I know this is a touchy issue with some people, so I will try not to preach. These are not necessarily in order of importance.
1. Sponsored rides probably require helmets as a liability issue. IF you crash, a helmet will provide some protection against a certain type, but often quite serious injury. Asking riders to protect themselves also protects the ride organizer. 2. I wish organized rides did more to teach people how to PREVENT a crash in the first place, but that's a bit of a different subject. It also takes more time, and would probably means that many people wouldn't even end up on the ride. 3. As mentioned above, helmets don't prevent crashes. However they do mitigate the consequences of a crash, if you hit your head. In a similar way, seat belts don't prevent car crashes, but they do mitigate the consequences. We require seat belt use in Wisconsin because of the devastating toll that car crashes have on the general public: people permanently disabled and supported by the public, health costs, etc. I am NOT suggesting a mandatory helmet law, simply pointing out that there are other "choices" that we enforce either legally or via peer pressure. 4. I want my friends to wear helmets because I care about them, and it gives me some piece of mind that if they fall or crash, they are less likely to be hurt. Don't want to wear a helmet. That's OK, but I'm not going to ride with you, because I don't want that concern on my mind during the ride. 5. I teach bicycle safety classes. I teach people how to PREVENT and AVOID crashes. However, I require my students to wear helmets when in my class. Liability issues again. 6. I have personally destroyed a helmet on a very boring, slow, urban commute. The fall was totally my fault. However, I can pretty much guarantee that I would have ended up in an ambulance had I not been wearing a helmet. My head bounced on the pavement. All I ended up with was a sore torso from the jolt of falling. I ALWAYS wear my helmet, no matter what. 7. Finally, a pet peeve: parents who require their kids to wear helmets, but then don't wear one themselves. What sort of message does this give your kids? I have kids in my neighborhood. My neighbors know "Robbie goes everywhere by bike." I would like to think I am demonstrating an example of healthy, environmentally-friendly transportation choice. I want the kids to see that big boys and girls wear helmets too. (My neighbors are very good examples to their kids, I rarely see them without helmets when riding.) Robbie Webber Bike Walk Madison Steering Committee www.bikewalkmadison.org Join our group on Facebook!
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