scary to think that more than half of all Americans, in a similar situation, would have to find out.