Thursday, May 14, 2009

A cautionary tale

Need some, um, persuading as to the efficacy of bicyclists' wearing helmets and obeying traffic laws? Here you go.

3 comments:

The Jolly Crank said...

What killed that cyclist was not want of a helmet, it was dangerous riding.
Bicycle helmets are not designed to protect your melon if you collide with a van and are thrown. A motorcycle helmet MIGHT have made a difference--but no one is advocating that. That said, it is cheap insurance/assurance, however flimsy, to wear a helmet (and I often do). What will save my bacon, though, is riding in a predictable, visible manner and obeying traffic laws.
I've practiced that for over a quarter century of riding a bike in traffic without an incident.

coppercorn said...

That link, while a horrible story that made me shudder, is not a pro-helmet argument since from the way the crash was described the cyclist would have been killed even with a helmet. It is a pro-obey traffic rules argument.

IOW, I completely agree with the commenter above.

John B. said...

Well, yes to both of you: hence the "and obeying traffic laws" part of the intro. to the link. I agree that what's far more likely to keep cyclists alive are simple prudence and alertness.