Poll: Is Wearing a Bike Helmet Worth it?

[Ham_authority95]

Motorcyle: I would wear a helmet if I rode one.

Bicycle: I don't wear one because they're uncomfortable and I really don't give a shit about my well being enough to care.

 

[RootbeerJello]

no. you look stupid and most people don't go fast enough to where if they crash they could do serious damage to the skull. and if you do, you deserve to get your skull damaged.

I deserve to get my skull damaged if I wear a helmet? Please explain that cruel irony to me.

no, you deserve to get skull damage if you ride a bike so fast if you crash you could do severe damage to your skull.

It's not the speed of the biker, it's the cars. And before you say that still warrants brain damage, remember that biker's don't control cars. Speeders exist, and accidents happen, and drunk drivers are pretty common.

 

[The Stonker]

So he thinks that people that wear helmets are english cigarettes?

Stop it. Stop it! STOP IT!

For the love of god, please stop using this joke. It's been said a dozen times in this thread and it wasn't funny the first. I get that calling someone a fag is retarded and perpetuates homophobia and all that jazz, but this joke must be stopped. We all know what someone means when they use the word fag derogatorily. Pointing out that fag is also a slang term for cigarette is not clever or witty. Please don't do it.

To keep this from being off topic, I agree that all of this justification for not wearing helmets is ridiculous. Wearing a seat belt doesn't protect me from explosions but I still wear it because it does protect me from other things. The same principle applies here. Wearing a good helmet is significantly safer than not wearing a helmet. That doesn't mean I'm doing to do it, but at least I can admit that.

I was not being witty just condecending.
And I know how hurting the word fag can be. Personally you see.

 

[Miumaru]

I do not see why you are making a topic inspired by a guy who uses fag the way he does. People like that should be ignored.

 

[Guitarmasterx7]

I used to not wear a helmet because the only time I would ride my bike is to get from place to place, and when you're out and doing stuff it's a pain in the ass to carry around.

 

[chunkeymonke]

i have a story here
i was like 10 and was riding my bike and ti was a bike i got when i was like 6 and i barley fit on it and desperatly needed a new one but i made do with it
so i was riding very fast around me neighborhood when my foot go caught infront of the wheel because i was too big for the bike and all. i did a full frontal flip slamed my head on the pavement and skidded for a good 15 feet and all i have learned from that encounter is that if i wasn't wearing my helmet i literrally would have died

 

[Vrach]

Yesterday, I got in a conversation with a guy from school about whether wearing a bike helmet is worth it. I thought it was worth it, since it's not a big deal and it can save your life, which mine has. He thought it wasn't worth it "Because it makes you look like a fag." So I thought I'd put up a poll and see what the Escapist thinks. Feel free to discuss bike helmets and the percieved fagginess thereof.

Sorry, I'm with him, unless you're doing some serious biking (ie. contest, and only cause it's a formality there tbh) or are stupid enough to drive where you may be hit by a car, a helmet just makes you look like a wonderful person (I've nothing against wonderful people btw, it's just an expression that I don't have a well-enough working synonym to).

Also, I'm sorry, but who the hell falls off their bike and lands on their head? Haven't you people ever learned how to fall when you were kids? Or in gym class? Or at least by whoever taught you how to ride a bike? I personally got all 3, I fell 100 times when I was a kid which taught me enough, we spent several classes in gym class in high school, learning repeatedly how to land from a fall and when my dad was teaching me how to ride a bike, he did so in a place where I was driving right next to a green patch of grass all the way, so I spent the first 30-60 mins or so learning how to fall off specifically off a bike.

I never wore a helmet, I fell 100 times in the first few years (mostly cause I was doing stupid things showing off and screwing around cause I was still a kid, I rarely ever fall off these days cause I just bike normally), worst I ever got was a few scratches and bruises. You protect your head with your arm, land on your shoulder/upper arm and you roll it's not really that hard to learn.

I've had several accidents where you'd think I might break my neck or crack my skull, most recent one a few years back, when I tried to hop my front tire onto a sidewalk, but hopped too early and ended up landing the front tire right in front of the sidewalk, sending the back part along with me up in the air in a spin. You just ball up in the air, protect your head whichever way you're falling and try to roll when you fall rather than being stiff and putting all your body weight on one spot (by your argument, a head, which I still can't so much as think of seriously), simple as that.

Frankly if you wanna wear something for protection, go and invent/wear something to protect the spine, the best you can hope for, if you land on your back, is to land on your arse, which can still break your tailbone (on that note, do not try to do a wheelie, it's not cool, just very stupid ). Either way, you've got a far greater risk of screwing up your spine than you have of landing on your head, assuming you didn't spend your childhood with overprotective parents thinking you're a moron who's gonna break their collarbone the second they take their eyes off you.

 

[sephiroth1991]

If i'm riding a bike then yes i do but not if i'm walking around.

It's better to be safe than sorry.

 

[HellbirdIV]

I thought it was worth it, since it's not a big deal and it can save your life, which mine has. He thought it wasn't worth it "Because it makes you look like a fag."

If one of my friends made a statement like that, I would punch them in the head as hard as I can, then ask if they'd have liked to have been wearing a "faggy" helmet at the time of impact. I mean jesus, that's one of the dumbest things I've ever heard.

Okay, I don't always wear a helmet when on a bike (always when riding motorized equivalents, though) and even though I haven't had an accident since I was five, I'm not so dumb as to ignore the massive benefit of having a hard sheet of plastic or even metal covering your frail skullbone in the event of a rapid impact with anything.

 

[P.Tsunami]

I don't usually wear a helmet when I'm biking. I think it makes me look like a goofball, and it's uncomfortable to boot.

With that said, I know full well that's stupid. So the day I fall off my bike and die from my skull fractures, spare your sympathy for starving children. In other words, yes, wearing a helmet is worth it. I'm a dumbass for not.

 

[LorChan]

On a similar topic what does piss me off and I'd vote NO on is skiing helmets (note: snowboarding's a bit different). There was that stupid actress that died on the bunny hill or whatever not wearing last year that brought the issue into focus with talks of making helmets mandatory, which I'm really thankfull seems to have died down. I forget who it was and I don't mean to disrespect her I just hated all the media focus, the "Oh no what tragedy a celebrity died, let's focus on and magnify the issue!" I would contend that if the statistics were available you're more likely to save your life by wearing a helmet on the road to the ski hill than you are while actually skiing.

I can't really agree on that point. Snowboarding, yeah, I get it. I know a few snowboarders and I know it's much better with a helmet. But I do actually wear my ski helmet. Mostly because my mother makes me (shut up), and if she's not around I sometimes won't wear it, but there are a lot more irresponsible people on the slopes than on the bike paths.

It's not about falling or hitting a tree, it's about idiot snowboarders, over confident newbies, and out of control kids. Some people just think they absolutely own the mountain and people get hurt. I've been skiing since I can remember and the only people I've ever seen get hurt were either on the terrain park or not at fault. I saw some punk snowboard in front of a ski patrol (also on a snowboard), push him over, and break his collar bone. The only time I've ever been hurt skiing is when a kid going too fast rammed right into the back of me - I would have had a concussion had I not been wearing my helmet.

Long story short - bike helmets meh, ski helmets good on crowded mountains, meh on more quiet ones.

(Besides, how many times have you pulled the chair lift bar down on your head, eh? It smarts! )

 

[Draithx]

Riding a normal bike I never wear a helmet. Then again, I'm not going very fast usually, I'd probably wear one if I was racing or stuff.

 

[Soxafloppin]

If i cycled i'd wear one. But i drive and helmets are unneeded.

 

[KaiRai]

I'd rather live with a crushed body and an intact mind than be painted on the road. Tell him he is making a serious error of judgement, and that you will arrive at his funeral saying "It's also illegal to not wear one, and I told you so."

Although, if he has a death wish, there's little you can do to change his mind. He's giving bike riders a bad name imo.

 

[Hurr Durr Derp]

I've been riding bikes all my life, and I've never once worn a bike helmet. I don't know anyone who does, to be honest.

There are three situations where I'd consider it smart to wear a helmet:
- If you suck at riding a bike.
- If you're riding through a high-traffic area without marked areas for biking.
- If you're riding over rough terrain (like when you're mountain biking).

Otherwise I don't see the point.

 

[Kagim]

When i was learning to ride a bike I am pretty sure i would be dead if I didn't wear one. In a match between my soft six year old head versus the asphalt I doubt i would be crowned the champ ya know?

Now i don't really wear one because I know how to ride, i stick to low traffic streets, and i know how to fall correctly. However if there are bad weather conditions I'll throw one on. If its pouring rain on the roads I am not risking losing traction or getting knocked off my bike due to a car swerving like a jackass into the bike lane.

I once had a car slam into a puddle that knocked the tires of my bike out from under me(It was pouring rain) going down hill. I doubt I would have gotten away with just a few scraps if i had no helmet. I know how to fall, but when your not expecting it or getting knocked down in a way your not used to its hard to react.

 

[Funkiest Monkey]

Motorbike or Bicycle? I'm gonna talk about a bicycle.

The answer is no, I don't wear a helmet. For no reason, really.