Un-ban The Helmet Rule.

[dolophonic]

How do you feel about gloves ? Are they unnecessary also? they are expensive.

 

[saunaking]

Only those as gifted such as Mario Cipollini should be able to go sans helmet

 

[craig1985]

I don't see much point in them for mountain time trials In Australia it's mandatory, so it doesn't bother me too much when climbing up mountains.

 

[KuotaRocket]

hard to make heads or tales of what your attempting to write are you drunk or recently have a helmet free fall? sorry too easy nice grammar but seriously what are you talking about? as for your personal safety i hope you have complete health insurance to pay for your vegetative state if need be as i dont want to. negligent/stupid people are a drain on society what is the purpose of this thread literally your saying helmets are a problem get with the times old man.

I can't believe people are really having this *(&(^(&^ discussion..
My cassette snapped, under load , at 28mph, when standing up to sprint, tossed me on my head, broke 6 ribs, clavicle into 4 pieces, type 3 concusssion, and the helmet saved my life.... yes, get a f------g helmet and ride.... I agree with y'all, only the stupid people complain about them... let's set an example... a good one... ride one... I'm out...

 

[xFrankyBx]

I'm sure the price change would have been inevitable. Simply because as the materials get better obviously they will get more expensive. I won't sit here and say that the prices don't bother me its crazy that a helment can cost up to $200 but it is there obviously to protect the racers and also rec cyclist who want to be just like the pros.

Last time I checked cycling was a pretty much upper class hobby.So I'm sure cyclist have some cash to flash around.

 

[VeloFidelis]

Forget about helmets! What about those damed chamois pads in cycling shorts? Just think how much less shorts would cost without them. Real men don't need pads in their shorts. They should be banned!

As far as helmets go; only heads worth protecting need those things.

Chamois pads! That's where we need to make a stand!

 

[ingsve]

......it has taken the personal connection outa racing when watching. If grown men and woman want to race on 'closed roads' without wearing it then they should be allowed to. When the ban came into effect for all levels of racing the price of helmets tripled!! Anyone else notice that?????? I was happy with a moderate helmet law i.e sprint stages etc. But mountain top finishes when they're riding 13-14mph. Come on !!!

Why do you want Fränk Schleck and Mauricio Soler dead?

 

[on3m@n@rmy]

What was your price you paid? I don't know if you was into cycling pre-Nike ( outa respect I refuse to say pre-Lance cause I give the man credit for what he's done.....) I've witness the change in pricing and its shocking. This isn't a USA based thing it's happened in Britain and Europe also. Nike !!!!

IDK and don't care the price. I'm still puttin my helmet on. Besides, I buy a new one about every 5 to 10 years. $20/year is cheap insurance. I'll spend more than that on tyres.

 

[craig1985]

IDK and don't care the price. I'm still puttin my helmet on. Besides, I buy a new one about every 5 to 10 years. $20/year is cheap insurance. I'll spend more than that on tyres.

And the grand total of 38 cents a week.

 

[Michielveedeebee]

I say get rid of the rule. The riders look ridiculous on mountain top finishes. Helmets are not effective at high speed and most pros don't wear helmets while training, so the rule is effectively just for show. Helmets are so cheap to manufacture that the riders should toss them to the side of the road like bidons at the start of climbs.

yes indeed, they don't wear them while training. Kurt Hovelynck for example was taken out of contention and almost lost his life. And still, 2 months after the accident of his teammate that's still in the hospital(they'd taken of a part of his skull if I remember it well) I meet Stijn Devolder whilst training. He was riding without a helmet. I don't understand this. A friend of my mom's died because of lack of a helmet and she was driving 15 kmh.

 

[53 x 11]

I crashed my bike while wearing a helmet.

Obviously it saved my life.

Simple arguments for simple people.

20% reduction in driver fatalities if they have mandatory helmets.
Why is this not law?

 

[Spare Tyre]

IDK and don't care the price. I'm still puttin my helmet on. Besides, I buy a new one about every 5 to 10 years. $20/year is cheap insurance. I'll spend more than that on tyres.

I think you're supposed to replace them every 3 years or so.

 

[ericthesportsman6]

Didn't read the previous pages, but it doesn't matter. This argument is simple, helmets are important, and there not going anywhere. It's about safety, not price. Then again, unlike many of the posters, I primarily do downhill mountain biking, so an expensive helmet is worth it for the protection.

 

[brianf7]

Has anyone ever been laying in Hospital with fractured skull with 20+ stiches in your head . Teeth knocked down your throat

Just laying there while the lovley nurse picks the stiches out while also picking out the bits of broken glass that are still in the wound.

No if a helmet saves this just ounce then its paid for its self a good investment.
You can stick your head in the back window of a parked car and avoid this with a helmet on
But better to look up now and again to be sure the bread van isnt parcked in the bike lane or else end up eating all the fresh cream cakes.

No laws state we have to have a new top fashion helmet any will do as long as its passed a safety standards test

 

[oncehadhair]

What I decide to do with my persnal safety is my choice...

So we pay, through taxes and insurance, for your ignorance, when you choose not to wear a helment, crash and suffer head injuries.

When I was a kid, one of my neighbours died when she fell off her bike and hit her head (years before helmets) - and she was hardly doing walking speed.

You need to think of others apart from yourself.

 

[davidg]

One of Australia's best cricketers got punched, knocked out, but it was the impact of his head on the ground that killed him. The dude was standing still before the punch, so if you crash at whatever speed, anything is possible.

What a ridiculous argument. So to follow to its conclusion, helmets should be mandatory when you go out drinking? FFS

 

[Buffalo Soldier]

It's a good and necessary rule. Please leave it like that.

 

[simo1733]

It makes sense

I much prefer to ride without a helmet, but having destroyed 1 helmet in a crash, I now always wear one. When I first joined a club, all the cool guys trained without helmets. These days if see anyone without a helmet , it is usually one of the old gits

 

[The Hitch]

Ask a kid in Africa if he can afford a helmet. Why do you think there is little black pros from that continent??? I know for a fact that the UCI made laws regarding the expense of cycling because kids from Africa etc can't afford to even get into our sport. I understand cycling is number 2 sport in some African countries like Ethiopia etc..... I'm from Ireland but live in the USA. I remember cycling clothes pre Lance cost $20. Mostly made by Giordandra. Then Nike hit the market bought into leTour and the apparel is now $80-$100 dollars for same thing.

If children in Africa can afford kids bikes (not very fast) but cant afford the helmets then fair enough.

But otherwise, generaly anyone who can afford a bicycle can afford a helmet. Its not that big a price to pay for potentialy saving your life.


Oh and i remember someone during the tds thread made the point that in the cav haussler monster crash one of the riders fell on his head, proving how important helmets are. Anyone remember specifics?

 

[53 x 11]

So we pay, through taxes and insurance, for your ignorance, when you choose not to wear a helment, crash and suffer head injuries.

When I was a kid, one of my neighbours died when she fell off her bike and hit her head (years before helmets) - and she was hardly doing walking speed.

You need to think of others apart from yourself.

As do you. So much worry about YOUR taxes.

Your taxes and insurance subsidize dangerous driving, much of which is legal, smoking, eating rubbish, sedentary lifestyles, stress, ect, ect. All of which are proportionally much bigger killers than helmets or lack of them.

You want YOUR taxes to ban all these things? (not a bad idea imo).

Or would you rather have intelligent, well educated people who can make effective decisions about their own safety while on the road in any form of transport?

I wear a helmet, its required by law and in racing its probably better than nothing. However helmets will never be a replacement for intelligent decision making and acceptable cycling infrastructure all of which has a far bigger impact on cyclist safety than a bit of foam.

Arguments such as "I had a crash and was wearing a helmet, now I'm ok" verge on the ridiculous.

 

[twothirds]

As do you. So much worry about YOUR taxes.

Your taxes and insurance subsidize dangerous driving, much of which is legal, smoking, eating rubbish, sedentary lifestyles, stress, ect, ect. All of which are proportionally much bigger killers than helmets or lack of them.

You want YOUR taxes to ban all these things? (not a bad idea imo).

Or would you rather have intelligent, well educated people who can make effective decisions about their own safety while on the road in any form of transport?

I wear a helmet, its required by law and in racing its probably better than nothing. However helmets will never be a replacement for intelligent decision making and acceptable cycling infrastructure all of which has a far bigger impact on cyclist safety than a bit of foam.

Arguments such as "I had a crash and was wearing a helmet, now I'm ok" verge on the ridiculous.

Fair is fair. Then by your example, if you choose to make the intelligent, and well educated decision to ride without a helmet, then said person should have an advance directive stating that no medicare should be paid out in the event of a head injury sustained while cycling. Basically we should all sign a waiver stating that if we choose to partake in an activity, and choose not to exercise the minimum accepted safety standards for said activity, then we lose the right to recoup any reparations needed to rehabilitate ourselves from any unforseen happenstance that may take place.

Edit: I still think this was started as a troll thread, but posters other than the OP have brought up some good points to debate.

 

[Pantani_lives]

I miss the good old-fashioned bandana...

 

[Derrick]

What's all this about the price of helmets. In the U.K. it's perfectly possible to buy a helmet which meets all the statutory requirements for £24. What's that in dollars, 37-40. If you want to spend 200 dollars on a helmet that's entirely up to you but by no means needed.

 

[53 x 11]

Fair is fair. Then by your example, if you choose to make the intelligent, and well educated decision to ride without a helmet, then said person should have an advance directive stating that no medicare should be paid out in the event of a head injury sustained while cycling. Basically we should all sign a waiver stating that if we choose to partake in an activity, and choose not to exercise the minimum accepted safety standards for said activity, then we lose the right to recoup any reparations needed to rehabilitate ourselves from any unforseen happenstance that may take place.

Edit: I still think this was started as a troll thread, but posters other than the OP have brought up some good points to debate.

So lets take the opposite argument to its logical extreme.

Helmets on cyclists save lives
therefore they are mandatory.

Helmets, five point safety restraints and limiting maximum speed to 90kms per hour will save countless vehicle operators lives.
therefore it should be mandatory.

HOWEVER. This is not the case, simply because a amount of death and injury on the roads is regarded as unavoidable so as to maintain a standard of comfort and convenience for users and a degree of freedom for manufacturers.

Mandatory helmet laws are a excuse of governments to take the focus from real road safety and efforts to get people out of cars and onto bikes.

The only thing that makes cycling safer is more cyclists and right now compulsory helmets are not encouraging this.

 

[Jacques Tati]

I much prefer to ride without a helmet, but having destroyed 1 helmet in a crash, I now always wear one. When I first joined a club, all the cool guys trained without helmets. These days if see anyone without a helmet , it is usually one of the old gits

I've never worn a helmet and sadly was one of those old gits....until last sunday morning when I was out riding on my own. i came round a corner to the bottom of a short descent where I found a guy lying in the road. He apparently hit a squirrel when descending the hill causing him to fall heavily, he had serious head injuries, he to like me was an old git without a helmet, despite the vain attempts by all and the emergency services the guy, the same age as me died at the road side. Monday morning I spent £100 on a helmet, fortunately I got the opportunity...I realise how stupid I've been for the last 25years.