Get rid bike helmets

[Quantum Windbag]

I know of no law that requires adults to wear helmets while riding bicycles.

This thread seems to be 98% based on false outrage?

Where did I say anything about being required to wear helmets? I think the response to this thread is 99% based on false defense against false outrage that doesn't exist.

 

[syrenn]

I know of no law that requires adults to wear helmets while riding bicycles.

This thread seems to be 98% based on false outrage?

Where did I say anything about being required to wear helmets? I think the response to this thread is 99% based on false defense against false outrage that doesn't exist.

Oh i think you would be pretty outraged if i took a golf club to your head.

If you think there is false outrage... why not try and explain what you are saying instead?

 

[dblack]

This is a great source for real data about the issues.

Cycle helmets: an international resource

If you study the science you will see that there is no consensus about the efficacy of helmets, and the data actually shows that brain injuries tend to increase the more people use helmets.

Please note that that does not mean helmets make things worse. It is plausible, however, that the false belief that helmets actually protect you make people less cautious.

Ok, the bolded part is just plain silly. It's like implying, because there's a strong correlation between injuries and wearing a parachute, that parachutes themselves are dangerous, and not the jumping out of airplanes. The people most likely to wear bike helmets are those doing the most dangerous stuff. Of course they're going to have more injuries. The question is whether they'd have more or less injuries with or without a helmet.

 

[Quantum Windbag]

then dont wear a helmet, but to think they wont help is moronic.

Did anyone watch the fucking video? I know Ravi didn't, she posted to fast, and responded with a link that was totally off topic. The rest of you have no fucking excuse though.

 

[Quantum Windbag]

This is a great source for real data about the issues.

Cycle helmets: an international resource

If you study the science you will see that there is no consensus about the efficacy of helmets, and the data actually shows that brain injuries tend to increase the more people use helmets.

Please note that that does not mean helmets make things worse. It is plausible, however, that the false belief that helmets actually protect you make people less cautious.

Ok, the bolded part is just plain silly. It's like implying, because there's a strong correlation between injuries and wearing a parachute, that parachutes themselves are dangerous, and not the jumping out of airplanes. The people most likely to wear bike helmets are those doing the most dangerous stuff. Of course they're going to have more injuries. The question is whether they'd have more or less injuries with or without a helmet.

It is plain sill, even though I pointed out immediately that I was not saying what you are whinging about.

FYI, the statistics show that the more people wear helmets, the more likely it is they will get hurt. Head injuries actually increase with helmet use, even when cycling rates remain constant. Again, I am not blaming the helmets, just pointing out that the hype about them being effective is overblown.

This is about the hype and science, hence me posting it in science and technology. The consistent outrage and misunderstanding of the point demonstrates that being anti science is completely bipartisan, and even extends to otherwise intelligent people.

It actually ties in with something else I read today.

One of the most important things that I've learned in my time writing for Ars Technica is how little I know. Look at my back catalogue of stories and you will notice that most of my articles are combinations of quantum mechanics and optics. Every now and again I venture into the fraught territory of cosmology, materials sciences, and climatology. Even more rarely, I head off into the wild and write something about medicine or biology. I only ever write these articles if the papers on which they are based are written clearly; I want to be reasonably certain that I haven't mangled the research entirely. Yet, if you let yourself be flushed down the intertubes, you will find physicists and engineers like myself expounding on topics that are far outside their field of expertise. These people are often so badly wrong that it is hard to know where to begin in any argument to counter them.

Why my fellow physicists think they know everything (and why they're wrong)

Human nature makes people hold onto opinions even when new facts are presented. I have the same problem, and work hard to make sure it rarely controls me. You should consider the possibility that, just because you know helmets make you safer, it does not mean that they always work, or even work more often than not.

Long hair also prevents some head injuries, and has even saved people's lives. I wouldn't recommend people have long hair before they get on a bike, nor will I tell them that helmets will prevent any significant portion of brain injuries. The science does not back that statement up.

 

[Ravi]

Outrage? LOL! I think we are all laughing at you. I could be wrong.

QW, do you ride a bike? Is someone forcing you to wear a helmet?

 

[syrenn]

Outrage? LOL! I think we are all laughing at you. I could be wrong.

QW, do you ride a bike? Is someone forcing you to wear a helmet?

I am quite sure he can see the gleam in my eyes holding the putter.....

 

[editec]

I don't have one and I bike fairly often of late.

I think one is probably better off wearing one if one crashes, of course.

My policy is to NOT crash.

So far, so good.

 

[strollingbones]

Less than two percent of motor vehicle crash deaths are bicyclists. The most serious injuries among a majority of those killed are to the head, highlighting the importance of wearing a bicycle helmet. Helmet use has been estimated to reduce head injury risk by 85 percent.

Bicycle Helmet Statistics


85% reduction in head injuries......

 

[strollingbones]

now how dumb does one have to be to not want to prevent 85% of head injuries?

 

[rightwinger]

I don't have one and I bike fairly often of late.

I think one is probably better off wearing one if one crashes, of course.

My policy is to NOT crash.

So far, so good.

I bike fairly often and always wear a helmet. I don't worry about myself crashing, I am fairly cautious. It is the cars around me that I worry about. I am often cut off, squeezed off a shoulder or just not seen

If I go down, I would rather have my head protected

 

[strollingbones]

I don't have one and I bike fairly often of late.

I think one is probably better off wearing one if one crashes, of course.

My policy is to NOT crash.

So far, so good.

I bike fairly often and always wear a helmet. I don't worry about myself crashing, I am fairly cautious. It is the cars around me that I worry about. I am often cut off, squeezed off a shoulder or just not seen

If I go down, I would rather have my head protected

i hate fucking bike riders....i would run ever one of you down if i could.....

reasons:

these are curvy mt roads without shoulders....and they ride 3 abreast......why do you think i should have to react to the movements of 3 bikers? you do not follow traffic laws...quickly riding in between stopped cars to get ahead....you are not fucking lance armstrong....your riding the routes he did up here does not make you lance armstrong it simply makes you stupid for risking it. your arrogant asses think that you are invincible on your road bikes and what is with all these fucking clubs?

mountain bikers......on the other hand are stand up people.....

road bikers are scum......i would throw bottles at you...but i am not that type...

 

[syrenn]

I don't have one and I bike fairly often of late.

I think one is probably better off wearing one if one crashes, of course.

My policy is to NOT crash.

So far, so good.

I bike fairly often and always wear a helmet. I don't worry about myself crashing, I am fairly cautious. It is the cars around me that I worry about. I am often cut off, squeezed off a shoulder or just not seen

If I go down, I would rather have my head protected

i hate fucking bike riders....i would run ever one of you down if i could.....

reasons:

these are curvy mt roads without shoulders....and they ride 3 abreast......why do you think i should have to react to the movements of 3 bikers? you do not follow traffic laws...quickly riding in between stopped cars to get ahead....you are not fucking lance armstrong....your riding the routes he did up here does not make you lance armstrong it simply makes you stupid for risking it. your arrogant asses think that you are invincible on your road bikes and what is with all these fucking clubs?

mountain bikers......on the other hand are stand up people.....

road bikers are scum......i would throw bottles at you...but i am not that type...

and that's why i love ya bones!!

 

[rightwinger]

I don't have one and I bike fairly often of late.

I think one is probably better off wearing one if one crashes, of course.

My policy is to NOT crash.

So far, so good.

I bike fairly often and always wear a helmet. I don't worry about myself crashing, I am fairly cautious. It is the cars around me that I worry about. I am often cut off, squeezed off a shoulder or just not seen

If I go down, I would rather have my head protected

i hate fucking bike riders....i would run ever one of you down if i could.....

reasons:

these are curvy mt roads without shoulders....and they ride 3 abreast......why do you think i should have to react to the movements of 3 bikers? you do not follow traffic laws...quickly riding in between stopped cars to get ahead....you are not fucking lance armstrong....your riding the routes he did up here does not make you lance armstrong it simply makes you stupid for risking it. your arrogant asses think that you are invincible on your road bikes and what is with all these fucking clubs?

mountain bikers......on the other hand are stand up people.....

road bikers are scum......i would throw bottles at you...but i am not that type...

For the most part, I agree. Bike riders do act like assholes at times. There are also times when drivers need to be more patient. Slowing down to 30 mph to safely pass bicycles is not that big a deal. Having to use your brake is not that big an inconvenience. Waiting for bikers to pass before you make a right turn might cost you a few seconds

 

[strollingbones]

o i am nice to the fucking bike riders....i pass slowly and dont push them off the road.......doesnt mean i dont want too.....

 

[Quantum Windbag]

now how dumb does one have to be to not want to prevent 85% of head injuries?

They does not prevent 85% of head injuries, that is the whole point of the thread. Yet people keep insisiting they do, and because of their belief in that lie, want to laugh at me for pointing out the truth.

 

[syrenn]

now how dumb does one have to be to not want to prevent 85% of head injuries?

They does not prevent 85% of head injuries, that is the whole point of the thread. Yet people keep insisiting they do, and because of their belief in that lie, want to laugh at me for pointing out the truth.

Its like the birth control pill. The pill frees you to go out and and have as much fun as you want, you (for the most part) will not get pregnant. However.... in being reckless, the pill does not protect you from STD's


Is that what you are trying to say?




I still think the golf club is a better example though... and much funnier.

 

[signelect]

I do not have a problem with bikers not wearing helmets but!!! If you get a head injury and go the the emergency room and I get there for another reason I want to go first, you are there because you chose to be. Should insurance companies have to pay for bike related injuries when the biker chose not to protect him self? I vote no.

 

[syrenn]

I do not have a problem with bikers not wearing helmets but!!! If you get a head injury and go the the emergency room and I get there for another reason I want to go first, you are there because you chose to be. Should insurance companies have to pay for bike related injuries when the biker chose not to protect him self? I vote no.

slippery slope..

skiers?
football?
basketball?
Sports in general?
eating habits?

They all have inherent dangers of injury and death.

 

[signelect]

You are right, you have to pay to play. This is a big problem we are having. It is personal responsibility and most people today seem to think that they situation they find themselves in is someone else s fault. I love guns but ownership has responsibility attached. If I allow my gun to be misused by say a child, I am responsible for not keeping the gun out of the childs reach. Same is true with helmets, if you chose to ignore safety devices then you are responsible not me.