Sunday, June 1, 2014



Sunday, June 1, 2014
Spencer Knowles

Should I or Should I Not Wear a Helmet While Bicycling?

By: Jenn K.

I Ask Myself That Question as We Begin Mountain Biking

 

By 4 All Outdoors

 

Rating:              ***

 

 

Bike helmets are not the most fashionable item, but I can’t imagine why any cyclist would not protect their brain from injury since your brain controls every function and organ of your body.  Your brain is far too valuable to risk.

 

This article points out several reasons why some cyclists choose not to wear a helmet.  These range from that fact that they can be hot, mess up your hair or people think they simply won’t get hurt or that they are not riding fast enough or going down a hill.  All of these reasons are just excuses.  With proper ventilation, your bike helmet does not have to be hot and there are even “pony tail-friendly” helmets.  You wouldn’t go parachuting without a parachute!  The reality is that you don’t have to be travelling fast or going down a hill to fall off your bike and hit your head.  Accidents happen.  This article was written by a woman who has spent many years working at a hospital and she tells us that all of the head injuries she saw caused by falling off a bike, none of the cyclists were wearing a helmet. The article does point out, however, that wearing a helmet is not a guarantee of not suffering a head injury, but chances are you will not be as seriously injured. 

 

This article refers to several statistics to emphasize the need for a helmet.  Non-helmeted riders are 14 times more likely to be involved in a fatal crash than those wearing a helmet and that head injuries are the most common cause of bicycle-related deaths.  Wearing a helmet can reduce your risk of death from a head injury by 45 to 88 percent.

 

This article also shares a sad and shocking conversation between the author and a male cyclist who suffered a bad head injury as a result of a bike crash.  This conversation tells what happened the day of the accident, the trauma at the hospital and the many months of rehabilitation.  We learn that when the accident occurred, he was on a flat road and was not travelling fast, but he got caught on a curb and hit a pole with his head.  He was in the hospital for three weeks and is still in rehabilitation.  He still cannot work, drive, hear out of one ear and has numbness in his hand. 

 

This article has convinced me to wear a helmet while riding my bike.

 

 

 

Citation:


published by 4 All Outloors www.4alloutdoors.org. Copyright 2014

By Jenn K.
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