PSA: Remember to wear your bicycle helmet

[vivalarevolución]

I wrecked on my bicycle today and my helmet saved me from a potentially serious head injury (the right side of my body, not so much).  I implore you to wear your helmet, you never know when you might crash and slam your noggin onto the pavement.  It doesn't look cool or feel comfortable, but it will save you from a serious head injury.

[tp4tissue]

[jdcarpe]

Serious question...outside of racing or off road riding, why would your head ever come in contact with the ground? If my body ever approached the ground, I think my neck would keep my head from slamming into the ground. I'm not a rider of bikes since I was young, but I never wore a helmet.

FYI, I don't wear a seatbelt in the car, either.

[inanis]

When I was younger I was riding my bike and the front tire hit a hole in the pavement. I went flying over the front of the bike and broke my jaw. It was ****ing terrible. My jaw still cracks funny to this day.

[nubbinator]

Seriously.  I had a helmet save me from ****ing my head up once as well.  I had a tire blow out while coming down a hill, causing me to slam into the ground.  My helmet was indented a good inch at the point of impact and it broke the helmet almost in half. 

[fanpeople]

Serious question...outside of racing or off road riding, why would your head ever come in contact with the ground? If my body ever approached the ground, I think my neck would keep my head from slamming into the ground. I'm not a rider of bikes since I was young, but I never wore a helmet.

FYI, I don't wear a seatbelt in the car, either.

If someone hits with their car whist you are riding your bike, the possibilities and positions are endless.

[romevi]

Serious question...outside of racing or off road riding, why would your head ever come in contact with the ground? If my body ever approached the ground, I think my neck would keep my head from slamming into the ground. I'm not a rider of bikes since I was young, but I never wore a helmet.

FYI, I don't wear a seatbelt in the car, either.

When I was a kid I was approaching my friend's house on my bike. Little me thought I could stop right on a dime in front of his brick house, but I slipped on the brake and my bike hit the wall. I slipped forward, landed on my crotch on the bar and my head hit the wall. I had a helmet, but my groin area wasn't feeling too pretty.
Thankfully no one saw. Or at least I hope so.

[ghostjuggernaut]

Had a motorcycle accident about 10 years ago.  Not sure if the helmet saved my life, but it sure as hell saved my face.  You will never forget what pavement speeding past your face at ~40mph looks like.

[Kompanion]

Had a motorcycle accident about 10 years ago.  Not sure if the helmet saved my life, but it sure as hell saved my face.  You will never forget what pavement speeding past your face at ~40mph looks like.

Definitely always wear a helmet and actual motorcycle gear while riding. I crashed going around a curve at around ~50mph and was only barely scratched because of the full leathers I was wearing. Scary, but I wasn't inured for life.

[hwood34]

Serious question...outside of racing or off road riding, why would your head ever come in contact with the ground? If my body ever approached the ground, I think my neck would keep my head from slamming into the ground. I'm not a rider of bikes since I was young, but I never wore a helmet.

FYI, I don't wear a seatbelt in the car, either.

How is your neck supposed to stop you head from slamming into the ground? If your head is flying straight into the ground, there's only so much twisting you neck can do to pull it away (at least that's what I guess you're getting at?).

Why wouldn't you just wear a helmet or a seatbelt anyway? Just seems like a stubborn thing and both things take seconds to put on.

[vivalarevolución]

Serious question...outside of racing or off road riding, why would your head ever come in contact with the ground? If my body ever approached the ground, I think my neck would keep my head from slamming into the ground. I'm not a rider of bikes since I was young, but I never wore a helmet.

FYI, I don't wear a seatbelt in the car, either.

There are a variety of scenarios that can lead you to slam your head on the pavement and overcome the strength of your neck from preventing your head from hitting the ground.

In this case, I hit the ground with such force and lack of control that I could not stop my head from hitting the ground.  Luckily, my helmet took the impact.

[Leslieann]

Serious question...outside of racing or off road riding, why would your head ever come in contact with the ground? If my body ever approached the ground, I think my neck would keep my head from slamming into the ground. I'm not a rider of bikes since I was young, but I never wore a helmet.

FYI, I don't wear a seatbelt in the car, either.

Ever see bmx/MTB street riding (or bike messengers)? Easily just as dangerous as off-road, and in many cases, more. Even when not doing anything crazy, just hitting a slippery patch or some gravel/sand/oil can send you down before you even know what happened. Your neck is meant to keep your head up vertically, not taking a side load of 10g's or more (which is easily exceeded).

According to at least one study I saw, bicycles are the second most common sports injuries sending people to emergency rooms, this is why many city skateparks ban bikes. Basketball was #1 due to knee injuries.


As for the seatbelt, sorry, but that's just ignorant, the days of being "thrown clear" ended in the 30's. Cars today are safety cages designed to keep you in and everything else out. Unless you drive a Model T, wear a damn seatbelt.

[tp4tissue]

All of this can be avoided, by staying in-doors and using.. The INTERNET.

[digi]

All of this can be avoided, by staying in-doors and using.. The INTERNET.

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LOL

..yea, kids like wtf?...stop going outside please..this is what happens!

Serious question...outside of racing or off road riding, why would your head ever come in contact with the ground? If my body ever approached the ground, I think my neck would keep my head from slamming into the ground. I'm not a rider of bikes since I was young, but I never wore a helmet.

FYI, I don't wear a seatbelt in the car, either.

I almost thought you were serious for a sec, good one! :))

[HoffmanMyster]

Serious question...outside of racing or off road riding, why would your head ever come in contact with the ground? If my body ever approached the ground, I think my neck would keep my head from slamming into the ground. I'm not a rider of bikes since I was young, but I never wore a helmet.

FYI, I don't wear a seatbelt in the car, either.

JD pls

[Findecanor]

When I was 14, two school teachers of mine urged me to race them down an incline. I lost control of the bike at high speed and fell sideways. The helmet broke in the impact. I lost sensation in the left side of my body for a few minutes.
If I had not been level-headed enough to take a detour to my home and fetch my helmet I wouldn't be posting today.

[azhdar]

A seatbelt saved my life during a car accident.
My dad lost one day worth of memory after falling on the head in snowboard. He changed his mind about wearing it ever since.

[fohat.digs]

FYI, I don't wear a seatbelt in the car, either.

One of the things that has always irritated me about watching Star Trek on TV is that there aren't any seat belts on the bridge.

And especially on the Next Generation, where they just lounge around on soft easy chairs.

[tp4tissue]

The root cause of all motorcycle accidental deaths, is riding a motorcycle..


The helmet is really an after thought..



You're jumping in the volcano, and you're thinking, yea, I should probably wear slippers, don't wanna burn my feet..

[appleonama]

All of this can be avoided, by staying in-doors and using.. The INTERNET.

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this and avoid bikes.. I know too many people who have gotten hurt on bikes.

[DvorakDachshund]

FYI, I don't wear a seatbelt in the car, either.

One of the things that has always irritated me about watching Star Trek on TV is that there aren't any seat belts on the bridge.

And especially on the Next Generation, where they just lounge around on soft easy chairs.

Well, given that they're always getting shot at, I agree they need seatbelts. But I think a spacecraft generally wouldn't need them as the chance of colliding with something in space is near zero, yes? And if you did collide with something at warp speed, a seatbelt wouldn't keep you from being atomized by the crash.

I see it akin to wearing a seatbelt in a hot air balloon.

[vivalarevolución]

All of this can be avoided, by staying in-doors and using.. The INTERNET.

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this and avoid bikes.. I know too many people who have gotten hurt on bikes.

But it's fun, I'm getting exercise, and I'm reducing air pollution.  I'm wouldn't have any self-caused bike injuries if I followed all necessary safety precautions.  Now the drivers, I can't do anything about them.

[tp4tissue]

FYI, I don't wear a seatbelt in the car, either.

One of the things that has always irritated me about watching Star Trek on TV is that there aren't any seat belts on the bridge.

And especially on the Next Generation, where they just lounge around on soft easy chairs.

Well, given that they're always getting shot at, I agree they need seatbelts. But I think a spacecraft generally wouldn't need them as the chance of colliding with something in space is near zero, yes? And if you did collide with something at warp speed, a seatbelt wouldn't keep you from being atomized by the crash.

I see it akin to wearing a seatbelt in a hot air balloon.

The ship also has automagic gravity compensators..  So, they don't need seatbelts, because they can just alter the gravity

[Fire Brand]

Serious question...outside of racing or off road riding, why would your head ever come in contact with the ground? If my body ever approached the ground, I think my neck would keep my head from slamming into the ground. I'm not a rider of bikes since I was young, but I never wore a helmet.

FYI, I don't wear a seatbelt in the car, either.

How is your neck supposed to stop you head from slamming into the ground? If your head is flying straight into the ground, there's only so much twisting you neck can do to pull it away (at least that's what I guess you're getting at?).

Why wouldn't you just wear a helmet or a seatbelt anyway? Just seems like a stubborn thing and both things take seconds to put on.

Hwood putting some actual good answers out, I do hope JD is trolling by asking these.

[PriusProblems]

The one and only time that I didn't wear a bicycle helmet (because none of my friends were and I didn't want to look like a dork compared to them), I crashed going about 30MPH, did a full front flip over a tall tree stump, and knocked myself out. I was miraculously unhurt apart from a splitting headache which lasted several days, but the whole event could have gone a lot worse. 

[appleonama]

All of this can be avoided, by staying in-doors and using.. The INTERNET.

Show Image

this and avoid bikes.. I know too many people who have gotten hurt on bikes.

But it's fun, I'm getting exercise, and I'm reducing air pollution.  I'm wouldn't have any self-caused bike injuries if I followed all necessary safety precautions.  Now the drivers, I can't do anything about them.

The people I know who are getting hurt isn't their fault, its usually due to negligence of others. You absolutely cannot trust anyone on the road its too dangerous especially with over half the people texting and driving nowadays. also dont give me that air pollution arguement  :blank:

[1swt2gs]

For those of you that ride.

[DvorakDachshund]

FYI, I don't wear a seatbelt in the car, either.

One of the things that has always irritated me about watching Star Trek on TV is that there aren't any seat belts on the bridge.

And especially on the Next Generation, where they just lounge around on soft easy chairs.

Well, given that they're always getting shot at, I agree they need seatbelts. But I think a spacecraft generally wouldn't need them as the chance of colliding with something in space is near zero, yes? And if you did collide with something at warp speed, a seatbelt wouldn't keep you from being atomized by the crash.

I see it akin to wearing a seatbelt in a hot air balloon.

The ship also has automagic gravity compensators..  So, they don't need seatbelts, because they can just alter the gravity

If so, they don't work very well

[xtrafrood]

Serious question...outside of racing or off road riding, why would your head ever come in contact with the ground? If my body ever approached the ground, I think my neck would keep my head from slamming into the ground. I'm not a rider of bikes since I was young, but I never wore a helmet.

FYI, I don't wear a seatbelt in the car, either.

Road bikes and pot holes don't mix well 

[Joey Quinn]

Yeah, helmets are crucial. Back when I used to ride my TTR125 more often I cased it on to pavement going about 45 (doing something stupid) and hit the ground hard enough to bust the mouth guard on my helmet + bruise my face.

Edit: Also bent the entire frame and even after straightening it's still off by a few degrees from front to back

[Booper]

A helmet saved my life too!

I was horse riding and my horse tripped and rolled over me. Her hoof struck my helmet and knocked me unconscious. I woke up and had a prefect horse hoof hole through my helmet. Would have been my head though! As a side note, my horse was still standing there over me like "WTF!? WAKE UP!!!!" when I came to. haha.


But yea. WEAR A HELMET FOLKS! Even though they look lame.

[HoffmanMyster]

A helmet saved my life too!

I was horse riding and my horse tripped and rolled over me. Her hoof struck my helmet and knocked me unconscious. I woke up and had a prefect horse hoof hole through my helmet. Would have been my head though! As a side note, my horse was still standing there over me like "WTF!? WAKE UP!!!!" when I came to. haha.


But yea. WEAR A HELMET FOLKS! Even though they look lame.

Holy crap!    That's terrifying.

Also, how terrible is it that I read this in a super posh "Yes, I ride horses" voice?  )  I know the proper context but I found it more amusing to read it this way instead. 

[Booper]

Hahahah, more like super country! I was always jealous of the poshy horse girls

[hwood34]

A helmet saved my life too!

I was horse riding and my horse tripped and rolled over me. Her hoof struck my helmet and knocked me unconscious. I woke up and had a prefect horse hoof hole through my helmet. Would have been my head though! As a side note, my horse was still standing there over me like "WTF!? WAKE UP!!!!" when I came to. haha.


But yea. WEAR A HELMET FOLKS! Even though they look lame.

Dude, for real, horses are nothing to **** with. My mom's had plenty of friends that have been seriously injured (one killed) riding horses. She even gave up all her riding when she had kids.

[Booper]

A helmet saved my life too!

I was horse riding and my horse tripped and rolled over me. Her hoof struck my helmet and knocked me unconscious. I woke up and had a prefect horse hoof hole through my helmet. Would have been my head though! As a side note, my horse was still standing there over me like "WTF!? WAKE UP!!!!" when I came to. haha.


But yea. WEAR A HELMET FOLKS! Even though they look lame.

Dude, for real, horses are nothing to **** with. My mom's had plenty of friends that have been seriously injured (one killed) riding horses. She even gave up all her riding when she had kids.

yea, they are just so big that they can do some real damage as just an accident. Even horses that are super sweet and well behaved get spooked and ****. We had a friend about a month ago just fall off her horse and hit her head on a rock. Had to get the park rangers to come up on four wheelers and get her to the hospital. She was NOT wearing a helmet.

I've only ever been around 1 horse that was intentionally mean spirited though and it was absolutely terrifying.

[hwood34]

A helmet saved my life too!

I was horse riding and my horse tripped and rolled over me. Her hoof struck my helmet and knocked me unconscious. I woke up and had a prefect horse hoof hole through my helmet. Would have been my head though! As a side note, my horse was still standing there over me like "WTF!? WAKE UP!!!!" when I came to. haha.


But yea. WEAR A HELMET FOLKS! Even though they look lame.

Dude, for real, horses are nothing to **** with. My mom's had plenty of friends that have been seriously injured (one killed) riding horses. She even gave up all her riding when she had kids.

yea, they are just so big that they can do some real damage as just an accident. Even horses that are super sweet and well behaved get spooked and ****. We had a friend about a month ago just fall off her horse and hit her head on a rock. Had to get the park rangers to come up on four wheelers and get her to the hospital. She was NOT wearing a helmet.

I've only ever been around 1 horse that was intentionally mean spirited though and it was absolutely terrifying.

Honestly I grew up around horses and they were all nice as can be, but not exactly the smartest animal and one that can really **** you up.

I still always got scared as **** getting above a trot....

[HoffmanMyster]

Hahahah, more like super country! I was always jealous of the poshy horse girls

Haha, I know.    That made it an even more amusing image in my mind.  )

[widdlekitty]

Slide across 15 feet of pavement one. Had some pretty gnarly road rash on my arm. Would have had quite a bit on my face too if I werent wearing my helmet!

[xtrafrood]

A helmet saved my life too!

I was horse riding and my horse tripped and rolled over me. Her hoof struck my helmet and knocked me unconscious. I woke up and had a prefect horse hoof hole through my helmet. Would have been my head though! As a side note, my horse was still standing there over me like "WTF!? WAKE UP!!!!" when I came to. haha.


But yea. WEAR A HELMET FOLKS! Even though they look lame.

Dude, for real, horses are nothing to **** with. My mom's had plenty of friends that have been seriously injured (one killed) riding horses. She even gave up all her riding when she had kids.

yea, they are just so big that they can do some real damage as just an accident. Even horses that are super sweet and well behaved get spooked and ****. We had a friend about a month ago just fall off her horse and hit her head on a rock. Had to get the park rangers to come up on four wheelers and get her to the hospital. She was NOT wearing a helmet.

I've only ever been around 1 horse that was intentionally mean spirited though and it was absolutely terrifying.

Honestly I grew up around horses and they were all nice as can be, but not exactly the smartest animal and one that can really **** you up.

I still always got scared as **** getting above a trot....

I can do some country stuff like fishing or whatever but when it comes to horses I'm usually too afraid to pet them. Ride them? No way.

[hwood34]

A helmet saved my life too!

I was horse riding and my horse tripped and rolled over me. Her hoof struck my helmet and knocked me unconscious. I woke up and had a prefect horse hoof hole through my helmet. Would have been my head though! As a side note, my horse was still standing there over me like "WTF!? WAKE UP!!!!" when I came to. haha.


But yea. WEAR A HELMET FOLKS! Even though they look lame.

Dude, for real, horses are nothing to **** with. My mom's had plenty of friends that have been seriously injured (one killed) riding horses. She even gave up all her riding when she had kids.

yea, they are just so big that they can do some real damage as just an accident. Even horses that are super sweet and well behaved get spooked and ****. We had a friend about a month ago just fall off her horse and hit her head on a rock. Had to get the park rangers to come up on four wheelers and get her to the hospital. She was NOT wearing a helmet.

I've only ever been around 1 horse that was intentionally mean spirited though and it was absolutely terrifying.

Honestly I grew up around horses and they were all nice as can be, but not exactly the smartest animal and one that can really **** you up.

I still always got scared as **** getting above a trot....

I can do some country stuff like fishing or whatever but when it comes to horses I'm usually too afraid to pet them. Ride them? No way.

Yea, I don't know what it is about riding them ). I can't imagine doing cross country and **** like my mom did.

[Booper]

A helmet saved my life too!

I was horse riding and my horse tripped and rolled over me. Her hoof struck my helmet and knocked me unconscious. I woke up and had a prefect horse hoof hole through my helmet. Would have been my head though! As a side note, my horse was still standing there over me like "WTF!? WAKE UP!!!!" when I came to. haha.


But yea. WEAR A HELMET FOLKS! Even though they look lame.

Dude, for real, horses are nothing to **** with. My mom's had plenty of friends that have been seriously injured (one killed) riding horses. She even gave up all her riding when she had kids.

yea, they are just so big that they can do some real damage as just an accident. Even horses that are super sweet and well behaved get spooked and ****. We had a friend about a month ago just fall off her horse and hit her head on a rock. Had to get the park rangers to come up on four wheelers and get her to the hospital. She was NOT wearing a helmet.

I've only ever been around 1 horse that was intentionally mean spirited though and it was absolutely terrifying.

Honestly I grew up around horses and they were all nice as can be, but not exactly the smartest animal and one that can really **** you up.

I still always got scared as **** getting above a trot....

I can do some country stuff like fishing or whatever but when it comes to horses I'm usually too afraid to pet them. Ride them? No way.

Yea, I don't know what it is about riding them ). I can't imagine doing cross country and **** like my mom did.

haha, idk. I've often thought about why people (like my mom) are so into it. I think there is something cool/zen about being in nature on an animal and I do really enjoy it. But to be fair, my moms thing is training them to be sweet/like dogs so her horses are all pretty chill. That doesn't mean you wont fall off/get stepped on/get accidentally kicked though.  They are LARGE animals.

[demik]

i almost got hit with a ****ing audi because the chick was texting.

i had my helmet on.. but i threw my gatorade bottle at her OuO

[katushkin]

When I did first aid training at my current job, there was a trainer from the St Johns ambulance there (civilian first aiders, sometimes they are used to support the ambulance services at peak times and whatever) and he said he never wears a seatbelt when he drives on the motorway.

He said some bull**** about "seeing what happens when you are left in your car after a high speed crash" and he would "rather die" than suffer life changing injuries.

It's ****ing stupid if you ask me.

[vivalarevolución]

i almost got hit with a ****ing audi because the chick was texting.

i had my helmet on.. but i threw my gatorade bottle at her OuO

I would be spending a lot of money on water bottles if I did this.

Oddly enough, all my bicycle injuries over the years are self caused.  Never been hit by a car.  Yet.

[tp4tissue]

A helmet saved my life too!

I was horse riding and my horse tripped and rolled over me. Her hoof struck my helmet and knocked me unconscious. I woke up and had a prefect horse hoof hole through my helmet. Would have been my head though! As a side note, my horse was still standing there over me like "WTF!? WAKE UP!!!!" when I came to. haha.


But yea. WEAR A HELMET FOLKS! Even though they look lame.

Holy crap!    That's terrifying.

Also, how terrible is it that I read this in a super posh "Yes, I ride horses" voice?  )  I know the proper context but I found it more amusing to read it this way instead. 

I will never understand the fascination of large animals, they smell so terribad...

[JaccoW]

If you have proper infrastructure chances of crashing are almost nonexistent.
I ride an upright city bike (Dutch bike) and the only times I fall down are in winter on black ice. But even then I have never hit the ground with my head.
Unless the foam in your helmet is compressed or wouldn't have made a difference.

That being said though,
Of you ride a road (racing) bike at speed or a mountain bike on twisty off-road paths the do wear a helmet please. Those are conditions where there is little you can do whenever you fall down.

[oledome]

Serious question...outside of racing or off road riding, why would your head ever come in contact with the ground? If my body ever approached the ground, I think my neck would keep my head from slamming into the ground. I'm not a rider of bikes since I was young, but I never wore a helmet.

FYI, I don't wear a seatbelt in the car, either.

Your head is heavy and large, more likely to take an impact than your neck. As for the seatbelt you'll be fine as long as you don't crash or get crashed into, if you do though, use the neck to save the head.

[27]

With multiple (7) concussions, I can attest to the fact that helmets are essential.  My life is much harder than before I suffered my 6th and 7th injuries two years ago.  Don't turn you brain into mush like mine, wear a helmet.



I should mention that I was wearing a helmet in all of mine and would likely not even be here if not for that.

[tp4tissue]

With multiple (7) concussions, I can attest to the fact that helmets are essential.  My life is much harder than before I suffered my 6th and 7th injuries two years ago.  Don't turn you brain into mush like mine, wear a helmet.



I should mention that I was wearing a helmet in all of mine and would likely not even be here if not for that.

what caused all these concussions ?

[iri]

Serious question...outside of racing or off road riding, why would your head ever come in contact with the ground? If my body ever approached the ground, I think my neck would keep my head from slamming into the ground. I'm not a rider of bikes since I was young, but I never wore a helmet.

FYI, I don't wear a seatbelt in the car, either.

JD pls

HE. IS. NOT. SERIOUS.