Will, I think we are on the same page. I don't think we should be shaming bicyclists for anything. I was just reacting to the people who say we should shame people for not wearing a helmet. But if not wearing a helmet is a decision that results in an accident that is a "shared event" that effects your family...then surely riding the wrong way against traffic and having an accident is also such a "shared event". As a bicycle safety instructor, I am tired of people labeling cyclists as "good" or "bad" solely on the basis of helmet use. Riding the wrong way against traffic is just one example of bad (and quite common) behavior, but it is WAY more dangerous than not wearing a helmet. Yet you rarely hear the helmet zealots shame someone for riding the wrong way, even though that behavior endangers both the wrong way cyclist and all the lawful cyclists who are often forced into the traffic lane to go around a "bike salmon".
In the media, "Was he or she wearing a helmet?" is always the first question. We had a bike fatality here recently in which a truck (going over 50 MPH) crossed the center line and hit a cyclist, killing her instantly. The newspaper reported that the bicyclist was not wearing a helmet. Like a helmet would have saved her? Ok...it turns out that the bicyclist was hit HEAD ON because she was riding against traffic. But the newspaper said nothing of that. I'm not saying that she couldn't have been hit by a truck while riding WITH traffic, but clearly riding correctly would have saved her in this instance (because the truck crossed the median). But, according to the newspaper, she was a bad cyclist not because she was riding the wrong way, but because she didn't have a helmet. Doug On Wednesday, November 25, 2015 at 8:29:04 AM UTC-8, Will wrote: > > Geez Doug, I think this shaming business is getting a little too deep. > > My suggestion, most simply put, is that one wears a helmet to protect > their family. It's not a personal decision, it's a communal decision. It's > not about shame. It's about risk evaluation. > > I reached that conclusion via personal exposure to the vaguries of bike > riding. My wife had a serious bike wreck. I admit bias. But it's not > academic bias, or bias simply to argue x or y on bike groups, it's bias > that was informed by 7 cat-scans. > > I don't rank riding habits.. so wearing a helment versis riding against > traffic, not having a blinky, or drinking beer is not meaningful to me. I > ride daily. My entire family rides daily. Our riding habits are highy > skewed to safe behaviors. We have lights. We all wear those big Riv > reflector triangles. Our pedals have reflectors. We wear helmets, etc... > > Whether you wear a helmet is obviously your choice. I'm not advocating > mandatory laws. I am simply making the case for recognizing that accidents > are SHARED EVENTS. If you screw up, you family bears the weight. Your > decision tree needs to include that contingency. > > > > On Wednesday, November 25, 2015 at 9:54:47 AM UTC-6, Doug Williams wrote: >> >> Do you shame people who ride the wrong way against traffic? Or is that >> okay as long as they are wearing their helmet? Wearing a helmet is prudent. >> Again, I wear mine every time I ride. But it is the LEAST important safety >> measure that you can take behind (in order) 1. Bike Control, 2. Rule >> Compliance, 3. Lane Position, and 4. Hazard Avoidance. Each of these >> elements (1-4) have many details and procedures attached to them, and each >> of these details is much more important than wearing a helmet. It is MUCH >> safer to ride properly without a helmet than it is to ride with a helmet >> and violate 1-4 above. You like data? YES, the data says that 1-4 above are >> much more important to safety than wearing a helmet. MUCH more important. >> >> So who should be shamed? Someone who rides properly without a helmet? Or >> someone who wears a helmet and rides improperly? I would take off my >> helmet, have three beers, and ride properly before I would wear a helmet >> and ride against traffic. I would be much safer riding helmet-less but >> properly after 3 beers than I would be riding against traffic sober wearing >> a full face motorcycle helmet. Yet wearing a helmet seems to be the only >> measure of bicycle safety and responsibility for the helmet zealots. We >> need to take a broader view. >> >> Do you want to determine if an accident was the fault of a bicyclist so >> that you can properly shame him? If so, "Was he wearing a helmet?" should >> be the LAST question you ask, not the first. >> >> Doug >> >> On Tuesday, November 24, 2015 at 6:11:10 PM UTC-8, Will wrote: >>> >>> If data indicates that helmets mitigate head damage and if you choose to >>> ignore that data... whose lives have you compromised? >>> >>> Yours? For sure. >>> >>> Your wife's, your children... well... maybe the shame label is >>> appropriate. I'll accept that opinion. >>> >>> On Tuesday, November 24, 2015 at 5:37:13 PM UTC-6, Doug Williams wrote: >>>> >>>> Yes, and you also disrespect your family when you fail to wear a helmet >>>> in your car or while walking on the street, both of which are more >>>> dangerous than bicycling. This is just the kind of "helmet shaming" that I >>>> am talking about. >>>> >>>> On Tuesday, November 24, 2015 at 1:40:03 PM UTC-8, Will wrote: >>>>> >>>>> Kelly, >>>>> >>>>> I think there's another perspective that has not been mentioned here... >>>>> >>>>> When I was sitting outside the ER waiting for the Cat-Scans on my >>>>> wife, I realized that her injuries were not simply hers. Her injuries >>>>> belonged to our children, our parents, our neighbors... >>>>> >>>>> The decision to wear, or not wear, a helmet isn't singular. We have >>>>> networks of family and friends who suffer when we are injured. The >>>>> assumed >>>>> risk is not singular. Families and friends pick up the pieces. Jan Heine >>>>> was very fortunate to have a good friend drop everything to shepherd him >>>>> home from Taiwan. >>>>> >>>>> The decision to mitigate risk should recognize those who will bear the >>>>> burden of loss. It's not about laws. It's about common sense. It's about >>>>> respect for your loved ones. >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>>>> -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
