Slashdot Mirror

Helmets aren't especially useful and at least some research say, they increase risk to the bicyclist's health.

Given how much more fun it is to ride without one, you may want to reconsider — unless you wear it all the time, even when walking. Just in case a car hits you...

Dunno about jetpacks, but bicycles just aren't fast enough for helmets to perceptibly increase one's chances in a rare accident to justify constantly incurring costs in comfort and situation-awareness during the rest of your riding. Yes, there are statistics showing correlation between fatalities and riding without helmet, but that does not prove causation.

Surely, everyone is entitled to making their own choices, and I'm not going to force anyone to ride without the protection they want. I just want the same freedom for myself.

Scientific research shows that, for example, wearing a cycling helmet makes no difference. A helmet will not protect you in a serious accident and the slight increase in the risk taking behaviour you engage in by wearing one balances out the benefit you'd get from it, when compared to not wearing one when you're in a minor accident.

Actually, as I understand, scientific research shows that wearing a helmet has a tremendous benefit in prevent the sorts of injuries that leave people brain damaged for the rest of their lives. Apparently they reduce mortality rates by around 33%. The whole "you'll take more risks" thing sounds like neo-conservative pablum dolled out by idiots who care more about ratings than facts.

Here's some links to educate yourself:
http://www.helmets.org/stats.htm
http://www.bhsi.org/henderso.htm

Mod parent down for grossly exaggerating. Cases of over diagnosis/treatment are rare in the real world. Any doctor worth a damn will only medicate kids with a real problem. i think you're reacting to something that isn't as real as you think it is. We have a tendency to hear/think about negative things far more than positive. You won't hear about the 10 kids whose lives radically improved after being treated, only about the 1 kid that was misdiagnosed. If that rare misdiagnosis twists your panties you're going to think about it every time the matter appears (and ignore pounds of case files about proper treatment).

Some kids DO have these conditions. Some kids will cope, others will spend their lives struggling. Our prisons are packed with people who have these conditions and weren't diagnosed or treated. My own life could have been radically different if i had been diagnosed. i went to school under people who "think" like you do. So i was "undisciplined and lazy". With treatment i could have earned the grades to go to college with scholarships instead of doing four years in the USAF followed by borrowing $30K.

Much of this cavalier attitude you're showing comes from ignorance backed by a religious belief that humans are meat occupied by spirits. That all we do is a matter of choice and will. When the reality is that we're only meat. With the addition or removal of this or that chemical we can make a person more or less violent, attentive, horny or whatever. We can herd the cats in people heads to help them deal with a world that doesn't care if someone keeps changing the channel in their head. Consciousness can only do so much.

i'd love to be as disciplined and awesome as you are, but my brain works like a radio in scan mode. Ever few seconds the channel changes without any input from me. Without medication sleep i get about 4 hours of sleep per day because the noise will not stop. But the rest of the world is like you, they don't get it, and they don't give a shit. They don't care that i'm reliving conversations from 15 years ago while they are talking to me. All they care about is that i forgot what they said. If only i could be as attentive and perfect as you!

As for helmets... brain injuries are often permanent and life altering. It is a risk that just isn't worth taking. A helmet is tiny thing to require. Do you wear your seatbelt or are you so tough that you could just walk it off after slamming your head into a windshield at 50 MPH? Wow, you are so cool.

i will agree with you that some parents are over protective and paranoid with regards to kidnapping and molesters and the like. i was allowed to range far and wide as a kid. i didn't have to go far to encounter a molester, he was right next door which is more typical than the "guy in the van". Kids should be allowed a long enough leash to learn how to handle themselves.

On the matter of cocooning and protecting them from challenge, i agree. Giving kids challenges and allowing them to make decisions is usually great for their development. As long as some responsible adult is there to make sure it's not TOO stupid.

The third sentence from the end highlights your ignorance with a search light and flashing neon arrows. You say that they shouldn't be taking medication for anything less than a physical problem. ADD, ADHD, Aspergers and the like ARE PHYSICAL PROBLEMS. Your brain is part of your body. Those conditions are as physical as diabetes.

The last sentence makes me wonder if you're trolling. It's so unhinged that it seems like satire or concern trolling.

Become less ignorant:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9679423
http://www.crimetimes.org/02b/w02bp1.htm
http://www.bhsi.org/stats.htm
http://enhs.umn.edu/current/6120/bicycle/index.html

Not true. The most common cause of a fatality in a bike crash is a head injury, of which 45-88% are preventable by wearing a helmet.

That's not to say that wearing a helmet makes you invulnerable, rather it dramatically lowers the risk of death. Sounds pretty good to me.

http://www.bhsi.org/stats.htm

One of the reasons, I surmise, that this rent-a-bike concept may not work here in the US is because of local mandatory helmet laws. I don't know about the European laws. However, I can see why in Europe, helmet use is less of a concern---less cars on the street, more pedestrians, more public transportation-friendly, shorter distances needed to travel from point A to point B. But here in the US, with the SUVs sharing the streets, helmets are a must. And to implement a rent-a-bike system would also mean co-implementation of rent-a-helmet program. But that adds the difficulty of renting the right helmet size, and putting on a helmet that a previous (sweaty) biker was using. So how is the use of helmets handled in Europe anyway?

"When more people started wearing bike helmets injuries went up, not down. Why? Because they gave a false sense of invulnerability and safety."

What? Yes, I'm sure that was some of the side effect, however it has been proven that bike helmets do prevent brain injuries. It's not just some corporate scam to make you look stupid on your bike. But, I guess some brains are more important than others.

Check out Bicycle Helmet Safety Institute

Check out the Brian Injury Association