don't wear a helmet?

[Haven_kd7yct]

I know I'm going to regret it, but:

Me: one helmet, no accidents with other vehicles. I've only crashed once going over some railroad tracks, and that was mostly so I wouldn't run over my boyfriend who had crashed right in front of me. Novice mistake, I guess.

So, I guess I can say that in 500 miles in 3 months, wearing a helmet.... no accidents.... And I haven't noticed cars passing me closer since I am wearing a helmet.

Knock wood. I hope I haven't jinxed myself.

Okay. Bottom line: I'd rather be wearing a helmet when an incident occurs than not. But I also like my continued good health, and have other sports I like to compete in that I would like to continue doing. They also require a helmet, even though I'm also protected by a roll cage, race seat, and 6-point harness.

[nishiki]

Did anybody actually read the article?

We know it is better to wear an helmet if you crash DUH!

What the article is saying is that cars want to get you off the road when you look silly with one...

The bully high-school syndrome I ll call it.

[Haven_kd7yct]

I read through the article, and it appears that this study is specific only to that region of Britain it was performed in, and specific to that researcher.

In order to be a valid, scientific study, the results have to be replicated... preferrably by a scientist in a different country.

Too many variables to say whether his results were valid! I'd like to see a study by independent researchers here in Portland, that would be interesting.

[dan]

since when do we need a scientist to figure things out for us?

[Haven_kd7yct]

Well, look at it this way:

WE don't need a scientist to figure it out for US; WE need a scientist to figure it out for the rest of the world that hasn't figured it out yet.



I was just saying that I thought the article was specific to the scientist's specific physical location and should not be applied to the world at large.

My opinion.

[jami]

scientists are the people who did the studies showing that helmets keep you from dying when you do land on your head.

those stupid scientist fuckers!

when the science-haters here look in the mirror, do you see pat robertson and exxon valdez looking back at you? 'cause you're the mirror opposites of right-wing science hatred. ignorance is not a pretty picture wherever you fall on the political spectrum.

though it does pose an interesting question, this experiment was flawed, in my fucking-scientist opinion, in that his own behaviour probably changes when he has a helmet on. i know i feel safer and less likely to swerve out of the way of the loud engine coming up behind me when i have a helmet on. this would definitely affect the distance between him and the car, but because of him, not the car.

in addition to his behaviour, we don't know if he changed his route or other aspects of his appearance (as mentioned by another commenter) on no-helmet days. he didn't "control" for a lot of "variables" (in fucking-science talk).

anecdotally, my only serious accident happened on one of the rare occasions i forgot my helmet. while i sat in searing pain with a run-over foot on the pavement, a passerby actually scolded me about my helmetlessness, saying, "it could have been a lot worse!"

don't most accidents happen because drivers don't see bikes long enough to think, "ah, a helmet, why not run them down?"

[jyl]

Interesting study!

But, hardly enough to conclude that helmets increase the chances of accidents.

Maybe this guy (unconsciously) rode differently when he was wearing a helmet. Maybe the drivers in his neighborhood are unusual (usually thoughtless). Maybe the bicyclists in his area are unusual (in their rate of helmet usage, or in their behaviour when helmeted or not).

Seems to me you'd want to (1) see if you got the same results in other locations, (2) see if you got the same results with other bicyclists, (3) see if its the cars driving differently or the cyclicst riding differently.

I think a better study would be to set up a video camera at a location where bicyclists are frequently passed by cars, videotape hundreds or thousands of passes, and measure cyclist-to-curb and car-to-cyclist. And do this in various locations or various countries.