I will preface this by saying that I am a bike helmet user. I have a firm belief in the benefits of wearing a helmet. It’s like this, ride a bike long enough and you are going to fall down. There’s an old saw that goes, “As long as you are still riding, you are going to fall.” I am a careful and somewhat skillful rider. And yet, I have had the occasional bad fall. On at least three occasions, I have hit hard enough to completely destroy a helmet. The fact that I am typing these words demonstrates that the helmet did its job. I strongly encourage helmet use.
All of that said, I would far rather see folks ride safely without helmets, than see them ride dangerously, or stupidly while wearing them.
Please read that last sentence again.
Want an example? I routinely see folks blasting through stop signs or other traffic signals. Usually, these folks are all “kitted out,” and are wearing very nice, shiny, high end, brain buckets. Here’s a newsflash: If a car smacks you hard from the side, it probably won’t matter if your head is protected. All of us have seen road-killed deer.
A few examples of other dangerous behavior would include (but are not limited to), obstructing traffic (three abreast or more, failure to permit following motorists to pass, sidewalk riding, wrong way riding, night time riding without effective lighting and reflective gear, failure to signal intentions, abrupt swerving (squirrelly riding), and inattention to possible road hazards.
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