BC's bicycle helmet law is one of my pet peeves. The intention is good - helmets protect the brain - but in practice, a lot of junk is on the market and it costs way too much!

First, the construction is terrible. I have never found one that fit properly. My last one slid around on my head like a china bowl and even the chin strap couldn't keep it on. It was designed to be fitted with little foam pieces that disappeared within a couple of weeks. It was never comfortable. Since it couldn't be depended on to do what it was supposed to be designed for, ie: save my skull, I tossed it. An ill fitting helmet is actually worse than none at all; when it slides down your face in the middle of traffic . . .

The other part of the equasion is that I resent being asked to fork out $50 for something that comes off an injection molder for about $3. We are truely being ripped off. If the government is going to force riders to wear a helmet, then they should also force manufacturers and retailers to make suitable products and keep the price down.

No one has been able to explain to me the force differnces between falling off a bike and being slammed into the boards.

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Originally posted by N.Beltov:
WTF?!! What's your life worth? Yea, sure, we're probably overcharged. But then we're probably overcharged on a lot of things.

Helmets save lives. Last August a helmet saved me from a serious concussion...and possibly death. At age 14 I was involved in a head-on accident on a motorcycle and the same story. Wake up, damn it. Your life is worth it. Arggggg!

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Your point has merit, but if the helmet won't do what it's supposed to do, then it's useless. Or maybe worse than useless. The last time I fell off a bike, my helmet slid down my face and fell in the mud. Fortunately, I did not hit my head, but the helmet was absolutely useless; and I did have the chin strap done up. After that, I threw it away.

Did you know that Bike helmets are designed for one impact only? Even if you drop your helmet on the sidewalk it's a throw away.

Check this:

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Wearing a helmet could save your life. Fact or Fiction?

The truth is that there is no simple answer. Certainly, in some accidents a helmet can reduce the risk of severe head injury but every accident is different and therefore the outcome can never be judged before the incident. Indeed the majority of head injuries which result in death are caused by collision with other vehicles, travelling at comparative high speed, something which a bicycle helmet is not designed to cope with (See "What can a helmet do?" below). In reality, the numbers of these serious head injuries is extremely low and it is felt that the overall health benefits offered by regular cycling far far outweigh the small amount of risk involved.

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What can a helmet do?

As with most safety orientated products, bicycle helmets have to pass certain standards prior to being allowed to be sold. What may be surprising is the exact nature of those standards.
Cycle helmets are only designed and tested to withstand an impact equivalent to an average weight rider travelling at a speed of 12 mph falling onto a stationary kerb shaped object from a height of 1 metre.
This is the equivalent of falling from your bike onto the road or the kerb edge.

Helmets are not tested nor expected to be able to offer full protection if you come into contact with a vehicle which is moving.

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Did you know that Bike helmets are designed for one impact only? Even if you drop your helmet on the sidewalk it's a throw away.

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Of course, heatstroke is easier to recover from that breathing some of the air in malls - even if you are carefull and avoid the really bad places like Walmart.

As far as bicycle safety goes - I think that there should be a law saying that the bicycle seat has to be a certain amount of inches lower than the bicycle handles. Normally, you only have to worry about head injuries if the bicycle flips over, but if the bike seat is almost even (or even higher than) the handle bars, any little bump and you get thrown over the bicycle.

Also, why the big deal of making people wear bicycle helmets which pretty much guarantee heat-stroke, when one is allowed to ride one's bike without wearing glasses or contacts. There is no law on the books saying that you have to. And there is no law saying that you should not drive a bike after shopping at Wal-Mart - which when you consider the air quality - you are probably safer on the road after a few beer than after breathing their air - for one thing you can walk without holding on to things after leaving the bar usually. That is not the case when you leave Wal-Mart or even the more minor places like Superstore (where it takes a week before your fully recover) or IGA (where it usually takes a couple of days to recover).

IGA uses Propanol - and yes, you can ride a bicycle carrying six bags of groceries even if you cannot walk without falling unless you are holding on to the walls. As far as those 4 L of milk go, all you do is tie the handles together and put it on your bicycle handle. The heavey stuff goes on the bike handle, the lighter stuff you carry with your right arm (better to be wearing long sleaves), you steer with your left arm, and you stop with your left foot.

I don't shop at IGA any more - and I do have to go to Superstore but am putting it off because I don't really want to be sick for a week. And right now my right leg can't take any weight so I am not riding my bike. I just decided to write because the people who set the rules seem to have a topsy-turvy way of determining what is safe and what is dangerous.

BTW - if the price is the only issue - I am sure that if you go to a garage sale and get an old hockey or skate boarding helmet - the letter of the law in BC says only that you have to look like an idiot, not that you have to actually wear a helmet that would be effective in an accident.

[ 26 June 2004: Message edited by: vaudree ]

There is no limit to the laws regulating people. Dentists want all bike riders to wear teeth guards. Are you ready for that? Do you want the Mounties stopping you to check your teeth?

At my age (I'm 62), my odds for heart attack or stroke or a whole host of other debilitating, expensive diseases exceeds the risk of falling off a bike and hitting my head.

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Originally posted by Cougyr:
Sure, I'd like a helmet. But it better meet my standards. ... With all that, it should protect my head when I collide with a vehicle moving at common city speeds. Anything less is stupid.

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Originally posted by Soar:
That's where you get into who is able to make that decision, though. In Alberta it's mandatory for bike riders under 18 to wear a helmet, but if you're 18 or over, then its your choice.

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Originally posted by Cougyr:
I have to admit to some rebellion on my part. ...As long as the only one likely to be hurt is myself, then I think it should be my decision.

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The state can, I think, rightly make the claim that it will cost a lot of money if you sustain a very serious head injury. You could be in a coma. You could lose a lot of productive years in your life during which the government can't collect taxes from you and you are unproductive. And so on. These reasons are in addition to the arguments about the quality of your life from your own point of view.

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Originally posted by Cougyr:
I have to admit to some rebellion on my part. ...As long as the only one likely to be hurt is myself, then I think it should be my decision.
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The state can, I think, rightly make the claim that it will cost a lot of money if you sustain a very serious head injury. You could be in a coma. You could lose a lot of productive years in your life during which the government can't collect taxes from you and you are unproductive. And so on. These reasons are in addition to the arguments about the quality of your life from your own point of view.

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Originally posted by lagatta:
Oh bullshit. Do people understand the potential costs of people NOT riding bicycles, not doing healthy exercise, and contributing to murderous air pollution? If people can find helmets that fit them, don't slip around, and don't cause migraines and heatstroke - with thick curly hair, a sick headache is guaranteed - so much the better for safety. But no victim-blaming please. The frigging polluting cars are the things "qui puent, qui tuent et qui polluent" as we say here in cyclists' groups.

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Heatstroke has never been an issue (and to be honest I doubt anyone here has ever had it, because heatstroke is about 30 minutes from death. Heat exhaustion is another thing, but heatstroke is deadly)

Bike helmets are designed to get you though a crash alive and with your brainpan intact. They are worth every penny. The difference between a bike helmet and a hockey helmet has little to do with your own velocity, and everything to do with the velocity of that which you hit.

My snowboarding helmet is good up to 30 kph. Fine, I don't snowboard that fast, but I would never wear it on a bike, because there are other objects moving around me that go much faster.

Helmets are important, failing to wear one is comparable to failing to wear a seatbelt. Meaning, it is a foolish and pointless risk, for no real gain.

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In both of the accidents I noted above, my head made contact with the ground.

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Compare that to when I went to vote at L school. This was a school that I was complaining about because they used so much air freshioner there that I was getting sick when my son came home from school. I went in and voted and stuck around a bit so that I could get the proof I needed to get them to stop hurting me. I don't remember too much of it and sort of remember drifting in and out of consciousness a bit. Well it took a few weeks before I recovered but I still could not stand for too long before lying down because my head would get heavey and flop forward. I eventually took a towel and put it loose around my neck with masking tape tying it together so that when my head flopped it would not flop all the way forward.

Hey, at the time, I figure one day of pain would be worth it if it would stop this continuous pain of being constantly between being out of it and having withdrawl symptoms without ever being sober in between.

What I am saying is that if people are actually worried about head injuries (I am not as intelligent as I used to be and even when I am totally back to normal, my memory is completely shot) they are barking up the wrong tree with the helmets.

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Helmets are important, failing to wear one is comparable to failing to wear a seatbelt. Meaning, it is a foolish and pointless risk, for no real gain.

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While at first glance this seems, logically, to be true, the reality is far more uncertain.

Click!

The benefits of cycling as part of a health excercising lifestyle far outweigh the (unproven) risk of injury.

Regarding handlebar position: having the 'bars lower than the saddle places the rider lower and somewhat further forwards. That being said, this is the most efficient position for fast pedaling. Look at the bicycles of the Tour de France riders, the bottom of the drop bars is sometimes as much as 6" or more below the level of the saddle.

Despite this, I'd have to argue that this riding position does not 'make you go over the handlebars at the slightest bump'. Being stretched out in a sprint might contribute to your going over the bars, but even with low-set drops about 55% of your weight should still be on the back tire.*

In any event, setting your handlebars and seat for your personal style of riding is what's important: low in the front for fast head-down pedaling, high bars for slower more upright cycling.

i can't give up the feeling of the wind rushing through my hair, ... the sounds of the city passing my ears, ... the sidewalk as it flows through my forehead, ... arggh!

A member of my family is a new cycling enthusiast and has all the zeal of the converted, which is fun. However, one thing that drives me crazy is that she rides on the sidewalks because she doesn't feel confident about riding on the roads. However, she lives in suburban hell where no one walks on the sidewalks, and when she does approach the occasional pedestrian, she dismounts completely, or stops dead until they pass, so I figure that's an okay compromise (and a lot better than the asshole cyclist who nearly wiped me out on the sidewalk the other day here in Toronto).

My son has a helmet AND he has the elbow and knee pads, although I probably won't force him to wear the pads if he doesn't want to. Hardly any kids do, and I'm not going to make him into a geek. He can handle a scrape or two if he falls - pads were unheard of when I was a kid, at least in my neighbourhood. I don't have any safety gear for myself and probably won't buy any because helmets are damned expensive, and feeding my kid is more important. Besides which, I find it hard to find helmets (or any head-wear) that fit since I seem to have inherited my father's big head. (Shut up. No, really, shut up. ) Besides which, I find them uncomfortable, and the one time I did manage to find one that fit, it gave me headaches. So I'm not going to bother.

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I think they are a "quick fix", and a substitute for the needed measures to increase safety for cyclists and other non-motorists

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The fixes you mention are all good, and I can't imagine any cyclist not endorsing them, but even if you cleared the roads of cars, and even if you gave me a 10 foot wide lane all to myself, the fact is I'm going fast enough on my bike to harm my head if I fall. Traffic, potholes and other cyclists can certainly add to the danger, but like rollerblading or skateboarding, the inherent danger will always be there when you're riding. I can't imagine anyone concerned with their safety choosing not to use a helmet.

But did you hit your head?

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Or maybe you did.

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Ahem! Are you suggesting something?

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Originally posted by Mr. Magoo:
. . . the fact is I'm going fast enough on my bike to harm my head if I fall.

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Yes, but since the bike helmet is only designed to protect you up to 12 kmph . . . .

There are far more head injuries among automobile drivers and their passengers. It has been known for a long time that auto head injuries could be dramatically reduced by requiring everyone to wear a crash helmet while in the car. Everyone. In all circumstances. Are you wearing yours?

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Are you wearing yours?

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I go one better. I don't drive.

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I think that picking on bike riders is a ploy to get them off the road. Dedicated autoists hate cicyclists.

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Originally posted by Mr. Magoo:
Who's picking on bike riders? Do we have dedicated autoists among us?

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Originally posted by Cougyr:

Yes, but since the bike helmet is only designed to protect you up to 12 kmph . . . .

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Key point, possibly rendering helmets ineffective for many of the cyclists here. It could even be a situation where by impact above, say 20 or 25 km/h can be more dangerous with a helmet on, perhaps hitting the helmet a certain way and sending fragments into the skull. Pure speculation of course, but consider this like medicine: shouldn't all of you helmet enthusiasts now "use as directed", ie: keep it under 15km/h?

And in my experience, motorists really despise cyclists on the road. They would like nothing more than to get them off the road.

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The promotion of danger has scared many cyclists out of the traffic, merely to put them at greater risk on pavements and "safe" cycle routes.

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Does it say anywhere in the article why or how this happens? Could this perhaps be anything like the helmet statistics quoted, and actually be an inconclusive find? Especially since:

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The more cyclists there are, the more presence they have, the less individual danger there is. This truth is confirmed by experience in the Netherlands and Denmark, where cycling is far safer despite a tradition of segregation.

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one has to be prepared to spend $150+,

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Originally posted by DownTheRoad:

Find a different shop if he's going to string you that BS. The lower end offerings ($50-$90) from Giro, Garneau, Bell, etc. all have adjustable retention systems to fit any size had and are quite comfortable with good ventilation.

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Part of the problem with helmets is the way they're tested. The procedure, last time I checked, involved essentially putting the helmet on a bowling ball and dropping it on an accelerometer to see how much the helmet cushioned the impact (I'm simplifying a fair bit here).

This tests the helmet for direct impacts on the order of 12kmh, as has been pointed out previously. It doesn't test for:
- impacts over 12kmh (that's incredibly slow in cycling terms, my speedo doesn't even register until I hit 8kmh, I regularly crack 29-30Mph going down hills, and I'm not even a particularly fast cyclist).
- More importantly, glancing blows that change direct impact injuries (ie, skull fractures) into generalized head traumas (brain shaken in skull) that are potentially more lethal.

However, the link provided by Mr. Magoo on helmets that saved lives gives credability to the safety value of these things.

I got a Bell Ukon FS and it's pretty good re: ventilation. Of course, I keep my hair very short.

Personally I can't place enough emphasis on lights at night. People dressed in dark clothing who ride at night with no rear and front lights are just asking to get hit. (Bells are also very effective safety devices, highly underrated. Incidently, in Ontario both lights at night and bells are mandatory under the Highway Traffic Act.)

As for bells - personally, I find it kind of weird to have to shout if someone's walking in front of me, or if I'm coming up behind them, so the bell is more likely to be used.

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Originally posted by 1st Person:
[QB]As for bells - personally, I find it kind of weird to have to shout if someone's walking in front of me, or if I'm coming up behind them, so the bell is more likely to be used.

[QB]

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Before I bought a bell, I used to have a bike with really squeaky brakes and a rusty chain. Rather than shouting (I had no voice at the time) I would ostentatiously shift gears or brake, which raised enough of a ruckus that people would know I was coming.

I use my helmet all the time, (which is almost every day, year round) on the 'Won't I feel like a chump if arborwoman has to change my diapers for the next 50 years cause I was petty about my helmet" line of reasoning.

Obviously you can say that you can't blame the helmet directly, but what difference does it make? If people take more risks and injuries don't decline because of it, for all practical purposes that is because of the helmet.

As to the financial costs:
1.As was mentioned earlier, if people give up bike riding and exercise less because they don't want to wear a helmet, how is that good?

2.My own guess, I have no evidence to back this up, is that many people who get into serious accidents and don't wear helmets will die, whereas if they wear helmets, they will face the rest of life as a quadraplegic or paraplegic, which has enormous costs on the health care system. If all you are caring about is money, I think this makes a reasonable theoretical case that not wearing helmets saves the state money.

A final point. I haven't read this elsewhere, but I read an article from a medical person at the time the stupid helmet law was imposed on B.C by the nanny state New Democrats that senior citizens have more brittle necks and that the weight of helmets exzaserbates (sp?) minor head injuries like whiplash, which is probably the most likely injury from the most likely bike crash, a minor crash.

I'd rather see a driver's license be a 2 month training course, with a gruelling series of exams in at least 3 different types of weather. Maybe a 40% failure rate. Maybe 60% of current drivers should actually be allowed on the road.

Also, lose your license if you are caught talking on a cell phone while driving, even once. 95% of the times I've nearly been hit by a driver running a stop sign or light, they were gabbinh on the phone (80% of them were in SUVs, for some reason).

Driving is a provelege, mistaken for a right. Thousands of people are killed by incompetent drivers every year. Yet we allow people to drive 2 ton chunks of metal at speeds of up to and over 100 kph after a multiple choice quiz and a 40 minute practical exam. It boggles the mind. We get hysterical if a person wilfully murders a child, but if the child dies in a wholly avoidable car accident, most of us accept it as an unfortunate accident.

Sigh.

[ 21 July 2004: Message edited by: arborman ]

[ 21 July 2004: Message edited by: Cougyr ]

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Originally posted by lagatta:
The cell phone madness has got to the point where not only does one constantly see - and have to dodge - idiots in SUVs chatting away on cell phones, indifferent to crossing pedestrians and smaller vehicles, but every day I see several cyclists and pedestrians yabbering away on their cell phones - Sometimes the cyclists are going down hills or weaving through heavy traffic, or both - and I saw a pedestrian crossing through heavy traffic in the middle of a block on boulevard René-Levesque (busy downtown street) while on his cell...

The cyclists were of that testosterone-driven kamikaze type. Usually such individuals do wear helmets - but they are a danger to others due to their agressive behaviour.

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First, the construction is terrible. I have never found one that fit properly. My last one slid around on my head like a china bowl and even the chin strap couldn't keep it on. It was designed to be fitted with little foam pieces that disappeared within a couple of weeks. It was never comfortable.

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I can understand your frustration with finding a helmet that fits, Cougyr. I always found the adult ones never quite sat solidly on my head, and the little foam inserts were a joke. Finally, I went down to Canadian Tire and tried on every helmet in the store, still no good. Then I decided to try the "youth" size -- TA DA! Perfect. Better construction, with an adjustable band in the back for better fit adjustment, mesh in the vents on top. Much nicer helmet than the adult ones, and for under $30, if memory serves me.

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Originally posted by Cougyr:
As a post script to this thread: over the weekend, I saw a kid (about 8 yrs.) hurt her head when she biked into a parked vehicle. She hit the rearview mirror which stuck out quite a bit farther than the kid expected. The impact rolled her helmet out of the way and she took full force on the top of her forehead, leaving her with a large bump. Fortunately, she will be ok. Unfortunately, the helmet did nothing to protect her.

These things don't work in practical situations. It is fraudulent to suggest that they do.

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Anyone selling bike helmets should ensure proper sizing and show parents how to adjust it to fit. If worn properly, a bike helmet wouldn't "roll up".

[ 02 August 2004: Message edited by: Scott Piatkowski ]

As for the argument that goes something like: 'When I was a child, we used to cliffdive without fear and we are fine!", it's a common fallacy.

We drank right from the hose.
We ate all of our Hallowe'en candy.
We climbed the antenna.
We didn't even know what sunscreen was.

These days, however, I ride with a helmet I managed to get for quite cheap. Whether it actually protects my head is another matter entirely, but hey.

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Originally posted by arborman:

I use my helmet all the time, (which is almost every day, year round) on the 'Won't I feel like a chump if arborwoman has to change my diapers for the next 50 years cause I was petty about my helmet" line of reasoning.

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Originally posted by Cougyr:

There are far more head injuries among automobile drivers and their passengers. It has been known for a long time that auto head injuries could be dramatically reduced by requiring everyone to wear a crash helmet while in the car. Everyone. In all circumstances. Are you wearing yours?

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I actually fell over the handlebars once,...

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Happened to me too. I was about six (that's 47 years ago). That's why when I fill out passport applications under distinguishing marks I still list "Scar in middle of forehead."

[ 02 August 2004: Message edited by: abnormal ]

While it is mandatory here in BC I've always worn a helmet because 1. the drivers are idiots, 2. we have bike lanes out here in Surrey that the morotists don't respect, 3. its illgeal to ride on the sidewalks and 4. I'm always conscious of setting an example.

As for those pesky helmet pads, you can make your own once the originals go astray. go to your local furniture refinishers and ask if they ahve scraps. even if you have to pay its dirt cheap. get a good dense foam and cut it to around the same size the old ones were. go to the dollar store and buy a sheet of felt and cut out a like size piece to glue on top of your foam (this will hold it to the velcro pieces in your helmet)