I don't usually wear a bike helmet. Does that make me an idiot?
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- čas přidán 3. 06. 2024
- This is the video I didn't want to make. For a long time, I've chosen not to wear a bike helmet on my daily bike commute because I didn't feel I needed one. But people ask me about it so often that I started to doubt myself. So I decided to take a deep dive into that decision. And to do so, I enlisted some help to explore the big questions around bike safety and helmets. This is our conversation.
Big thanks to Cailynn Klingbeil for exploring this issue with me. You can find her on Twitter at / cailynnk
0:00 Introduction
2:42 How helmets became so ingrained - the roots of helmet fundamentalism
12:14 How effective are bike helmets anyway?
16:13 What do we miss when we focus only on helmets?
21:51 How do we properly assess the risks of riding a bike?
25:49 How can I make a better decision about wearing a helmet?
30:27 My personal re-assessment: Am I an idiot or not?
If you're looking for some of the sources that Cailynn cited in this video, here are some links: • Post
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I know this can be an emotional issue for a lot of us, but my goal here is to get us thinking about what really makes cycling safer. If you choose to wear a helmet or not wear a helmet, the world is a better place if more of us choose to ride a bike more often. ❤
I live in Latinoamérica and I use fullface MTB helmet this has saved me twice times from damage in face and hard injuries in craneum
They reduce head injury by 60% and subsequent brain injury by 50%.
You may not be an idiot yet, but give it time.
Four weeks ago, I have no doubt a helmet saved my life, or at least stopped my life from changing drastically.
I was on a bike path beside a side walk. I was not going fast. There was no other cyclists or pedestrians near me. I commute, I don’t mountain bike, race, or otherwise trick ride. I was coming back with some birdseed from the pet store.
I crashed. Hit a rut that got my tire and down I went.
My head hit the pavement. I had bruising on my face despite wearing a helmet. The helmet was destroyed. The foam cracked in two places, the helmet shell cracked in one place.
In the last four weeks, my road rash has healed. The bruising on my face has healed. My shoulder is still healing. A head/brain injury would have been a different story.
I do agree that helmets may influence drivers of motor vehicles to be more aggressive to cyclists. I also agree that helmets may discourage some people from starting to cycle, as well as the other stats mentioned in the video. But I am not willing to give up my life because little Freddy is on the fence about cycling.
Embrace the Geek. Wear a Helmet. It only takes a split second and then there is no turning back.
(Besides, it gives you another place to mount a GoPro)
I appreciate you responding to this question I have definitely wondered. I thought it was a Canada versus US thing perhaps. Canadian bike infrastructure being better?
I type this reply while recovering from: surgery to repair my broken collarbone, a broken shoulder, two ribs, a mile of road rash, possible hip fracture, MASSIVE hematoma, and complete removal of the skin on my ankle. I was commuting after my second group ride of the day so my legs were spent; I was not going fast. I was on a protected cycleway by myself. A section of the chainlink fencing, that was supposed to be protecting me, had been pulled loose and was dangling into the cycleway. I just didn't see it. My head hit the pavement just as hard as the rest of my body. The helmet split in two. I am typing this now because I was not an idiot and wore a helmet. Bikes should come with a helmet.
I remember being like 9 or 10 years old in my hometown and a cop "pulled me over" on my bike. Because I was wearing my helmet, he gave me a "ticket" that was a coupon for a free soda and piece of pizza at a local restaurant.
I never know when I'll get another free soda and piece of pizza for it, so I've always worn my helmet ever since. It's been 25 years. I'm not kidding that one little thing stuck with me so hard as a child.
Wow I hope there are still more cops like that.
We need more cops like this
WOW! That's one helluva story.
@@jed7644 That's a great story, dude.
LEO should do that more often. BTW as a kid I didn't wear a helmet, reason, I don't think they existed in the 50s or the early 60s. I got my fist helmet in 1966 .. in the Army 🙂 I do wear a bike helmet
Dutch bike commuters rarely wear helmets, but then again, they have amazing bike infrastructure.
They rarely have to share the road with cars. In the USA you nearly always have to share the road with cars.
@@eddiearniwhatever no you don't. You can just ride on the sidewalk or neighborhood roads
@@biggibbs4678 If you cycled around any Dutch city you'd get what I'm saying - the infrastructure is designed to allow bicyclists to go anywhere they please with few if any conflicts with cars.
In the USA however it is significantly different - you can't commute on the sidewalk, that's impossible, and for any significant journeys across any US city you'll end up sharing the road with cars at some point.
There just isn't enough cycle specific infrastructure in the USA, and I don't think there ever will be. We are way too car centric for that.
It is best practice to ride on neighborhood roads (def a terrible idea to ride on the sidewalk) but that still does not amount to seamless bike transit as one sees in Europe, especially the Netherlands and Denmark.
@@biggibbs4678 in my city riding on the sidewalk can and will get you ticketed, everyone does it in some areas.
@@eddiearniwhatever They are also all cycling SLOW. They HATE anyone doing over 20KPH
To me it is easy. My house "never" burns, but I still pay for fire insurance. Same with bicycling: I "never" crash on my bike, but still use a helmet as an insurance to improve my chances if it should happen.
One of the biggest concerns in sharing the road with cars is in getting doored. Sometimes getting doored means flipping over the door and landing headfirst. Even without flipping over, you're likely to hit your head.
Almost tot doored a few times while driving a cargo bike. I wonder what would happen to the car door and the bike in such a collision.
The Netherlands has a much better way. See the channel, Not Just Bikes.
Happened to me last weekend, was riding in the bike lane with some friends and had no time to react. Honestly it's good I was the one it happened to because several of them weren't wearing helmets. Very glad I had it on and those friends reevaluated. Fuckin hurts though and the lady didn't apologize at all.
That's why you don't do that in the first place! If riders weren't "risk compensating" with the bike helmets, they'd be more careful and observant.
@@derekjolly3680 Bike lanes in the US are uncommon and are poorly thought out when they do exist. In the US either you A) share the road with cars, or B) go mountain biking. If you want to use a bike as transportation, you have to be uncomfortably close to cars. There's no room for "risk compensation", you face the risk, there's no other option. And I'd much rather that people did bike when they want, rather than cutting themselves short because bike infrastructure sucks out here.
It was interesting to hear her mention that one reason she wears a helmet is because she knows if she's ever in an accident that's the first thing people will ask. I go all in on visibility for basically the same reason. If I get hit I want there to be no doubt about whether the driver could see me or not.
My ebike is equipped with a Harley Davidson LED headlight. I run it day and night. :^)
Well, that was the point of the World Naked Bike Ride...("can you see me now?")
This really is a huge deal. It's getting better, but the lack of serious reporting and even outright refusal of police to properly investigate collisions involving cyclists in Canada is ridiculous.
@@wturber my motorcycle had twin headlights, one was yellow. Still got t-boned and fleeeeew right onto my helmet. Phew!
True. Though I feel like, unless you're wearing all black, with no lights, on an unlit road, the burden of guilt should always fall on the driver. If a driver can't see you, they probably shouldn't be driving.
4 years ago, I was riding my bike on campus through a fairly empty parking lot. I had been an experienced cyclist at this point, riding between 15-30 miles a day in Manhattan as a commuter with no helmet. I went on that ride with no traffic around. Next thing I know, I woke up in the ED with a splitting headache and 6hrs had passed. It was 3am. I must have somehow lost control by hitting a crack or a rock and fell towards the back of my head. Ended up with postconcussional syndrome, permanent memory problems, and a hematoma towards the back of my skull that thankfully didnt lead to a brain bleed or more damage. A helmet would have prevented all of that. I still don't like to wear helmets, but I do. I think you have great points and I actually agree with your stance, but at the end of the day a helmet is still safer - and sometimes you just get unlucky.
very much this
Got news for you: helmets don’t necessarily prevent concussions. How about the numbers of cyclists who have got concussions while wearing helmets?
@@ToriKlassen1 true - but would imagine that objectively, falling on your head vs without a helmet would improve outcomes. I may not be able to find an IRB willing to approve a study comparing double blinded work of me smashing someones head in with vs without a helmet, but it would have saved me a world of trouble if I had wore one
Your sob story misses the point entirely. This video isn't saying not to wear a helmet. It's saying that statistically, cycling, especially commuting in bike lanes, is not a common cause of head injury and that focus on helmets as a primary safety measure is misguided.
I don't ride at night without good street light or a floodlight. I am always scanning the road and going slower. What happened to you was a failure of observation/riding in conditions which affect observation. That's on you, not the lack of a helmet.
My worst crash was caused by my bike being in poor mechanical condition. My second worst crash was cause by my panniers not being secured properly. They were both my fault. In neither instance did I crack my helmet.
The problem with these types of anecdotes is often how overblown they are compared to the actual risks of cycling, which can lead to laws requiring helmets be worn while cycling, which then discourages cycling even further. I am glad that you understand the points and the stances taking in the video, but here's a slight hypothetical change to this scenario:
You were walking down the sidewalk, something you've done for years on other sidewalks, but next thing you know you woke up in the ED, with all the same symptoms. Apparently, that part of the sidewalk was loose, you ended up falling backwards and hitting your head on a curb.
We can't start demanding pedestrians wear helmets when walking from such anecdotes; that would be utterly ridiculous. And from the video, the number of trips per hospitalization was actually slightly higher for cycling than for pedestrians, which suggests that walking is actually riskier than cycling. In a different world, people would be using this hypothetical and similar stories to campaign for laws that require pedestrians wear helmets, rather than actually do proper maintenance on the sidewalk...
In yet another different world, there enough well maintained bicycling infrastructure available where you didn't feel like you have to cut through that likely unmaintained parking lot.
If my head is injured, I risk losing my personality, my livelihood, and risk putting my loved ones in a horrible position of having to “unplug me”. Wearing a helmet is just so easy, and stories I’ve heard from friends who work in the ER confirm they are very effective. Even when commuting, I just don’t trust cars, people, dogs etc.
Sometimes I think people are more careful when they don't have the security
You should legislate the Netherlands and Japan to adopt helmets, you will get exponentially more people on helmets than doing it here in Canada/USA
What about using your helmet in car? IMHO, your reasons do not sound well to me. But it is your choice. The problem is with mandating helmet, instead of creating safe travel for cyclist. And until people who ride do not understand it - it will be hard to stop blaming cyclist for fault of drivers.
Cars have seatbelts and airbags and other safety features which are mandated by law. Bicycles don't even legally need brakes in some places, let alone helmets. I wish people (men mostly lets be honest here) would just be honest that the reason they don't want to wear a helmet is they think they look un-cool - that's it. There are no downsides to wearing a helmet, people complain about things like having to carry it round to cover up the fact that the ultimate reason they don't want to wear one is because it doesn't look cool.
@@LieutenantMoustache As a matter of fact, I think some helmets look kinda cool (and I just ordered myself a new one a few hours ago!). And I still recognize the inconvenience of carrying a helmet around, also the way they limit your clothing options and sometimes just suck in the rain depending on geometry and what you manage to wear under it.
Today I went for a bike ride without a helmet, because my jacket doesn't have a hood large enough to pull over the top of the helmet and inside it just doesn't fit well at all. It's cold and windy, I care more about keeping warm and comfortable than wearing a cool piece of plastic.
I've cycled all my life and the number of times I've fallen on my bike is far fewer than the number of times I've slipped walking on ice. So from a safety POV, a helmet would make a bigger difference if worn while walking.
I only started wearing a helmet as an adult when I was cycling in the winter and needed to keep my touque from falling off in the high winds. After that, it became habit. Since then, I have lived in a province where adults were not required to wear a helmet, but did require under 18. I then got a new mindset: if you have something worth protecting, you will wear one. I never ride without a helmet in case you didn't suspect. :) I do understand how you ride without one and where, but you just never know when that sudden something will cross your path for that unexpected reason. Physics says that if you are travelling faster than running, and you fall, you will likely injure yourself. I ride around 20km/h, but can't run near that.
I’m pretty pragmatic about it. It’s been a long time since I’ve fallen, but if I fall, I don’t want to end up with a traumatic brain injury. It’s like wearing a seatbelt while driving - obviously my intent is to never use it, and it’s been decades since I’ve been in a collision, but I’m still going to wear it every time. That said, if I use a rental bike somewhere and no helmet is available it’s not going to stop me from biking.
Yep this is where I'm at as well. I don't have the luxury of sticking to nice safe infrastructure for one thing, and I know a couple people who have gotten TBIs (one while biking) and had a really rough go of it after, so even if it's only a factor of 2 or 3 it's probably good insurance. My helmet is also covered in reflective tape strips and has a light on it so it does double duty at night. But I don't expect anyone else to necessarily share my stance. It feels nice to ride without one when it's reasonably safe.
I personally don't think it's quite as simple as comparing it to a seat belt while driving; otherwise, we'd wear a helmet while walking (This video did go over the stats the pedestrians are injured or die nearly as much as bicyclists).
Instead, it really depends on where and how you're riding bike, as opposed to simply a "safety first all of the time regardless of circumstances" mindset that we have with car seatbelts while driving.
For example, I don't choose to negate a seat belt on safe roads and wear one only on unsafe roads like a highway; I wear it all the time. But for biking, I choose to wear a helmet when I know I will be exposes to traffic versus not wearing one when I'm riding in safe infrastructure.
I agree with you. It’s been a long time since I had fallen too. Until, that is, last week when I hit a BIG pothole that I didn’t see. I was on the ground, on my side, in short order. Did not hit my head as I was going slow at the time of the fall. It must have been a bit of a SPE tidal as some bystanders shouted out: “are you ok????” to check on my condition. I was totally fine (other than a bit sore the next day).
But at 62-years old, a head impact, should it have occurred, would not have been a good thing without a helmet.
40-years ago when I was 22, I would NOT have had a helmet on and I would have laughed off my little spill. Today, it’s more concerning. Given the bike infrastructure that I have access to in Denver, I was thinking recently about riding without a helmet sometimes. But my spill, and my age, has convinced me to keep it on.
Your point makes sense, but seatbelts are just more effective, so they make more sense. Also wearing a helmet while walking or car driving is culturally out of question - but it would be just as 'necessary' statistically
Wearing a helmut doesn't necessarily prevent TBI. TBI is caused by the brain bouncing within the skull and against the skull bones. I experienced this in a head-on car accident. Helmets protect the external part of the head not the brain.
Very interesting video! I am a cyclist from Brazil and it's really interesting to see the perspective from more developed countries. I live in a city that is very commended for its public transport infrastructure, but being a cyclist here feels absolutely like a survival experience. Wearing a helmet is pretty much mandatory if you value your life just for a matter of protecting yourself against the sheer exposure to traffic. It's not even really about you crashing, but other people crashing into you.
I just started bike commuting to work in a medium sized city in Mexico. There is a section of traffic where it is a daily survival experience where my health seems to be totally in the hands of the drivers because there is absolutely no ¨space¨ for cycling and cycling is almost non-existent here except for a few students who come from a different direction than I do.
I agree entirely about defensive riding. I have a road bike I almost never ride since moving from Indiana to New Mexico. Drivers in New Mexico aren't as safe to be around.
Fell on my left arm just yesterday while riding through a bike lane because a driver stuck his whole front of the car over the sidewalk when leaving a car wash. Thank god I wasn't badly injured and the bike wasn't damaged. Be safe out there, friends, it is always when you're least expecting. Also, I was wearing a helmet so I felt much less of an idiot for crashing 🤣
De qual cidade?
@@Ferreira0PH Curitiba irmão
All arguments in favor of bike helmets are equally valid for anything else where a head injury is possible, e.g. driving a car or just in a car, working on a construction site or walking barefoot in your bathroom. The question is what is the threshold where the risk becomes too high. I've thought about this and decided from a risk standpoint it makes more sense to wear a helmet inside a car, which is what I do now. I mean, even in Formula 1 or NASCAR they also do that. For some reason people look at me strange, so I guess it's more of a cultural than a rational thing.
Lol....have you ever watched how fast they drive in Formula 1 and Nascar? It's called car racing..
Ironically, I’m an ER nurse and I commute to work in inner city houston and sometimes I wear my helmet, sometimes I don’t. I believe always being aware of my surroundings and not riding like an asshole will protect me a lot more than any helmet can.
It's weird the helmet laws in Australia. I've got buddies who'll ride their bikes with helmets to the skate park only to take them off when they go skate which is a significantly more dangerous activity.
isnt everything banned in australia anyway
They have public healthcare so it makes sense to save money on brain injuries by mandating a helmet. I liked it when I stayed there, you quickly stop thinking about it when everyone is wearing one.
Dude, this video is amazing. I especially enjoyed your outro about needing to have the conversation about improving city infrastructure, not just the conversation about helmets. The helmet conversation implies expected bike-vehicle crashes, whereas the infrastructure conversation doesn't want that to happen in the first place.
Also, I wouldn't complain if you had a Shifter podcast.
A nice grass verge if you fall of is always more welcome than a concrete bike lane and kerb stone.
I love this conversation! It’s videos like this that pushed me to study transportation engineering, I want to make a safer urban environment for everyone
Come to Berlin and give bicycles more space and separation from cars, pretty please!
Where do you study?
Hell yeah, I'm studying civil engineering for a similar reason too! But here in Australia, its sad to see how transportation engineering tends to be very heavily based on cars and the best way to optimise vehicle traffic (which almost always seems to come at the cost of cycling and pedestrian safety).
@@yungthils787 Same here too, my transportation class last semester was all about roads and ignored every other mode of transport. My goal is to change the conversation on transportation in the US and encourage transit, biking, and walking infrastructure!
@@BikeStuffPDX I'm at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City
Thank you so much for this video with more factual debate on helmets. I got in a bike crash (very minor, dodging a car on a slippery bike lane) a couple years ago, the day after I got a helmet for the first time. When talking about it with people they always asked first "were you wearing a helmet". They would get so upset when I would answer, "why would that matter?", as my only injury was a scratch on my arm! The only way to get a productive discussion after that was to say first that yes, I had one, but no, it didn't help because there was a driver in the bike lane! People need to hear all this research you did and make a truely informed decision!
Crashed on my bike yesterday. The cause of the crash was my speed and shoddy cargo hauling solution leading to poor control of the bike when I hit a bump in the pavement. I scraped my left elbow and my palms a bit. I was riding on a walking and cycling path as I nearly always do. A helmet would not have prevented my crash, nor would it have given me any protection in this case. I wasn't wearing a helmet, but if I did I would be a bit disappointed in it. Thanks for nothing, lol.
Thicker gloves and a thicker jacket would have protected me, but obviously a better cargo solution or simply riding slower would have prevented the accident in the first place. Curiously, the only thing my girlfriend told me when I came home was that I needed to start always wearing a helmet. My own take away from the accident is that I need to ride much slower on non smooth surfaces and fix a proper cargo solution that doesn't lower my control over the bike.
Reminds me of my driving teacher who always told me that the only factor you really need to consider when it comes to preventing accidents is speed. Lower the speed and every other accident risk factor fades into irrelevance. Doesn't matter if you are looking at your phone if you are standing still. Doesn't matter if the road is slippery if you are driving slow. Doesn't matter if it's foggy and you have poor vision if you are driving slow. Your slow reaction time or slow decision making doesn't matter if you are driving slowly enough to orient yourself and make your decisions.
> Reminds me of my driving teacher who always told me that the only factor you really need to consider when it comes to preventing accidents is speed. Lower the speed and every other accident risk factor fades into irrelevance.
As a cyclist you can be hit and seriously injured even while stationary, whereas in a car you'll hardly receive critical injuries when traveling at city speeds.
Thankyou for sharing your story. I always wonder what proportion of anecdotes that 'support wearing a helmet' emit details about the riders own poor safety decisions. How many of the times where "a helmet saved a life" could the situation have been mitigated by other better safety choices.
@@MichaelRenner Actually there's a disproportionate amount of car driver/passenger deaths. They aren't as safe as we think. That's all part of our skewed risk analysis that was discussed in this video.
Almost 20 years ago now, I got hit by a car as a teen on my bike (pretty bad, broke a leg and some other bones). That experience, ironically, made me realize I didn't need the helmet every ride. It's not the most important safety equipment. What matters is a bike that works (brakes!), good lights, visible clothing, and a strong, vested interest in your own survival. Paying attention, understanding the road and what drivers and others around are likely to do, etc., will prevent the vast majority of incidents.
I still wear a helmet on many rides, especially if the roads shared with cars will be tight/fast. I don't bother around town. I have been harassed occasionally by well-meaning strangers, usually from their car next to me at a stop light. I also spend every summer on motorcycles and with no doors on my Jeep. Both of those things are probably a greater danger than not wearing a bike helmet, but no strangers ever harass me about it in public. The indoctrination is real.
lol I've ridden with friends who are bad drivers and can tell you visibility clothing doesn't matter at all. They just don't give a shit and are zooming around.
@@biggibbs4678 This is slightly true, there are definitely drivers who are incompetent and won't look out for them, but most drivers will and wearing high-vis is much more effective than wearing helmets.
It's nice to hear a case where anecdotal evidence has actually led to a consideration of all the factors and each of their risks.
The indoctrination is all over this comment thread, despite the content of the video....
@@biggibbs4678 At least with hi-vis/lights they are given the choice to 'not give a shit'. better to be ignored than not seen at all!
Dude, you're the embodiment of survival bias.
It might be anecdotal but one day my dad got in a bike accident where he was wearing a helmet. I saw the helmet because he'd fallen on the ground and it was ground flat on one side. My dad's still around, so that's enough of an incentive for me.
Something similar happened to my dad, shit can happen anywhere any time even in the safest places
On a motorcycle a helmet saved my face and head. I'm pro helmet.
In motorcycle riding they say dress for the crash not for the ride.
I got hit by a car last year and scuffed up my face really bad _with_ a helmet. The helemt itself was junked. I'd been hemming and hawwing on my continued commitment to wearing a helmet and am sure glad I did. I would have broken much worse than my arm that day.
This. A helmet not only protects your head, but your loved ones too.
I've been cycling over the entire span you described. There was no bike infrastructure, and nobody wore a helmet when I started. I may still have my old Bell helmet somewhere.
I always wear a helmet, partly because I don't want a child to see me riding without one, and decide not to.
By the way, there is a huge difference between a head injury and other injuries.
I don't wear a helmet, simply because it doesn't suit me.
If a child sees me, they might well think cycling is a nice activity. Wearing a helmet suggests that it is unsafe.
This resonates with me due to my experience as a motorcycle safety instructor. I got into M/C safety as a response to mandatory helmet legislation that was proposed in Illinois in the late '80s. The proposed legislation sought to reduce state funding of safety training programs in exchange for a mandatory helmet law, which struck me as an asinine argument. I had always strived to be a competent operator, but after I became trained I was shocked at how deficient my self-taught skills truly were. I became passionate about teaching the skills that scholarly research have shown contribute to accidents. The key skills accident-involved riders statistically lack include mental and visual skills for traffic perception, visual direction control, traction management, maximum straight-line braking, braking in a curve, swerving to avoid an obstacle, overcoming an obstacle, countersteering to maintain control in a curve, entering moving traffic from a stop, and lane position for visibility. These days I watch lots of bicyclists to judge their riding ability. Can you guess what skills most bicyclists on the road really suck at? The exact same ones that were demonstrated to contribute to motorcycle accidents. Poorly skilled bicyclists in traffic are at much greater risk for injury, especially head injuries. But even on protected bike lanes and trails, poor riding skills are definitely a risk factor. I'd love to see a nationally recognized, evidence-based bicycle training program that will help untrained riders achieve mastery over these critical skills, so they can be safer riders.
And yes, I always wear a helmet, regardless of whether I'm on a motorcycle or a bicycle. I've known people with various degrees of TBI, and it's a lifelong tragedy. I don't want to put my family through that nightmare.
How many bicycles do you see without a rearview mirror? I consider a mirror to be basic safety equipment when riding with traffic. But most cyclists don't seem to agree.
@@wturber You need mirrors on automobiles and even motorcycles because of blind spots. I see no such need on a bicycle. If I want to see what's behind me, I just turn my head and look.
I honestly think a mirror would decrease my safety, because I would have to fiddle with it or bob my head around constantly to use it effectively instead of just turning my head and eyes with high precision.
I'd bet most of those skills also apply to automobile accidents, excluding the ones specific to 2 wheeled transportation. I would love to see a national safety training program for bicycles, but I think getting one for drivers should be a way higher priority, since automobiles are inherently more dangerous and statistically more dangerous.
Mirrors are needed on motorcycles and cars because they make so much noise or mute sound (car cabin/helmet) that your unable to hear probably your environment/traffic…
In the region where I live (Netherlands/Germany/Belgium) you will see mirrors on E-bikes mostly driving by elder people (those bikes are louder, by age your ears aren’t as newly anymore, and you are maybe a as mobile as you used to be so looking backwards and or holding your balance can be more challenging).
@@misme2000 The noise of the wind rushing by your ears, even at bicycle speeds, is enough to often obscure the noise of a car behind you.
The main reason I don't wear a helmet, and it's not one I've seen mentioned elsewhere, is that it reduces what I can hear. The friction against my hair, the air forced down around the helmet past my ears, combine to make it so much more difficult to tell when/how close/how fast a car/van/motorbike is about to overtake.
You can glean so much from hearing a car engine and tyres behind you, and awareness of your surroundings is by far the most important thing keeping you safe.
I'm in my fifties and only started wearing a helmet last year, I always felt more at danger wearing one before as the two times previously I'd tried to cycle with one I felt really restricted by it. I felt I couldn't move my head as quickly and it restricted my vision, although I usually cycled with a baseball at on. My decision to wear one wasn't for any other reason than I woke up one morning and decided to buy one, no pressure, not did I think.It would automatically save my life. After a lot of research I bought a Tory lee mtb helmet, it strangely felt much less restrictive than road helmets I'd tried. I still stand by my decision not to wear one for decades. I think it made me a much safer cyclist.
Thank you for this info! There's something that needs to be included in the calculations, I would think: crashes not related to vehicles. Vehicles were not part of my 3 most memorable crashes over the past 30 years, or so. Two were from coming across patches of "black ice" and I was glad I was wearing a helmet when my head hit the road (once) and the paved bike path (the second time). The third was from leaves in the street, slippery from the rain. Watch out for those slippery leaves! I know these are only personal experiences, though, but I know that conditions can come up by surprise. (So, even if you're not next to cars, I would vote for a helmet, because things sometimes happen. Even if it's infrequent, you frequently need your head.) Also, I get way more pressure (in the US) to not ride at all. Hardly anyone mentions my helmet. Of course, we must keep building more and more protected bike lanes (that are maintained all year round). Yay for bike infrastructure! And I'll make it a point not to harshly judge anyone I see without a helmet or me if I find myself without one, for some reason. Thanks again.
Ugh black ice....Just walked on it and my feet up in the air (thought it was wet sidewalk. My thick duffel jacket didn't help much as padding.
The mere fact that you HAVE "3 most memorable crashes" is testament to the fact that bicycle accidents are more frequent - and memorable - than on most other modes of getting around.
@@PapaOystein Evidence does not back up this assertion.
I currently commute most days on bike infrastructure in Denver, CO, USA. But I’m also 62. I don’t want to have a minor (or major) incident or even a simple fall and crack my head. So I wear a helmet. If I was 23 again, my answer may be different and I might go without a helmet. I think, as part of the decision risk assessment, age is also part of the equation.
I agree with this. My personal assessment has changed over time as well.
I'd also factor in the age of other road users. I currently live in an area that the majority of drivers are past retirement age. I've had a significant increase in near misses since I moved here. I still don't wear a helmet but have taken to wearing hi-vis clothing more often.
Absolutely it's all about your comfort level with how safe you want to be in my opinion
Up in Ft Collins we consider brain damage to be a bad thing at any age 😉
I'm more open to not wearing a helmet as a young single dude with no kids. But I also go out of my way to avoid cycling in the roads as much as possible. I see the substandard biking infrastructure causing the inherent risk of urban bike commuting, but I will not let that force me to wear a helmet. In other activities like mountain biking or skateboarding, yeah wearing a helmet should be the standard due to the higher chance of injury with crashes/falls.
It’s absolutely stunning to hear a proper conversation about an ordinary, daily subject. I’m happy that it made sense to me and helped me make a choice (an adhd that struggles to make choices by overspread the factors in the matter and getting lost quickly, not sure if I’ve explained myself correctly). Thanks (:
adhd might be a factor in wearing a helmet more often, interestingly enough.
I don't have adhd, but I get distracted very easily and I can zone out very easily, not paying attention to everything with as much sustained focus as I should, and that does affect the safety of my car driving. I have to make a conscious deliberate effort to try to drive goodly lol.
I got doored by a car and still remember the sound of my helmet slamming into the asphalt. A friend of mine got rear-ended by a car and hit the car hood so hard the helmet split in half.
In either of those situations the presence of a helmet wouldn't have changed whether we got hospitalized or not, but it absolutely changed the nature and severity of those injuries, which would not have been captured in a pure hospitalization count comparison study.
It is absolutely true that the problem boils down to cars and lack of infra (both of my examples were car-caused and on streets with inadequate bike infra), but in light of my own personal experiences there's literally no way I'll ever not wear a helmet and not tell my own kids to do the same, at least until we have Amsterdams all around North America.
I was certain there couldn't be reasonable argument AGAINST wearing a helmet but your conversation really gave me food for thought. The statistics were interesting (it seems cycling is a lot more safe than I had assumed) but they didn't really change my mind. Because in the end it's not about what's statistically most likely to happen but the particular situation I might end up in. But the experiment showing that car drivers are less careful when a cyclist is wearing a helmet really makes me think.
Dutch guy chiming in 🙂: I loved your thorough discussion of the whole bike safety conversation, and checking the facts to see what actually holds up. I'd say you're spot on, including your concluding statement: leave it up to people to decide whether they want to wear a helmet or not. In the Netherlands, nobody really tends to wear a helmet on their commutes, except perhaps old people on e-bikes. And small kids that get pressured by their parents to wear them. Everyone else: only when mountainbiking or fast road biking. Works out just fine 👍
Canadian here. I've been cycling for 50+ years. I have never worn a bike helmet. Though if I did serious off road MTB, I probably would.
In the Netherlands, I understand the case to be that they really understand that biking is another aspect of commuting. In the States, every city I've lived in thinks that biking is an aspect of exercise only. Helmets are very important when every commute is a survival sport around and through cars. Wish we made our streets as you've made yours.
If I am going to average over 25kph I will wear a helmet. Kids are biologically more susceptible to head injuries from minor falls, so pressure to wear them is completely understandable.
Another Dutchie here… loved the discussion as well. Here in NL I would never consider wearing a helmet because of our great biking infrastructure and culture which makes it pretty safe already. I don’t think wearing a helmet would significantly increase safety. The only injuries I’ve had were a broken ankle (on a bmx track), a scuffed elbow and a chipped tooth, all in my early teenage years.
However, if I would cycle in the US or Canada (or any other country with more aggression towards cyclists) I might wear a helmet, when I would have to ride among fast moving cars.
@@anouk6644 do you do any night riding or fast riding? There is no doubt that it increases safety, the question is how much which is dependent on person.
Helmet laws were lobbied hard by automobile companies. It made bikes appear more dangerous than they are, and made cycling more of a hassle.
Now, with less people riding, and car drivers often being actively antagonistic, we pretty much have to wear a helmet in situations where people in saner societies wouldn't.
When I was a kid, bicycling was the dominant way to get to school. Now, that's a rarity.
The U.S. has worse city planning than some developing countries. It's kind of ridiculous.
@@momoware Planning isn't really the right word for what US cities do. There's usually some kind of management, but it falls short of planning. There's almost no standardization between cities either, so they vary widely in every way. A small few are not so bad.
@@ernststravoblofeld don't think it's planning either. Bottom line is it comes down to people. Biker's and auto drivers changed about 15 yrs ago with a major sense of entitlement to the road with little to no regard for cyclists.
@Bjorn Arnesen If your circumstances require a helmet, then by all means, wear one. But forcing everyone in every circumstance to wear a helmet will make everyone but a few messengers and fitness enthusiasts give up. All for a fairly low risk activity.
So,so right 😮
Not wearing a helmet does not make you an idiot but traumatic brain damage will.
Personally I wear a helmet at all times. Several reasons, the two main ones being that I have done so for 30+ years (so it’s a habit by now) and also because there is very very little safe bike infrastructure where I live. So I am among cars about 90% of the time. This also taught me to „ride as if nobody can see me“, aka always assuming that I am, for all intents and purposes, invisible to car drivers. This strategy has prevented bad things from happening on several occasions, both on a bicycle as well as on a motorbike.
Some (!) of my fellow two wheeled riders - motorized or otherwise - are frankly reckless and move about like they own the place, without even looking at what happens around them. And as soon as one of them gets swiped, everyone is all over why car drivers are THE issue. That is not to say that there are no issues there mind you, because there are plenty.
Bro…you and your bike are about as wide as the average A-pillar from the perspective of a car driver. There is no difference there whether you are on an omafiets or a Hayabusa. If you are in the right spot, the driver can physically not see you. I don’t care if you might have the right of way. I would rather yield and live than insist on ROW and leave a nice Bull‘s Eye on a windscreen and having my membership of the Being Alive Club revoked permanently. Also, everyone traveling on two wheels should remind themselves occasionally that their crumple zone is a LOT smaller than that of even the most basic car. No matter how much you were in the right, you will always draw the shortest straw as far as injuries go. No amount of helmet will change that. A fender bender on a car might be a trip to the morgue for you.
So you wear a helmet because drivers cannot behave responsibly around you.
Most drivers do behave responsibly. You do have to watch out for those who don't and give yourself room to deal with their mistakes. There's some enablement going on, but your flesh and bone body is alot more irreplaceable than mere car parts. You can assert yourself as long as you feel your actions are writing cheques your body can afford to cash if it all goes wrong.
After all the info I loved your ending statement to just have more empathy for people who choose to do things differently than ourselves. That was my biggest takeaway and I appreciate it!
That may be the biggest lesson I learned from making this video. It's such a personal choice dependent on so many factors that I think reasonable people can go either way. I think all of our energy would be better spent working for better bike cities.
How many things could we apply that philosophy to, but don't? :D
Completely agree! Like many things in life, the answer is not easy and simple, it's complex and depends on each person. Hard to find people on the internet who don't make sensationalized claims, so props to Shifter!
Empathy?
Empathy goes out the window when the forces rip the car in half.
I've see the motorcycleists who had the front half of his bike ripped off by a woman driving and using the phone at the same time.
2 days ago a woman drove her 4WD straight through a bedroom killing the owner of the house.
You're a looney.
@@ridetillidie8090 sounds like a philosophy anti-vax people use to cope.
Wear a helmet.
Wear a seatbelt.
Signal your turns.
Use lights.
Your freedom isn't being infringed upon because we make you fasten a light to the back of your seatpost.
Super thanks to Cailynn for the extensive research and to both of you for the detailed yet concise presentation!
So personal annecdote. When I was around 12 years old, I had a biking accident. Something weird happened and my front tire came to a full stop forcing me to flip over my handlebars. I was wearing a helmet and landed on the ground dazed and confused. My arm was broken. My legs covered in road rash, the bike landed on my broken arm. And I was in pain, when I got home and my dad picked me up we took off my helmet and found a large dent in the helmet
The plastic was ripped and crumpling off, the Styrofoam were caved in, and I felt so bad that I broke the helmet. But my parents were more happy that I was. That impact would have had a huge injury on my head if it were not for the crumple design of helmets. And while most people probably aren't doing intense biking, why would you want to risk the injury. Infact why would you not want to wear a helmet, what happened to me was like an act of God, and I still don't know what caused it.
Did you watch the video? It answers your question.
It was probably a rock or something that caught your tyre, or perhaps your front brake somehow got activated
Funny guy that God is....he let's me get into all kinds of accidents, but he never lets me get hurt too bad. Car crashes, bikes, motorcycles, hang gliders, you name it. I got T-boned on March 3 2024, by and impaired driver, but here I am .....
I had a very serious accident in the early morning a couple years back,which resulted in a hospital stay with a concussion,stitches,road rash,smashed eyeglasses.I wasn't wearing a helmet then ,but ever since then I've worn one
Were you going too fast lol
@@PEDALSnPROJECTS no,I was hit by a deer
@@Pault3788 yikes.. how rude of the deer lol
@@PEDALSnPROJECTS lol
Thanks for this really insightful / big-picture / historical approach to this topic! I almost didn't watch the video because of the nature of exchanges I've had on the topic before, but I'm really glad I did. I especially appreciated looking at this through the PR & Dr. (x2) lenses. I certainly learned things I didn't know and hadn't considered before. That only talking about helmets in the context of discussions of bike safety is myopic is an especially compelling point. A broader consideration--and recasting--of 'bike safety' seems like something really worth exploring further. Dare I suggest a dedicated playlist with a broad scope of sub-topics?
I personally wear a helmet at all times while riding and will continue to do so, as my rides virtually always include roads shared with cars where the posted speed limit is 40mph and actual speeds are what they are--and I'm a creature of habit for whom maintaining this habit will be safest.
Watching this has given me greater empathy for those who make other choices, based on their circumstances, like the one you describe in the last segment.
I've been riding my bicycle more than 3000 miles a year for over 50 years - I raced USCF in my 20's and have ridden extended tours all over the country. I always wore my helmet. The one time I fell off my bike and cracked my helmet was on an errand to the bank about 5 years ago. It's never about if your going to fall but when.
Thank you ! Your comment should be at the top so everyone can see it. It is exactly why cyclists should always wear a helmet.
You also doing 20mph, not the 20KPH that a lot of people ride at.
I agree old people like you are inherently more imbalanced and should wear a helmet.
@@bindingcurve What is that, like, 12 mph? Have you ever walked into something like a low doorway or odd shelf and hit your head? Now imagine doing that at a full sprint. Those are not speeds to be trifled with.
I’m devils advocating here, I do believe that people should have the choice and there are scenarios that your chances are quite low of an accident at all and the likely circumstances of those accidents pose little threat of a head injury. My primary view of it is, the inconveniences of helmets are overblown. It’s not a big deal to wear one, and I would wear it more for the other riders drivers and pedestrians of the world than out of my own fear of bike handling. Then of course the one big crash I had ended up not involving any of those things but camouflaged road hazard so that goes to show that thing I thought was protecting myself from wasn’t even the thing that did me in, but I was protected either way! The ribs and wrist injuries were dreadful to recover from, but at least my noggin was intact, all for the price of $80 every few years and 5 seconds of clicking a strap and spinning a dial on the back before I ride.
It ain't a suit of armor.
it's a bullet proof vest
You dress for the fall,before it happens.
10 mph can kill. 1,260 bicyclist deaths in 2020, the number of preventable nonfatal injuries 325,173 . Try not to be one. injuryfacts.nsc.org/home-and-community/safety-topics/bicycle-deaths/
I suspect the chance of an accident also varies by region. Some of the math in this video is a little sophomoric though. Yes, there are other injuries aside from head injuries that send one to the hospital, but stroke and other brain injuries tend to be far more dire then, say, a broken arm or other bone. Even a 60% reduction in that would be pretty compelling to me. Sure, most people never have an accident. The same might hold true for cars and seatbelts. Still, I live in Somerville MA, and they put up white painted “ghost” bikes to commemorate bike deaths. One is in an area I often bike by. What is the downside of wearing a helmet? Messy hair?
The video gives some answers to your question at the end.
Torso crushes cause the most cycling fatalities; not much protection from a helmet there.
@@davestokes3446 what is the source of that data?
Thank you for both of your efforts to present this information. Your discussion referenced a lot of published research. I tried looking for some of those references, specifically the 2013 BC study comparing the risk of various modes of transportation. I could not find that paper. Granted, I didn't spend a lot of time. I was surprised that you didn't link to or at least list the publication titles in the video description. I know it would be a lot of work to do so for a video posted 9 months ago but I would be very interested and I assume other viewers may be too.
Very interesting discussion! I always wear a helmet but in my California commute I am forced to merge directly into 45mph/70kph traffic and there are numerous opportunities to be right hooked. Maybe I’d reconsider if I could ride on a protected path
Same. If we had better infrastructure, then maybe I would feel safe enough to cycle to work and school without a helmet. But I've had way too many close calls with distracted drivers running lights, turning without signaling or looking, or just veering over. If a helmet can reduce my chance of a head injury in those situations, I don't see any compelling argument for why I shouldn't wear one.
Yeah, see I’d be wearing a helmet too. But my daily commute is done on the sidewalks because Florida says “we don’t need bicycle infrastructure if we have sidewalks”
At least I’m not merging into traffic but I definitely have had close calls with people blowing the stop sign at my nearest supermarket plaza. They literally will kill you just so they can get home 0.000045 seconds earlier and put the milk in the fridge.
Why I wear a full face mountain bike helmet in urban environments:
- In Australia we have a vicious bird (read small dinosaur) called the Magpie which will draw blood if you ride near it's nest in the Spring time. It prefers ears.
- I mount a light on the helmet to look into the corners with handlebar light lighting the forward direction. Flashing light during daylight.
- The light mount will handle a GoPro if you want to record what hit you!
- Front peak provides good sun protection.
- Naturally the helmet is painted like a "Boba Fett" helmet.
Very informative, well researched and balanced discussion on helmets and bike safety.
🤦♂ "The light mount will handle a GoPro if you want to record what hit you!"
it's quite logical to use a helmet or other protective gear if the environments you are in is hostile towards you, be it either by animals or boxes on wheels.
Magpies in Canada are not that way in my experience, but hawks?. Whole 'nother matter. I had to get off my bike and use it as a shield!
I was leaving in Sweden and never wore a helmet except during the winter! Every winter I fell at least once. Now I moved to the US and I always wear a helmet but I wouldn’t feel judged if I didn’t. I just choose to wear it because I think the likelihood for me to fall here is higher.
I've been cycling about 30 years. There was about a 5 year window where I didn't wear a helmet cause I was a teenager and mom and dad weren't around. The uncle I lived with in college abrasively got me to wear it and the habit stuck. 6 years later, my bike fell apart while I was commuting and I woke up in the hospital with only 3 skull fractures, a ruptured ear drum, and a mild concussion. You will not be able to slap one on when you need it.
Secondary to well designed safe separated cycling infrastructure, the upright cycling position on comfortable relatively heavy city bikes I believe is a significant reason why helmets are not often worn in places like the Netherlands. Many other countries like the US, Canada, Australia, UK are dominated by forward leaning lightweight sports bikes which are much easier to go over the handlebars when braking heavily.
Afterall Sports cyclists ('Wielrenners') and mountain bikers in the Netherlands also almost always wear helmets.
Choose the right tool for the job I say.
Exactly
The US has not really been dominated by such forward leaning bicycles for some time now, because people do not like them unless they are actually racing.
Edit: I am not sure how it is in those other countries, anyway, but here in the US things are different now.
I'm all for wearing a lid (and I do 95% of the time) but all the hand-wringing is such cringe victim blaming, and helmet laws are demonstrably counter-productive. if you care about cyclists, BUILD SAFE INFRASTRUCTURE.
Telling cyclists to use common sense and protect their heads is not victim blaming. Cyclists are not victims. If you as a cyclist consider yourself (preemptively?) A victim, that could be your main problem right there.
Try not to die, or don't; I don't care (but your family might).
@@michaelchristian5324 Probably a waste of time to point out that you didn't understand what they were saying. You're clearly incapable, mostly by choice.
@@michaelchristian5324 countries where nobody wears helmets have the lowest rate of bike deaths (see Netherlands)
The best solution is to segregate bicycle traffic from road traffic, therefore removing contact between different road users. Best to prevent accidents rather than react to them.
@Eric I know, but let's assume I'm not talking about dense European cities with some of the world's most well-developed cycling infrastructure. It would be nice if that was more the norm, but in much of the rest of the world (like where I live) it is just common sense to protect one's gourd where one has little choice but to be in traffic with cars. I'm all for advocating for better cycling segregation, but that doesn't mean I think people should crack their skulls in protest of the fact that most places do not achieve this level of cycling nirvana.
@@michaelchristian5324 The victim blaming is incredibly common in NA where the cyclists are seen as a problem on the road by drivers. In traffic collisions involving a cyclist, the cyclist is often blamed (even when not at fault) and helmet usage is one of the ways they victim blame. Look through comments on videos of collisions with cyclists and you'll notice a lot of them mention that they werent wearing a helmet, its a distraction from the danger of cars.
Several years ago, I went down after hitting a patch of oil on a rainy day. If I hadn't been wearing a helmet, it would have been my head sliding along that curb.
I can’t remember not loving my bike.
I was hit by a drunk driver on my way home from 3rd grade in the 1960s.
Extreme head injury, 3 months of coma. Recovered but not without lifetime issues.the next year I bought another bike, at almost 70, I have 6 bikes and ride them all with a helmet and rear view mirrors, and a front /rear camera. I would never decide for another person what they do or not do. I never want to be that injured again. Personal choice. I don’t understand why taxpayers pay for roads for cars but if you don’t have safe bike lanes, too bad.safe bike lanes should be a part of retroactive improvements and new planning. IF YOU BUILD IT, THEY WILL COME!!!
Thanks for all your hard work on these bike related matters.
I don’t wear one if that’d make me not ride my bike due to heat/inconvenience. It’s better to ride than not to ride, helmeted or helmetless!
Statistically there are more traumatic head injuries per unhelmeted km in cars and on foot, so if i’m not wearing a helmet on foot or when i get a ride on a car… yeah!
Thanks for a CZcams video that made me think. I wear a helmet all the time when riding because my wife asks me to. OTOH, here in my (U.S., car-favoring) town, I go far out of my way to avoid traffic. I take alleyways and side streets because I'm retired and thus have time. I ride for my health, so it's a little ridiculous for me to worry about how long I'm on the bike. After a lifetime of "driving for a living", just pulling the car out of the garage is work to me so I only use the car when have to.
Without my wife's request, I still might wear a helmet, because that is where I mount my most reliable rear-view mirror (yeah I know- I'm a dork)
Nice background, nice people, great conversation! I came off my bike a few years back on a greasy bend here in Dublin. It happened in an instant and I was wearing my helmet and cycling shorts. I became intimate with the road surface through my ankle, hip bone, shoulder and helmet encased head. I jumped up and continued home where I struggled to undress and shower once the adrenaline stopped pumping. My helmet and shredded bib shorts went into the bin and my wounds healed quickly with help from the local ER. They sent me to a plastic surgeon who spoke about skin grafts but I convinced her I’d heal quickly. The most interesting part was they also sent me to a trauma surgeon who examined me and then gave me a very interesting lecture on how my helmet acted as a ‘lubricant’ as I slid across the tarmac on my LHS eventually coming to a stop without hitting anything. He said the helmet did its job in this particular case but would not have prevented whip lash injuries had I hit an obstacle with my head. He was quite pleased with his lecture as was I with the outcome.
great video.
i get angry everytime i read in the local newspaper "bicyclist hit by car, injured, didnt wear helmet", so basically the bicyclist gets blamed for getting himself injured. Its unbelievable
This might be your best video yet. You treat the subject fairly and comprehensively. Helmet fundamentalism™ is a real problem. I almost always wear a helmet, and I could be a poster child for helmet advocacy, as my helmet probably saved my life once and reduced my probable injury several times. But I do not think helmet wearing is paramount, and mine is a nuanced view. SKILL is a big factor in a cyclist’s safety, one I hope you touch upon eventually. I have taught safe cycling, and with my many years and miles of cycling on roads and streets, I feel I’m safer than most even when I’m bareheaded and others are helmeted. I am pretty good at predicting road users’ behavior, and I’m good at being predictable to others. These skills are very valuable. I also evaluate my role in near hits, because when the “other guy” seems to be at fault, maybe I at least played a role.
Some good points. I've learned a lot of skills about awareness and predicting what other road users are doing from cycling many many years. I feel pretty safe on the roads and don't mind riding with traffic. But I think about what I'm doing also so motorists don't spazz out when they are around me. I also feel that the Varia bike radar makes me safer than wearing a helmet does because again awareness of where that vehicle is so I react better.
I disagree with the idea that skill has much to do with safety in the city. Sure when I'm out in the mountains, it's all me. But in the city, you are at the mercy of the drivers, and I've only avoided injury until now on too many occasions by sheer luck to believe skill has anything to do with it. Too many drivers simply do not care that we are out there sharing the road with them.
@@wilfdarr I understand how you would feel that way but you honestly believe you had nothing to do with the outcome of a close call? You think is was divine luck that things didn't go worse? I don't believe in that. I don't believe when people say it just wasn't my time or there must be a plan for me and I haven't fulfilled my purpose in life yet. I don't know about luck either because I surely haven't had much of it. You are right though, we are at the mercy of the drivers, and who knows what they are thinking.
@@wasupwitdat1mofiki94 Divinity has nothing to do with it, just blind luck: if I had approached the intersection a couple seconds earlier or later (depending on the instance), I'd have had an accident. Unless you're suggesting that I ride around at 5kph all day every day to avoid getting into accidents with stupid drivers, then no, they couldn't have REASONABLY been avoided.
I dont think wearing a helmet has anything to do with skills but everything with bike infrastructures. Streets can be narrow, people around may not pay attention for a moment or even a simple branch may stick out in your way. I like to be protected for different situations
No, it's not complicated, because I've lived my whole life in my body and I know what feels safe and what doesn't. At least, that's what everyone thinks, but some people go on to then assert that what makes sense based on their personal values/risk assessments and environments should be applied (even mandated) to everyone. Great material for considering nuances! Context makes such a huge difference, whether it's public policy debates, personal decision-making based on environment/routing/speed, and psychology/culture. If all the energy directed at shaming pedestrians/cyclists for not exhibiting safety equipment and safe behavior was directed at making cars less deadly by making them smaller, lighter, slower, able to detect and override unsafe driving behavior or removing them from cities entirely, that'd do a lot more good than marginally increasing helmet-wearing.
Great idea, faith based cycling safety
Thank you. If they want to regulate something? I suggest Wall St.
That all makes sense from a "should" perspective. From a practical real-world perspective, we are all always responsible for our own safety. This makes me think of self-defese as well; people who know about self-defense know that indignant insistence that our personal health and safety be respected won't stop that knife or bullet going straight through your chest. We have to look out for our own safety, not expect others to give it to us. It's all a question of "how safe do you wanna be?" Not wearing a helmet is kinda like feeling assured that you don't need to duck when you hear gunshots ringing out in a public space. Sure, it's your choice, but it might cause ou to die. Let's all fight for a cycling utopia, but until that day comes, a helmet is part of accepting TODAY'S reality.
@@wildeasage Ok sure. But nobody is going around responding to gun violence and such by suggesting everyone be legally required to take self defense classes and wear kevlar in all public spaces and also acting like that is the only way these people can be safe. That would be stupid.
Anyone with any knowledge of self defense knows that being in safe places (which means safety infrastructure like proper exits, good visibility, lights, mixing with other people for safety in numbers, etc.) does far more to keep you safe than some bullshit training on how to deal with violence in extremely unlikely event of a violent attack.
We might think refusing to duck when you here gunshots is stupid, but no one is going to seriously look at a civilian gunshot victim and act like the lack of kevlar is the real problem.
@@rileynicholson2322 have you seen cable news and the NRA in the usa lately? There absolutely are people seriously advocating for armored backpacks for school children and more guns in public spaces as if that's the only possible solution to the systemic issues that produce gun violence. Some of them might even genuinely believe that.
That said, I don't think gun violence is a good comparison for bicycle helmet wear. Car and pedestrian safety would be more illustrative.
This was thoughtful and informing! Thank you for deep diving into the topic!
Great video. Fascinating data. Thanks.
Two years ago I came off my bike at very slow speed when my front wheel ‘went from under me’. Trees on both sides of the track, which I didn’t hit, but I just rolled across the ground and was just shook up.
Three months later I was in a hurry to get to the doctors and miss timed a ‘bunny hop’ and hit the pavement (sidewalk) hard. Brick wall to the left and steel railings on the right. I landed on my left shoulder which triggered arthritis which is a constant reminder.
Two weeks ago I was working on some scaffolding and walked at speed into the end of a scaffolding tube (that should have been protected). I wasn’t wearing my hard hat. Hospital and stitches was the result.
I always wear a safety hat on my bike and those two falls were lucky that I didn’t hit my head. I’ll carry on wearing it. Those stitches were painful, even WITH anaesthetic. I am not usually accident prone!
Amazingly concise breakdown of topic. I'm rapidly approaching 30K on my e-bike commute; every kilometre, helmeted. Yet two weeks ago I found myself on an evening e-bike tour through the heart of Rome, helmetless, because the option was available. So many details revealed in this video's analysis helped me understand why I was able to make that decision in Rome.
Excellent content Tom!
Is Rome really bike friendly? I was there a long time ago but I remember it looking quite dangerous on the roads actually.
Haha, I make my commute half helmeted and half unhelmeted, but propably for the same reasonings as you!
It's because I usually ride to work at around 2-3 am. Streets are pretty damn empty, and cars usually keep a pretty big distance, because without ongoing traffic, there is allways space to pass by safely. And the majority of drivers that are around at this time are pretty calm (go figure, no traffic) and respectfull. Except for those god damn taxi drivers. They drive reckless AF.
Also, some chunks of my way are seperated. This makes the ride very relaxed, safe (make sure to be seen tough) and comfortable. There are very little dangers around, I feel fine without a helmet.
When I ride home, different story. I'm not even in the rush hour, but there are still so many cars. All the portions that aren't seperated in any way (around 50%) are often pretty unsafe. Drivers simply pay no mind about safe distances when passing by. The only way to "survive" is to ride as fast as possible and to take your space on the lane.
I wear a helmet then. I'm not sure how much the helmet will help me in case of a crash, but I suppose It won't do me harm.
@@RogerAckroid I wouldn't qualify Rome as bike friendly; but there was safety in numbers.
I was recently one of the 600+ people hospitalized after a crash. Everyone from the EMT to various staff at the hospital all asked me if I was wearing a helmet. I answered yes and then they said oh good. Then i told them it didn't matter because I didn't crash into the fence with my head, I crashed into the fence with my face and the helmet didn't help (or hurt to be fair). The crash was because of a stupid decision and I sure won't do that again but I do ride in all situations so I will continue to wear a helmet. Loved the info on risk assessment and risk behavior.
15% of head injuries are facial
i was also once hospitalized from a bike crash many moons ago with abrasion wounds on my limbs and face-didn't lose consciousness or mental acuity but was, like you, still gratuitously shamed by the doctor who stitched me up for not wearing a helmet, even though it didn't make a difference in the injuries sustained: there really is an ill-conceived, pervasive mentality that helmets are the be-all and end-all of cyclist safety
@@isaacanderson5806 No. He was letting you know you could have been hurt worse and asking you about your attitude about bike safety. You made it clear what it was. Better luck next time, as it sounds like you are depending on luck. Good thing you don't need it, .
@@isaacanderson5806 Doctors have to deal with the results of people NOT wearing helmets, so they are kind of pissed when people don't wear them.
@@isaacanderson5806 People like binary decisions making. Unfortunately, life is usually more complex and nuanced than that.
This was a super interesting video, and covered the nuance that I suspected probably existed. I've been wanting to occasionally ride helmet free and felt the shame you all talked about here, and am re-assessing that now. I'm also trying to figure out how to bike commute when we go back to work in January. Thanks for doing this Cailynn and Tom!
Helmets save brain cells. I'm a cyclist and a physician who has worked in brain injury rehab. In severe multi-trauma with significant injuries to many body parts, a helmet probably won't save you from a brain injury (aka concussion) or death. If you do survive, what a helmet may do is lessen the degree of brain injury from severe to moderate or maybe even minor. Severe brain injury means that you have permanent physical damage to the brain that can be imaged on MRI or CT. This usually comes with loss of personality, loss of cognition (memory, attention, complex reasoning etc. etc.). You are not the same person you were before and may depend on others caring for you for the rest of your life. With a lesser degree of impact a helmet may save you from a moderate brain injury characterized by loss of memories extending beyond 24 hours before and after your injury, and loss of consciousness of greater than 30 minutes. Moderate brain injuries may include physical permanent damage to the brain with retention or recovery of many if not all cognitive abilities. With a bike helmet on you may end up with a mild traumatic brain injury. This includes loss of consciousness of 30 minutes or less. You may not even lose consciousness at all, but feel dazed or spaced out. There may be loss of memories for events a few hours before and after the event. The damage is physiological with no permanent brain damage. Most people get better within 2 to 12 weeks. And my two crashes? Both on Calgary bike paths. On one, a skateboarder jumped off a wall next to the path and wacked me off my bike. I did a pretty good roll and was OK with no symptoms of brain injury at all. My helmet was cracked to shit though (as it was designed to do). On the second though, an unrestrained dog ran under my front wheel. That's my last memory till I was in the shower at work wondering why I ached so badly. That was about 5 km from the crash site. Again, my helmet was smashed to shit. I have no idea whether I was unconscious or not. The dog owner obviously didn't care and didn't call EMS etc. I had to take a week off work as I couldn't concentrate enough to do intellectual work. Two weeks later though I was well enough to be the convenor of a conference in Toronto - on ........... traumatic brain injury. In both cases the helmet saved me from a greater degree of injury - in the second case possibly permanent. This is my own experience, but the stats back me up. So even the seemingly safest ride can be the one with the unforseen event. I don't leave home without my helmet.
Ugh thank you for this!! I live in BC so I have to wear one to avoid a ticket but when I lived in Scotland I never wore one and nobody ever asked me about it. They did ask “where’s your high-vis vest?” Which makes so much more sense to me. Be seen so you don’t get hit! I love a leisurely ride with my hair flowing in the wind. I still do it occasionally but I can’t relax as much because I’m so anxious about a cop driving by 😞. Anyway, love your videos. Thanks!
British Columbian here. So far no ticket when I ride, but the police have much bigger issues to deal with here. However, when I rode a bike in Saskatoon I was issued a warning to get a bell on my bike (no ticket because I was new to town at that time and the bike was borrowed).
Interesting that a high-vis vest seems more sensible than a helmet to you. That is what your bicycle's reflectors (from the side) and lights (front and back) are for. That part of high-vis equipment is closer to the ground tho, which might make a difference for stupidly large SUVs.
@@SystemfehlerK lights too! But for daytime the high vis definitely helps
@@HowToMakeDinner Okay, seems like I have a luxury here that I wasn't even aware is a luxury. People here actually see other people better at daylight. High-Vis is only ever talked about for night-time.
I would be interested in a study on how much your risk gets reduced by high-vis (but also just bright colored) clothing. You'd think that it should mainly have a larger impact at night. But then again, lights are fairly obvious at night but in daylight they may even be less obvious than bright clothing.
Could you please add a bibliography of all studies used by Cailynn Klingbeil in the video? It would be very useful
If you are going to criticize methodology, give the source
This is an interesting/emotional one for me. I was cycling home from work in a designated shared bike/pedestrian pathway and one of the only places where my route crossed a road I was hit by a car making an illegal turn from the wrong lane. I hit the windshield and then was flown through the air and onto the pavement. Among other injuries, my helmet wad smashed and I had a concussion. I've never seen a Canadian city where the infrastructure is so good, I'd feel comfortable without a helmet. And now when I see a cyclist without a helmet, I feel a bit of a pit in my stomach thinking of how much worse than things might have been if I wasn't wearing a helmet. My first time on a bike after my accident, I came across an accident where a cyclist was on the ground in a bike lane after being hit by a car. Her head was on the ground with out a helmet to protect her, I started shaking and got the bus the rest of the way home. This was all in BC, now I'm in Halifax and I find drivers here are less used to cyclists and I definitely wouldn't feel safe anywhere near a road here without a helmet. That said I have done a cycling tour of Paris without a helmet and felt completely safe there. I haven't cycled in Calgary, so don't know much about the infrastructure there. I totally understand and respect the other side of this, but feeling like my helmet probably saved my life on a route I thought was pretty safe and had good infrastructure still makes it difficult for me to see people without helmets.
Well my cousin ride in protected bike line ( yes there is a tree separating car and the bike line ), and suddenly he wake up in hospital with broken jaw and concussion. Why ? did a car hit him? No did he go 50 km / hour ? no he ride the legendary dutch bike , He cannot even if he wanted to. the impact is so great it completely break his jaw, seeing the damage on his helmet, if he not wearing one he will not wake up at all.
What I don't like about bike channel like this , they themself overblown their bias. yeah people forget alot more injury can happen during bike crash, If you broke your arm , leg ribs you will be fine in few month , but they cannot understand is all it takes 1 fall that make your head hit a concrete and you either dead or become vegetable.
And WTF is car driver wearing helmet? they in protected dome with sit belt and airbag.
@@anubizz3 We can't allow anecdotal evidence to bias our opinions. In the video, they talk through how low the risk of injuries actually is and how skewed our ability to judge risk actually is. Furthermore it distracts massively from the solutions that would actually stop these incidents happening, not just reduce the damage in the event of a collision. It's like wearing a bullet proof vest, when you could simply remove the guns.
You're statistically more likely to die in a car despite all of those safety features, so why shouldn't helmets be encouraged for motorists? Heck, rally drivers and F1 drivers where helmets...why do you think that is?
@@anubizz3 Well, my cousin of mine died because of a major head concussion while driving a car, despite having a belt and an airbag.
What I don't like with comments like this, they themself overblown their bias, yeah people forget alot more injury can happen during a car crash, a lot of poeple still die in cars everyday.
And WTF is bike rider wearing helmet? they don't ride killing machines at 120km/h.
@@timrathbone Please tell me the solution? Remove all the cars?
@@Potato-dx5mc How you cousin have head Injuries? He/she drive 120km and hit a tree? Or someone hit you cousin from the side?
And how the heck conversation about wearing a helmet morph into driving killing machines? Maybe next time when you press that delivery button... Think how many baby will die because you buy something that delivered one way or another by that killing machine.
Great video, very helpful perspectives and thorough information!
I've broken 2 helmets in accidents.
I bought my first helmet in 1990 after riding for many years without one (in fact in the UK no-one wore a helmet, even for racing when I started serious cycling in around 1970 when I wanted to get fit for sailing). I got knocked off (and out) on my way home from work and decided to get one for my 13 mile each way commute. Fortunately I was on my way to work when a cat ran across the road and attempted to run through my front wheel. I ended up in hospital for a fortnight and off work for 3 months. I was a paraplegic for several days and still suffer partial paralysis over 30 years later. The helmet suppliers gave both my wife and I new helmets and used my old one for display.
18 months later I came off a hired mountain bike in Yorkshire and seriously modified my face and got knocked out again. OK it was icy limestone and it looked worse than what it was but it was another broken helmet.
My first accident prompted most members of my cycle club to get helmets and now I always wear one though I much preferred being bare-headed. I'm 82 now and still ride though much less than formerly and with a little electrical assistance. You're not an idiot. It's your choice (though with the US health business it may be a bigger risk than here, in the UK). With my experience I think I'd be an idiot not to wear one.
Shifter lives in Canada, where we have a mostly public healthcare system (excluding important things like pharmacy, dental, and vision).
With a 13 mile commute I'd imagine you're moving with a brisk spend and attempting to go upwards of 25-30mph with traffic. I use a helmet when I'm in those circumstances too. (There's a 7 mile ride I often take and I always wear my helmet for that ride.) But then there are many short distance rides on narrow city streets with traffic going 10-20mph. I do those rides almost daily and never wear a helmet. The risk is significantly lower and I frankly feel less safe walking than bicycling in my neighborhood.
Did the helmets cause the incidents?
@@chriswatson3464 No. Why would they? Incidentally, I used to compete in motorcycle trials and, like all the other riders, just wore a flat cap. I think helmets are required now but I'm talking about the 1970/80s - when I was a lad :)
I think if you are on protected bike paths then its fine. In Denmark (Copenhagen where I am), no one wears one since almost all streets have separated bike paths with our own lights, etc. However, if you find yourself mingling with cars to the point they are passing and the lane is just some paint on the street and you are sometimes very close **cough those buses cough** then a helmet seems feasible.
Question everyone says cyclists dont wear helmets in Denmark or the Netherlands. However I have been out in the countryside in the Netherlands and the sport cyclists who pass me at 40 kph are usually wearing helmets. Is it the same in Denmark?
@@Allan_son Yes, in the Netherlands and in Denmark sport cyclists like mountainbikers and race bike cyclists wear helmets because of the higher risk of getting injured, just like in the rest of the world. But when cycling to my work at ~20 km/h (on an upright single speed classic dutch bike) I never wear a helmet, and almost nobody does here, only some expats do.
I'm still wearing one. I've had friends that had to get taken to the ER after they hit their face on a rock since they were only wearing a half face helmet, not full face. They were so massively injured that they were skipping like a scratched CD, saying the same lines over again, then forgetting what they had just said 15 seconds ago. Scared the hell out of me to see someone so injured with a broken nose, severe head trauma, and a split lip. He made a decently full recovery, but his face is still a bit bent and memory isn't quite as sharp. He was the lucky one.
The other guy, a small company CEO, hit the back of his head while riding on a Lime scooter and became permanently braindead. He was not wearing a helmet. Another friend was riding his bike with a helmet, but fell down a flight of unmarked stairs in Seattle that he assumed was a ramp, killing him.
The takeaways are that cities will never have perfect infrastructure, and that you should always err on the side of more safety equipment, not less. Because in a crash, even low-speed injuries can really injure someone if they hit their head on a curb, tree, rock, or pavement- no cars involved.
Great video conversation - thanks for bringing forward all the data and a balanced discussion.
Brilliant video! Thanks so much for diving into this emotionally charged issue. I’ll be bookmarking this video and recommending it as needed in the future. Cheers! John 😊
I appreciate this discussion so much. Thank you for putting this info out there for us to help make our own informed decisions.
Great Video! I have appx 50,000 miles riding, 7000 as a commuter and perhaps half my miles on group rides with 4-20 riders. I agree with "Shifter" that the need for a helmet varies with riding conditions and that over emphasis on helmet safety can overshadow other more important issues. Somehow, I've never crashed (on pavement that is - I've had 2 minor mountain bike crashes) but I've witnessed 3 "cracked helmet" crashes, numerous minor crashes, and one helicopter evacuation. But none of the cyclists I've witnessed crashing were seriously injured or killed unlike a friend of mine killed in a car crash or the hundreds of thousands killed annually in cars and the hundreds of thousands killed by avoiding the relatively safe and healthy exercise of cycling (to say nothing of the mental health benefits of riding with friends!!!) So, those who think helmets should absolutely be worn at all times by all people in all situations, might consider wearing their helmets while in a car or airplane since that is where most people will be when they crash, not on a bike. Nonetheless, despite my many miles of crash free cycling experience, I wear my helmet 99.9% of the time. I would especially advise new riders early in their cycling learning curve to wear their helmets at all times, at least until they get past their first minor crashes which statistically speaking are practically inevitable during the first 2 or 3 thousand miles of riding. (Don't let this scare you, almost all beginner bike crashes result in very minor injury - band aides not stitches - or no injury at all) I'd also add that if forced to choose between giving up my helmet or giving up my rear view mirror, I'd keep my mirror and give up my helmet but of course, I use both. I use the mirror to evaluate the competency of drivers passing, or for situational awareness in traffic, or on group rides
who might be following too closely when stopping. I mount my mirror to my helmet visor or to my eyeglasses rather that to the bike handlebar for two reasons: helmet or eyeglass mounted mirrors are "suspended" by your body and legs so the image is not jiggled as on a handlebar mirror, and secondly because you can adjust your range of vision with a slight head swivel. Just be aware that when you turn your head you tend to turn your bike in the same direction so concentrate on not swerving when turning your head. May the road rise to meet you (but not as you crash!) - Dan Ford of Fruita, Colorado
Thank you for this nuanced and differentiated video and talk. And for all the research offered by you two. 👍💞
I had a lot of aha moments here and am going to differentiate more whether I’m going to wear my helmet when I drive.
Thank you both for this fascinating conversation. I do realize that a foam hat will do little to protect me if I get right-hooked by a: dump truck, cement truck, semi, or bus (I've heard about and seen all of these). I still wear it, because I've fallen off my bike a number of times; they were all slow speed and my fault, and one of these days I might hit my head. I'd rather have a concussion than a concussion with a skull fracture.
Also, governments don't do well with nuance.
Just an anecdote from Denmark here: I used to live in Copenhagen and rode my bike from and to work every day. The commute was about 10km each way, and most of the way was with separated bike lanes. In the 5 years I rode every day on this route, I was hit by a car no less than 3 times and one of the times I was slung on the hood and only came off the car when he stopped. All 3 times happened because the driver just crossed the lane without looking. Granted it was a very stupid section of road where parked cars would block the line of sight for cars going to the right (across the bike lane). One of the times I am pretty sure the helmet saved my life or at least saved me from a seriously bad time since even with the helmet on I got a pretty serious concussion. I'm wearing a helmet, and I am teaching my kids to wear one too. I think the argument of riders taking more risks because of helmets is a stupid one. I feel unsafe in traffic with cars no matter what I am wearing. I have also broken enough bikes on my mountain bike to know that gear does not equal immortality, and I also knew that before I went to the hospital. You can't say that gear makes people reckless without in the same sentence a mention that the helmet actually works and saves lives.
Imagine living in a country where most cars are actually lifted pick-up trucks or SUVs. You wouldn't have been on the hood of the car: you would have been under the car.
Hit by a car three times and you still kept on cycling the same way to your job, that's brave! I would have stopped cycling or chosen a completely different route to work
That is a cool video, and I love the message that infrastructure in cities must be improved if we want more people on alternative means of transportation. However, perhaps because I am not in North America and this shaming etc. is not really that common where I am in Europe, I have never been bothered about it. As a teenager I rode a bike on highways and on very dangerous roads actually, now that I think about it, and never it crossed my mind to get a helmet. I am wearing one now, 15 years down the road when I picked up cycling again, because my significant other bought me one and asked me to be careful. I said alright, I've awful hair anyway, I don't mind a helmet. Then one day on a winter morning commute I slipped on a black ice patch on a right turn on a perfectly curated bike lane in the most perfectly maintained (well not on that morning as it seems) section of my commute. I damaged my rear mech, and right brake lever, hitting my head hard on the asphalt on the right side of my head. Man that would have HURT without a helmet. This is why I continue to wear a helmet, not because of a law or public opinion. I did not get from the video the counter point - why don't you want to wear a helmet? What is the cons here? Am I helping new world order by wearing a helmet? I get confused on that part.
Whoa! I really loved this! What seemed like a cavalier question about safety turned into a fantastic, in-depth, and well informed cycling safety discussion.
As an individual whose been in a major cycling accident (while not wearing a helmet) I have to say I think I'll be wearing mine without exception for the foreseeable future; However Cailynn's research, and your discussion, have definitely changed the way I think about cycling safety in general. Thank you!
The more cyclists, the less cars. The less cars, the less deaths.
Yeah, the safety numbers for each transport mode look bad, until you realize “how many of those cyclists and pedestrians were hit by drivers?”🤔
I can tell you for sure the #1 most scary thing on any bike ride is cars, not me wiping out because I can’t control the bike.
Fewer
I don't need a car involved to cause a bicycle accident, so I wear a helmet all the time.
@@arifrost.xl three of my bicycle accidents never involved a vehicle all three times I hit my helmeted head and would have definitely cracked my skull and tore the hell out of my scalp and possibly lost an eye
r/bancars
Really an absolutely excellent video, thanks! Thanks for not answering the question for us, but giving us a way to answer it on our own.
I found this video VERY validating. I'm an 80s kid, and balancing a piece of styrofoam on my head has always felt a bit pointless.
I remember watching the Tour de France several years ago. It was one of the last times Lance Armstrong won, to give you an idea of timeframe. And every time the cyclists finished their last downhill of the day, they tore off their helmets, threw them into the crowd, and finished the ride bareheaded. Which I also found validating, as it said to me that the best cyclists in the world couldn't be bothered with helmets either, when not absolutely necessary.
Great video, thanks! Excellently researched Caitlyn, and I really enjoyed the tone and conversational style presentation.
As an Australian, I hope this video and more conversations like it can push us to change the helmet laws.
I saw nothing wrong with Aussie helmet laws...
A great summary on helmets specifically, and risk assessment in general, much appreciated! We live in Germany, and are still at the stage where our kids are very quick to point out if we've forgotten our helmets - it's so engrained now that we grab and put them on almost without thinking. But it is a lovely feeling to ride without them (when we get the opportunity!)
This feels like the culture we have here in Canada as well. Hopefully, we can continue to make cycling safer in other ways as well. Thank you so much for the support for the channel!
Very interesting, and so well investigated . Thanks again Tom for this great channel
For years I rode, trained and raced road bikes. I rode about 200 miles a week and over the course of time I broke 2 helmets the hard way. People can do as they wish but I will choose to wear a helmet.
This tallys with time vs risk of an accident. The more you ride, the more likely you are to have one. It's just law of averages.
yup you´re doing a sport so its basic equipment. Not the same as commuting.
I ride a lot with my bike since childhood and I believe I am on the more aggressive side of the riding styles out there. But I would also consider myself somewhat "expert" since I am also riding downhill races and road bike races. Also commute daily here in Berlin.
And from my experience of crashing and seeing other is, that yes you rarely fall on your helmet. But when you do, a helmet is your life insurance. And always remember - nobody ever wanted to crash but it will happen (somewhat by definition) when you don't expect it.
So yes, my takeaway is there a are more important things we and our cities can do to stay safe - so don't ride like Rambo without any lights and reflector on you or your bike at night and expect that you are safe because of a helmet. Also cities must understand that we will probably die when we hit a car driving 50 km/h probably not because of brain damage but damage to internals and organs (I know) - so telling riders to wear a helmet but not doing anything for infrastructure is not doing shit.
But please never compromise on obvious safety. For me a helmet is still a no brainer - pun intended.
Had my first bike accident last week. Went over the handlebars. Broken finger, messed up knee, broken eye socket. CT scans were clear. If I hadn’t been wearing my helmet, I’m sure I’d have had a serious head injury.
It is also possible you might have not been helped by a helmet. It sounds like you landed forward instead of back
@@korcommander Right , she probably wasn't doing a wheelie.
@@korcommander True, or i could have ridden into a swarm of angry bees and the helmet wouldn't have helped at all! helmet was scuffed and dented over my forehead. it protected my head as it was designed to. i have to ride in traffic, no bike infrastructure in my town. so i wear a hemet.
@@claredriscoll5092 hmm i wonder if there's proper bike infrastructure, you wouldn't have this crash at all
@@xiiaohao3871
Anyone who rides a bike in a busy city without a helmet has no respect for their life PERIOD. You may never have a wipe out in 20 years of riding. But I know of two people not here anymore because of head injuries coming off a bike.
And someone who is now brain damaged from not wearing a helmet. It only takes one fall. And you getting hit in the wrong place place your life can be over or changed forever for the worst.
Everytime I see some idiot without a helmet or worse still no lights riding at night. I realize some people don't care. And really have no idea how fragile we are. Your body vs the hard Road. My moneys on the hard Road EVERYTIME.
Regarding the point about lower accident rates with rideshare bikes, not only are you sitting upright for better visibility and comfort, their design also usually permit you to be able to put your feet on the ground easily while still seated on the saddle. This can make it easier to safely stop with little to no notice, never mind balancing when waiting at a stop or red light. Most bikes sold in the US don’t let you do that.
You can adjust the seats on rental bikes. Sometimes when I go to the bike stand, people have those seats adjusted to ridiculous heights. I always have to adjust them downward so I can put my feet on the ground.
Or those bikes are just flat out slow.
Usually the seat is adjusted to each person riding. Which is about the same as someone putting the seat at their desired height on their personal bike. So I'm not convinced that is the reason they are safer. Upright, heavy, and wide tires seems more likely to me.
Upright, heavier and thus steadier though less nimble.
What I meant about being able to put your feet flat on the ground is the location of the bottom bracket to the seat allows for both good leg extension while pedaling, and the ability to easily put your feet flat on the pavement while remaining seated. Many (though not all) “Dutch” and some cruiser style bikes have this geometry. Most bikes in the US do not. I wish more did. Most rideshare bikes I’ve seen or ridden do.
A lot of people simply don’t know how to fall or how to maneuver their bike. I played contact sports and mountain biked growing up so my confidence is high
I personally always wear a helmet. Doesn't matter if I'm mountain biking, gravel biking or commuting. That's just my personal choice and comes from my personal experience of a few very close calls. I think it's up to the individual rider. I choose to wear one, but at the same time won't damn someone else for their personal choice to not wear one.
Thanks Tom for boarding the bias of feeling safe when using a helmet vs. taking a bunch of safety actions for avoiding being involved in an accident. Due to the influence, we tend to be dogmatic, but safety is more complicated than follow a couple of rules. As you mentioned, a risk assessment will allow us decide which relevant factors should be considered then pondering better. Interesting the facts and data shared by Cailynn for overcoming the nudge created by the helmet culture. I am a new comer in bike commutting, but the mental and body effects of this habit really pays off.
I've broken my arm and wrist on my bike while wearing a helmet. I've stopped wearing one for my commute or getting groceries. I ride slower and more carefully without the helmet. Love the coverage on this topic.
Why don’t you just…… i don’t know….. ride slower while wearing a helmet?
Seriously, do you not have the self control to watch your speed in general?
Where does this line of reasoning end for you? Do you not wear a seatbelt in a car because if you wear it you drive faster? This is just such trash logic.
I mean, it's great if you ride more carefully, but do be aware that it is not always enough. Sudden things happen which you are unable to avoid no matter how careful you are.
And even if it were, are you actually completely focused all the time, especially when riding an familiar route? I highly doubt that.
You can try to be as cautious as possible but that won’t avoid the scenario of some clown coming out of nowhere and hitting you. Or any number of other scenarios. You’d be nuts to chance it.
I loved this video. I have rode for 40 years and had my share of crashes. I have never hit my head. I wear a helmet since I typically have to mix with traffic between the shared paths but it is just there on the off chance I get hit at an angle and hit my head. I make sure to have my lights working and keep my bike maintained and this has kept my incidents very low. This is such a great channel. Thanks for the great information.
Would never make a negative comment on someone not wearing a helmet.
My bicycle helmet shades my head while maintaining a breeze.
It supports largest model "Da Brim" sun visor for even more shade out in the sun!
Bottom of my "Da Brim" is black to further reduce brightness from indirect glare.
My bicycle helmet mechanically supports largest bicycle rearview mirror!
My blue eyes highly favor BOTH, shade, AND dark grey (not brown lenses) sunglasses!
Senior handicapper on my "Hase" trike here, that may never need a helmet for safety.
A helmet can also support electronics for communications, radio, lights, and reflectors too.
Love both my "Hase" stream-lined rain fairing and my fairing-attached "Hase" rain poncho!
Just remember the beautiful sound of rain on your childhood, hooded rain poncho.
Love both cloudy riding days and actually riding in the rain!
One then OWNS the bicycle trail, along with the wildlife. LOL!
Multiple reasons for helmet wearing, beyond potential for safety!!!
However, would NEVER argue here with someone who does not want to wear a helmet!
Gary
"Jason Stillwater" in the recumbent world.
I’m enjoying your channel Tom. Thanks for looking at this topic so thoroughly - it definitely helped but things in perspective but as you summarize - risk assessment is critical. I was curious if you consider the distractions of holding and talking to the 360 camera adds to the risk of a fall?
This was an incredible deep drive into the helmet question, thanks! I'm about were you ended up... I wear it to mountain bike, but typically don't around town unless I'm on a new and unfamiliar route. I don't "road bike" as a sport though, I ride primarily for transportation.
I don't ride an e-bike, but I personally think I'd consider wearing one in that case too. I've heard people talk about riding around at 20 mph on those and my average speed tends to be much lower than that.
I don't get that "i don't wear helmet in familiar setting" reasoning. Do you believe that just because the route you take is familiar to you nothing surprising or bad can happen?
Or perhaps since route is familiar you have more time and energy to focus on unfamiliar things and react to them. instead of going to autopilot like studies have shown people tend to do?
Yes, going slower gives you better time to react to certain things, but does not prevent cars or even animal from hitting you suddenly. It also does not prevent mechanical failures or problems with riding surface from occuring.
@@villekorhonen824 For me, it's about knowing about the quality of the infrastructure on the route... at least where I live the quality of the infrastructure is highly variable; great in some places and completely awful in others. When I'm going somewhere I go all the time and I know there's safe infra on the route, I have no issue going without a helmet. But if I'm going somewhere unfamiliar and I can't guarantee the quality of the route I might choose to wear the helmet as an extra layer of safety.
Honestly though, I've been riding a bike for approaching 40 years and I've never had an issue, mechanical or otherwise, where a helmet would have been a factor. I've been injured worse in car crashes during my life than I ever have been injured on my bicycle (not counting mountain biking, which I crash all the time doing of course lol). I'd love to see safer infra though because that's where the biggest gains in safety will be.
That being said, I have nothing against anyone that feels that given their cycling ability and environment that a helmet is appropriate for them. If it makes ya feel safer, go for it... otherwise, ditch it. My biggest beef is when it's held up as the "solution" to bicycle safety by cities or organizations.
For the last few years, I've been wearing a helmet while biking and skiing to keep my wife happy. I think in both of those sports, it used to be normal to not wear a helmet, but it is now thought of as a critical safety issue. A few weeks ago, I took a spill on my bike for the first time in 15 years. I just took a corner a little too fast while it was raining. I got pretty banged up and had some scratches on my helmet -- so I'm glad I was wearing it -- even though it would have likely been a minor scrape. While I now feel more comfortable wearing a helmet than not (especially in traffic), I'm fine if others decide to go without. I also think that bike injuries and fatalities are overblown in the statics because of people who do not ride safely (salmons), people who ride with unsafe equipment (no brakes), and people who ride without lights at night. Frankly, it's pretty scary how many people I see riding like this. I've considered starting or working with a charity to help lower-income people overcome some of these issues. Focusing on overall safety with some resources to help low-income people would go a long way in improving the bike statistics.
Same here.
I wear a helmet when cycling on the road or trails, and while skiing. Because you never know when you are going to experience some “unplanned downtime.”
I always wear gloves too. Hands are usually the first thing to touch the ground in a crash. Plus, it gets hot in Hong Kong, so they help with grip.
Cheers
I follow a blog that monitors bicycle traffic fatalities in Arizona. About half of the fatalities can be attributed to poor operation of the bicycle. Drinking crops up often. Also, visibility near sunrise and sunset seem to be big factors.
Excellent video, and I think your conclusion and re-assessment is spot-on. If there's one thing missing, it would've been super interesting to know the relative rate of injuries in different conditions or different types of cycling, i.e. the fast biking or mountain biking vs calm commuting on an upright city bike. Though the bike share example and the point about the Netherlands probably hints at the answer. The video clip showed a lot of people there biking without helmets, but they were also going relatively slow in casual clothing on upright city bikes.
I think that is by and far the most desirable form of cycling if we're looking for a cheap, convenient, and healthy form of transportation that suits almost anyone. The more gear you need to worry about -- helmets, lights, eye protection, speedometers and phone holders, heavy duty locks, special cycling clothes, tools and spares -- the more inconvenient, expensive and involving (perhaps even off-putting) it becomes. You really have to be "into" cycling to pull through it all. Whereas if you can just casually hop on a basic upright bike with no extra gear whatsoever, it is just making your walk that much faster.
The take away for me, is asking the right question. Presently where I live, helmets are the law, so the question is asnswered for me.. but after listening to this discussion, I will take greater care in asking the questions beyond whether a helmet is safe or not. Great discussion. Thanks for posting
Bikes have always been my main mode of transportation. (Mainly motorcycles) I'm a firm believer in helmets because I've seen what they can do and I've also seen how easily a simple fall can cause brain injury.
I didn't really wear one for commuting on the bicycle but now that I got a 29er, I'm looking at name brand helmets. Fly racing has been my go to brand and they've got some good looking helmets.
Also, those e-bikes? I'd go with a full face mtb helmet for that.
15% of head injuries are facial.
I recently injured my leg in a bike crash. Interestingly enough, the first question from many people upon hearing my leg was hurt was "were you wearing a helmet?" (I wasn't). I've been chastised over and over again for it, which is sort of fair, but... I broke my leg. A helmet wouldn't have helped in this case. What would have helped is better traffic calming and bike separating infrastructure in my neighborhood, because my crash had a lot to do with turning at high speed to try and match the pace of traffic.
clearly, you should have been wearing the helmet on your leg. duh.
I always ask these helmet fascists if they wear helmets while traveling in a car or truck, as that is where most head injuries occur. When they admit they do not, I ask if they wear a helmet in the shower, b/c that's a very common situation as far as head injuries go, too.
Makes it difficult to wash your hair, though.
I really liked the video, keeping calm and collected through a controverse topic. Keep at it. :)
Personally i don't wear a helmet. I have always felt it cumbersome and irritating and perceived it to affect my road awareness. I have always been heavy on the sweat and the summers get hot here nowadays. So wearing a helmet can also contribute to overheating and perhaps sweat dropping into your eyes.
When I was a child, my parents didn't want me wearing a helmet because they wanted me to fear getting hurt, and thus ride more carefully. They thought that a helmet would give me a false sense of safety. Seems logical, but at the age I was, I wasn't logical enough to understand that.