The use of helmets in cycling is a topic with various points-of-view, all of them very vocal. So my question to you is: Do you wear one? And if so, how often.
I will confess now. I almost never wear one. I commute daily and never protect my melon in traffic. I imagine it’s complacency. I’ve not had any bad wrecks, in fact, I’ve only had one minor spill. I’m extremely familiar with my route and am on alert at all times, especially at intersections and other spots where drivers are more likely to not see me as well. I just feel safe on the road and never reach for the helmet when I walk out the door.
The only time I do wear one is when mountain biking. The combination of my inexperience and rough terrain (not to mention trees) makes my chances of falling/wrecking a lot higher.
So readers, do you wear one? Feel free to comment and let us know why or why not.
Cyclelicious has a fantastic piece of some research Ft. Collins did on bicycle safety. Over 9 years the city took a look at data from accident reports and came up with some really great data. Some of the numbers surprised me, but the conclusion was a good one:
For the 9 year period that Ft Collins examined, the accident rate is 0.93 per 1,000 population. Compare that against an injury rate of 7.7 per 1,000 population for all people involved in car accidents. There were four bicycle fatalities in Ft Collins in nine years, compared against two to four traffic fatalities total each year.
Here’s a really cool idea, a brake light system that uses an acceleramoter to detect when you are slowing down. Best of all it’s fairly inexpensive to build and fits nicely in the bar-ends.
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