>>967574The whole helmet thing boils down to people who want to look smart and respectable VS people who want to feel comfy and don't mind some risk
Obviously a helmet is safer IF your riding style does not change at all. But the average cyclist slaps on a helmet and pretends it will prevent a spinal cord injury and then rides off like a retard.
I ride helmet-less, on century rides through suburban PA / NJ. I ride like EVERYONE is trying to kill me, and I guarantee I'm a safer rider than most of you. I will go 30 minutes of my way to avoid getting in the shoulder of a 4 lane split road, even for a half mile
> Head injuries going up with increased helmet usage. Between 1991 and 2001 two things happened: helmet use among cyclists soared, and head injuries soared along with it. Head injuries among cyclists went up by 10% on a simple basis, but when we factor in the dramatic decrease in the number of cyclists during that period, head injuries effectively went up by 51%. (New York Times, 2001) Incidentally, from this we can figure that there was a 27% reduction in cycling. (e.g., 1000 injuries + 10% = 1100 injuries; 1100 injuries ÷ 1.51 = 728 injuries; 1000 to 728 is a ~27% reduction.)http://bicycleuniverse.info/transpo/almanac-safety.html>Chris Boardman: "Helmets not even in top 10 of things that keep cycling safe">British Cycling policy advisor says it's time to stop distracting helmet arguments and concentrate on real safety issues... http://road.cc/content/news/111258-chris-boardman-helmets-not-even-top-10-things-keep-cycling-safe 