Disclaimer:
***The Hub of Detroit is not a political advocacy organization. Mostly we get kids on bikes, but there are some politics linked to what we do. We want our youth to grow up in a world where they are free to move about their neighborhoods in safety! So with that in mind, these opinion articles aren’t official Hub policy statements, but just thoughts from individual collective members to get conversations going. Enjoy, agree/disagree, start your own blog, ride your bike!***
Thoughts on Bike Helmets
By Jason X
This topic is way less heated for me than what I wrote about last week. However, this title alone has been known to divide cyclists. People will scream and get red in the face over the issue of helmets. For me it isn’t that big of a deal, but it does say something about our society.
Before I get too far, lets start with some basics:
- In Michigan (except for a few local ordinances if you are under 18) there are no laws requiring you to wear a bicycle helmet while riding.
- The Hub does require helmets on rides for our youth for insurance reasons
- I am not going to tell you whether or not to wear a helmet in this article
So how do you decide which helmet to wear or if you should wear one at all? Good question, I’m glad you asked because now I have something to write about. All bike helmets are required under law to live up to certain standards under law. I found a website here that goes over those standards but I didn’t read it all because basically I know this: bike helmets are built for slow crashes. They are not built for racing downhill at 30mph (48 kph) and crashing into a telephone pole. They are not built for getting your head run over by a car. But if you are cruising around town and lose control – bingo, that is what the bike helmet was built for.
So if you are a bicyclist that never rides much faster than 12mph (about 19.2 kph) than helmets are built for your kind of riding. If you are like me and like to cruise around 18-20mph (29.4-32 kph) than a helmet isn’t guaranteed to be effective depending on what happens in the crash. If you race super fast, than hopefully your helmet is held to a higher standard. There are moped/motorcycle crash helmets that are built for high-speed crashes but chances are you don’t want something that heavy on your head when riding a bicycle.
Speaking of not wanting something that heavy on your head, some people just don’t want anything on their head at all or they don’t like the way helmets look. As I mentioned above, no matter what it looks like – all bike helmets are held to the same standard. So whether you wear the helmet with the pointy cone in the back for aerodynamics or the bmx stunt style helmet, they are going to work the same way in a crash.
The fashion issue is an interesting one to me. There are those cyclists that want to be stylish while riding. Many of them tend to wear footwear that isn’t ideal for cycling or ride large cruiser bikes that don’t get much speed. I’m not saying there is anything wrong with this, but when wearing a suit, dress or some nice fancy outfit, you won’t be going very fast and as I mentioned above, helmets are built for the speed these folks would be riding.
Some people are more worried about their hair. Okay, I’ve got nothing to say about that. Hat hair can be no fun, though most bicycle helmets are designed to “breathe”. That is why they have all those air vents in the top.
Really when it comes to your fashion sense you have to decide if safety or fashion are more important. If you don’t think helmets increase your safety, then that question is answered. However, if you do, you have something else to think about. Personally I like to customize my helmets with children’s stickers. My last helmet had awesome dolphins on it and a Planned Parenthood sticker. Alright, so maybe I don’t have fashion sense, but if you do you may be able to customize your helmet better than me.
The above information I’ve given you should be enough for you to decide if you want to wear a helmet or not. It is your choice. Personally, I figure that it can’t hurt to wear one. If I have one (which I do) it does more good on my head than sitting at home.
So why do you often hear people arguing about helmets? (if you haven’t you are lucky and don’t participate in the same online bicycle communities I do) Even if it isn’t an argument people seem confused as to whether or not helmets are required by law. Helmets have become a part of cycling in the United States. Cycling without a helmet has become this “outlaw” activity without there actually being laws regarding the subject.
I think part of it goes back to a fact I mentioned above:
The Hub requires helmets as part of our insurance policy as do many other groups.
Insurance groups as well as the judicial system look at cyclists as guilty until proven innocent. If you were riding without a helmet you were obviously asking for a head injury that costs society to fix. Also, you must not be very responsible and the driver that hit you must be – after all they have a license and you don’t!
In the legal and public safety system there is no license for riding a bike so they use reflectors (which are required by law) and helmets as such. Bicyclists without these things obviously are not responsible and they don’t know what they are doing. I would disagree with this idea.
Another thing I disagree with is the idea that cycling is a chosen risk (unless you are using a bike to do crazy tricks off ramps and stuff). Instead of viewing cycling as a mode of transportation, it is an alternative to the norm that has risk you immediate take on when riding. I think that bicycling is a legitimate and mainstream form of transportation. I also think that ALL vehicular usage comes with risk of injury, but when I drive a car I do not wear a helmet, nor do I have people chastise me for my lack of safety or car for my own health. Try riding your bike without a helmet and see how many people driving metal boxes at break neck speeds tell you that you are putting yourself in danger. Americans do not understand what danger is.
In some European countries it is much different (we always have to compare to Europe don’t we?). Over there, people aren’t “cyclists”; they are just people that ride bikes because it isn’t an alternative but just a normal way of getting around.
Some folks that look at the European model say that the United States scares people out of cycling. I have begun to agree with this idea. When people are flying at you in cars telling you that a piece of Styrofoam on your head is going to protect you from their lack of consideration for your well being – it is hard to not believe that you live in a nightmare where everyone is going to kill you.
I have good news – not everyone is out to kill you. I have had a few cars try to murder me over my years as a cyclist in Michigan. I hope those people die in a car crash which only themselves, a brick wall and hellfire are involved in. However, a vast majority of folks share the road with me everyday.
So don’t let the scare tactics work. Cycling is normal and safe. People die from shoveling snow in the winter and from the flu. You can make anything sound scary. When you are trying to decide whether or not to wear a helmet don’t think of your fear, think of what you really want. Besides those helmets aren’t built to protect you from a car crash anyhow (unless that car and you are both going very slowly).
Me? My parents bought a helmet years ago (because they thought a car was going to hit me – thanks mom and dad!). Since then I’ve had that thing and over the years it has become useless because Styrofoam deteriorates over time (replace your helmets after years of usage okay?). However, I just bought a new one (my discount as an employee at the Hub helped). But I figure, it can’t hurt and trust me, I’ve fallen off my bike without being hit by anything (and it is usually at slower speeds).