Photo of the Day: July 7, 2009

Flip camera and duct tape. That is all you need.

Actually, ALL the evidence that supports helmet use adds up to if you hit a melon with a 2x4 in a lab without a helmet that melon will crack, and then hit another melon wearing a helmet, there is an 85% chance the melon will not crack. There is no evidence that helmets have significantly reduced bicycle related injuries in the field, and mounting evidence that helmet use might lead to a marginal increase in bicycle related head injuries.

Another fun fact. There are 2.5 fatalities for every million miles ridden on a bicycle, with or without helmets. There are also 2.5 fatalities for every million miles walked by pedestrians. What kind of helmet do you wear when you you walk to work? Is there such a thing as an isolated set of circumstances that could potentially lead to a big piece of styrofoam strapped around your head having a safety benefit or even saving your life? Of course there is. But in the field, will it increase your safety by 1%? How about .01%, or .001%? Add another zero and we might be there, IF helmets don't increase the liklihood of head trauma in the event of an accident, and the science is saying that they might.

Truth of the matter is it really doesn't really make much of a difference either way. The most important thing about helmet requirements is that it makes everybody APPEAR as though they are doing everything they can to increase safety. They seem to be a good idea, and that's good enough for any organization trying to do everything they can to avoid being sued. "Timmy got smashed by an asteroid on our Century Ride for Testicular Cancer? Oh well, we made him wear a helmet. I guess you can't sue us." THAT is what they are for. If you feel safer wearing one, then you should wear one, but your money might be better spent on a vehicular cycling course instead, or a bell, or a rear view mirror or an obnoxiously bright shirt. All of those things will actually make you safer by a measurable degree, unlike the helmet. Get the bell, the bright shirt, the rear view mirror, take the course, and if you have any money left and you want to do something more a helmet might not be a bad idea. But I think safety would be better served by prioritizing things that actually help, not some big nearly-pointless-sanctimonious-finger-waving buy-expensive-styrofoam campaign.

There are 2.5 fatalities for every million miles ridden on a bicycle, with or without helmets. There are also 2.5 fatalities for every million miles walked by pedestrians. What kind of helmet do you wear when you you walk to work?

I actually just rechecked my data, that that number was way off. For every million miles traveled, it is actually ".2" deaths for every mile walked and cycled, not 2.5, as opposed to 27.6 deaths for motorcyclists and 1.3 deaths for automobiles. Injury rates per million miles traveled are 3.9 for pedestrians, 15 for cyclists, 551 for motorcyclists and 99 for automobiles.

WHY AREN'T YOU DRIVERS WEARING HELMETS!? For every million miles traveled, you are 6 TIMES more likely to require hospital care for injuries than cyclists? And don't you average something like 7 to 10 miles traveled a year? If I manage 3500 miles a year I'd be surprised and my average miles traveled a way way above average. But please, scream "Wear a helmet A**H*LE!" when you nudge me out of a lane. That will make us all safer.