Shit, you’re right, actually. My doctor growing up telling me that a helmet protects my brain, spine, and face from lifelong, debilitating injury that he’s seen all too many times was probably a stupid idiot who thinks people fall off bikes sometimes even when they think they won’t. What a drip!
Falling off a bike at speed is a lot more dangerous than doing so while walking though. Even if you believe wearing a helmet while biking is overkill, I don’t think comparing it to walking really makes that point.
If you’re road cycling at speed, it would make sense to wear a helmet. But if you’re biking to work at a reasonable speed, it is not much different from walking. Which is why it is normal to dress for the destination in countries where people are less worried about being hit by a car. It is never wrong to wear a helmet.
Kinetic energy increases with the square of velocity. 3 mph is a normal walking speed while 12-15 mph is a reasonable cycling speed, and 30 mph is easy to achieve on a downhill. The energy difference is not “not much”.
You literally wrote “if you’re biking to work at a reasonable speed, it is not much different from walking.” The point is that you’re wrong about that, it is very different in terms of the energy involved, which generally determines how severe an accident is. Your argument that “you shouldn’t be forced to [wear a helmet]” is a different argument entirely.
"It is not much different " the evaluation of that sentence relies on context. There is a lot that is different. The part that isn’t different is the risk of head injuries for adult riders who know how to ride a bike.
The type of comment i replied to originally (e.g., helmets are important even on flat bike paths with no cars) is unfortunately the exact kind of language employed by people who want to make helmet use mandatory, whether they want to also suppress bicycle use, or are simply misguided.
I can’t remember the last time i fell off on my commute to work.
The only time I’ve hit my head while biking was on my way home from running an errand (so not exactly commuting, but still utility cycling). I was riding past a construction site and, being an engineer, was distracted looking at the structure when my wheels caught the edge of a metal plate covering a hole in the road. I keep my broken helmet as a sort of memento mori, because it definitely would’ve been bad if I hadn’t been wearing one.
On an individual basis, IMO it’s always safer to wear a helmet than not. On a societal basis, helmets for biking should not be required because it’s better to have more people biking than to choose to drive instead.
There’s a road on my regular ride that has a grate embedded in it at the wrong orientation so that a road bike’s tires would get caught in it. I saw it for the first time about ten feet in front of me going 30 mph (it’s at the bottom of a steep hill). That’s when I learned you can actually jump in a bike. I’ve been regularly complaining about this thing to the township for the 15 years since, to naturally no effect.
I once crashed into a missing section of sidewalk going downhill pretty fast… one of the many reasons i try not to bike on the sidewalk any more, or go that fast. Even if the street with cars is not much better. And before anyone asks, yes i was wearing a helmet.
I can’t remember the last time i fell off on my commute to work
That’s called a traumatic brain injury sweetie.
On a serious note, it really happened to a friend. He went from riding his electric scooter home on a Friday night to being in the ER with a concussion, collapsed lung and 8 broken ribs in a blink of an eye. We suspect a hit and run but no witnesses and no memories of it. He was wearing a helmet.
He might have just hit something in the road. I bicycled a lot when I lived in Florida and they used to have these turn lane dividers that were basically upside-down metal bowls that were bolted to the asphalt – no big deal for cars but enough to send a cyclist to the ground if he doesn’t see them, like I didn’t one night.
Right – the danger is from cars. Wearing ahelmet is a rarional response to the danger. Although scooters are a lot easier to fall off than bikes since speed/momentum does not keep them upright.
Completely rational to wear a helmet when there is a higher risk of falling, or just because you want to! But you’re not “a fucking idiot” if you don’t wear one when the risk is low. That kind of moralizing does more harm than good.
Insane take. Heard this quote from a German new to the US: are all these adults wearing helmets because they’re afraid they’ll fall off?
I wear a helmet when I’m mountain biking because there there is a risk I’ll fall off.
I can’t remember the last time i fell off on my commute to work.
Shit, you’re right, actually. My doctor growing up telling me that a helmet protects my brain, spine, and face from lifelong, debilitating injury that he’s seen all too many times was probably a stupid idiot who thinks people fall off bikes sometimes even when they think they won’t. What a drip!
Exactly. Wearing a helmet also protects you while walking, but it is not a cultural norm to do that.
Falling off a bike at speed is a lot more dangerous than doing so while walking though. Even if you believe wearing a helmet while biking is overkill, I don’t think comparing it to walking really makes that point.
If you’re road cycling at speed, it would make sense to wear a helmet. But if you’re biking to work at a reasonable speed, it is not much different from walking. Which is why it is normal to dress for the destination in countries where people are less worried about being hit by a car. It is never wrong to wear a helmet.
Kinetic energy increases with the square of velocity. 3 mph is a normal walking speed while 12-15 mph is a reasonable cycling speed, and 30 mph is easy to achieve on a downhill. The energy difference is not “not much”.
Not sure what the point is here. You can wear a helmet if you want. But you shouldn’t be forced to.
You literally wrote “if you’re biking to work at a reasonable speed, it is not much different from walking.” The point is that you’re wrong about that, it is very different in terms of the energy involved, which generally determines how severe an accident is. Your argument that “you shouldn’t be forced to [wear a helmet]” is a different argument entirely.
"It is not much different " the evaluation of that sentence relies on context. There is a lot that is different. The part that isn’t different is the risk of head injuries for adult riders who know how to ride a bike.
The type of comment i replied to originally (e.g., helmets are important even on flat bike paths with no cars) is unfortunately the exact kind of language employed by people who want to make helmet use mandatory, whether they want to also suppress bicycle use, or are simply misguided.
Here is some context: https://usa.streetsblog.org/2025/05/16/friday-video-a-deep-dive-on-the-endless-debate-over-bike-helmets
https://www.bikeradar.com/features/lifting-the-lid-on-the-helmet-debate
The only time I’ve hit my head while biking was on my way home from running an errand (so not exactly commuting, but still utility cycling). I was riding past a construction site and, being an engineer, was distracted looking at the structure when my wheels caught the edge of a metal plate covering a hole in the road. I keep my broken helmet as a sort of memento mori, because it definitely would’ve been bad if I hadn’t been wearing one.
On an individual basis, IMO it’s always safer to wear a helmet than not. On a societal basis, helmets for biking should not be required because it’s better to have more people biking than to choose to drive instead.
There’s a road on my regular ride that has a grate embedded in it at the wrong orientation so that a road bike’s tires would get caught in it. I saw it for the first time about ten feet in front of me going 30 mph (it’s at the bottom of a steep hill). That’s when I learned you can actually jump in a bike. I’ve been regularly complaining about this thing to the township for the 15 years since, to naturally no effect.
I once crashed into a missing section of sidewalk going downhill pretty fast… one of the many reasons i try not to bike on the sidewalk any more, or go that fast. Even if the street with cars is not much better. And before anyone asks, yes i was wearing a helmet.
I completely agree. When people try to make the point that it is immoral not to wear a helmet, that’s what makes my blood boil.
Decent argument to be made that setting a good example for children is more important than absolute personal freedom.
I’ve been thinking about this a lot. There are a lot of things that are not allowed for children and are allowed for adults, and this is one of them.
That’s called a traumatic brain injury sweetie.
On a serious note, it really happened to a friend. He went from riding his electric scooter home on a Friday night to being in the ER with a concussion, collapsed lung and 8 broken ribs in a blink of an eye. We suspect a hit and run but no witnesses and no memories of it. He was wearing a helmet.
He might have just hit something in the road. I bicycled a lot when I lived in Florida and they used to have these turn lane dividers that were basically upside-down metal bowls that were bolted to the asphalt – no big deal for cars but enough to send a cyclist to the ground if he doesn’t see them, like I didn’t one night.
Right – the danger is from cars. Wearing ahelmet is a rarional response to the danger. Although scooters are a lot easier to fall off than bikes since speed/momentum does not keep them upright.
Strange thing citing a German. As a rule of thumb at least 2/3 of adults in Germany wear helmets, and all kids under 12 .
not everyone lives in a magical land without sleet and hail
Completely rational to wear a helmet when there is a higher risk of falling, or just because you want to! But you’re not “a fucking idiot” if you don’t wear one when the risk is low. That kind of moralizing does more harm than good.
I wear a helmet during my commute because after I’m hit by a car and launched from the hood, my head may hit the pavement and split open.
Right – the danger is from cars. Wearing a helmet is rational around cars.
Fuck cars