On Nov 2, 2006, at 10:49 AM, Bob W wrote: > The best protection for cyclists is to learn how to cycle properly > in traffic.
That helps, but you need to bear in mind that drivers have blind spots, are often inattentive (especially while in a hurry), and in some cases, as much as I hate to say it, they can be downright inconsiderate. Just as cyclists sometimes are. I haven't been bowled by a car for quite a while despite some close calls, but the most recent time was when I was hit from the side by a guy pulling out of a driveway. He was running late and his token glance for traffic missed the only thing on that stretch of road. Sometimes shit just happens, and by then it's too late to wonder whether you're going to hit the concrete hard enough to matter. In then end, a helmet won't always save someone's life: the reality is that in a crash there is a certain amount of impact force applied to the head. The helmet can absorb a certain amount, and spreads the rest across that side of the skull. With a big enough impact nothing will save you, and you can easily be killed by other injuries anyway. IMO the helmet gives me worthwhile protection of the one thing that won't heal, without getting in my way while riding. As you mentioned, prevention by careful riding is the best cure but my experience is that this can only reduce the danger - not eliminate it. Riding offroad is an entirely different kettle of fish as the terrain is much more "interesting", and because I ride that stuff for fun, fitness and challenge, crashing is much more likely and in many places there are pointy rocks to land on. The dynamics of any crash are far too variable to be able to make predictions of the outcome, and personally I'd rather have the helmet than not have it because I'm slightly on the paranoid side. If someone wants to take their chances without a helmet that's fine by me, but I'll still mutter a few opinionated words to myself :) - Dave -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List [email protected] http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
