As a vegan... I picked 100%. I feel naked on a bicycle without a helmet. Just like you should feel naked in the bedroom without a helmet.

I would be dead, or a least sort of brain damaged, were it not for bicycle helmets. I always wear one.

IT'S TRUE PORTLAND IS THE WORST I HATE IT OMG.

Until your bloat-faced ranting can explain why cyclists should wear helmets and drivers (who are at higher risk for head injury) shouldn't, all you're doing is coming off like a hypocritical bloat-faced jackass. I've pointed this out to your bloat-faced facebloat multiple times and you continuously avoid answering, likely because you have no response.

Drivers are inside a steel shell you ignorant nit.

@6, rehashing what I always say: a) who cares if drivers should wear helmets, b) the type of head injury you typically get in a car results from the motion of your brain inside your own skull, while the type of head injury you typically get from biking is caused by your head striking the ground or a car.

Dumbfuck.

FOOD COMES FROM PORTLAND!!1! 1

I manage to keep helmets until every naked lady party I attend, where they're swiped.

There are a host of empirical studies looking at the success of helmets. Ask google yourself. From what I remember/found over a couple of days (in 2010) researching the topic after a vehement and booze fueled argument, helmets have pros and cons, though the "it isn't worth it" crowd seems to win out most of the time:
- they tend to give some cyclists an aura of invincibility which can lead to more accidents
- they are ineffective at high speeds because they catch the pavement more than a scalp leading to worse injuries, especially whiplash-y stuff
- mandatory helmet laws can reduce major injuries, but only because fewer people ride their bikes if they HAVE TO wear a helmet
- low- to mid-speed accidents are most likely to have positive outcomes due to helmets

I wear mine most of the time with a few notable exceptions:
- sometimes I don't want to go fast and being helmetless reminds me of that
- when I tow my dog in the trailer; he doesn't get a helmet so it makes me more careful
- short trips in the 'hood

I was a messenger in our fair city for a couple years and got nailed in a number of different ways then and since. In one case, the helmet saved my face. In other cases, it was not involved. In another notable case, it was in my bag. When I skipped of the hood of the offending left-turning d-bag/scofflaw, I spun around, landed on my back, and was cushioned by the helmet, which turned to packing peanuts in my bag.

So what does it all mean? Let people be dumb or smart wearing or not wearing their helmets! Do for yourself what you think is right, and shut your piehole about what I'm doing!

Helmets are not a requirement to ride a bicycle. You should stop harassing Portland cyclists over this. All you're doing is drumming up anti-cyclist rage (as evidenced by the comments in these threads you start).

I only see rage coming from one person in this thread.

I don't bike much anymore, but when I did, at least part of why I wore a helmet was so I would be perceived as a responsible, respectful cyclist. It felt like a way of saying "look, I'm trying not to be a dick here!" to cars, along with signaling and lights and all that.

But now I ride the bus and I rarely wear a helmet, so.

It's not a "do whatever's right for you" thing. Cyclists who are sloppy about safety and the rules of the road make all cyclists look worse by feeding into lazy stereotypes.

Further, when I'm not cycling or walking, I drive a car. Since I constantly see near-misses where a bike vs. car would be the cyclist's fault, I'm constantly afraid I'm going to hit someone through no fault of my own, and they might be very seriously injured or killed because they didn't want their precious hair to get mussed up. I'll have to live with the that, while they won't.

So people's poorly-rationalized decisions to make an irresponsible choice purely for the sake of their own comfort CAN hurt me, in both direct and indirect ways.

@16 I think we can all agree you are a monster for not wearing your helmet on the bus.

But see, CC, when you say that, you are wrongly conflating helmet-wearing with safety and/or "the rules of the road." Me not wearing my helmet has little to do with either except, as I pointed out above, might make me more aware of my mortality and therefore LESS likely to cut your worrying-ass off.

If you _perceive_ me as following the rules of the road when I have a helmet on, that's your issue, not mine OR society's.

The more we defy your stereotypes by doing what is expected of us on a bike, the less you'll have to worry about.

If my mom wanted to see me in a helmet, she would have had me circumcised.

I want to take Commenty Colin out for a nice steak dinner for all the stern talking-tos he's been giving dumbfucks lately.

agree with melogna. "The more we defy your stereotypes by doing what is expected of us on a bike, the less you'll have to worry about".

I'm a "we" too-- bicyclist-- and have benefitted twice from wearing a helmet, cracking it both times instead of my head. Helmets are an example of easily modifiable behavior which probably help reduce risk, and also lifetime economic costs of injury.

The only stereotype you're perpetuating is that of a snide, falsely proud wankazoid with a chip on your shoulder.

@Melogna, CC has an entire box of stern talking-tos. I've seen it. It's covered in a veneer of glitter and logic.

I saw a minivan almost take a full on right turn into a rider today. The rider was not wearing a helmet and was about 3 feet from cracking his head open on the pavement. Of course he decided to ride back after the minivan for some manly words... So it's possible he may not have been the sharpest tool.

I always wear a helmet and think others should as well. As a matter of personal choice.

The part I have always found disturbing is that when media (the ones who have most of their revenue from car ads at least) report a crash, they always cite if the cyclist was wearing a helmet or not wearing a helmet- with no regard for culpability.

I think it is in poor taste (and I ought to know what constitutes poor taste!) While I wouldn't be surprised if it happened some day soon, I have not noted any reporting if rape victims were carrying contrceptives or armed robbery victims were wearing kevlar vests.