okay here's a question then, and it's a genuine question to see what peoples thoughts are. You can get a helmet in a sale for £20, which isn't exactly loads of money. So why would you not wear one? Is it a case of thinking that they are useless? Or is it because people simply don't like the look of them? Don't shoot me down with sarcasm, i'm genuinly interested in peoples thoughts.
No sarcasm, no shooting. A perfectly fair question.
I am ambivalent about helmet use. Sometimes I wear one, usually I do not. Reasons (if you can call them that) as follows:
1. I rode for many years when nobody wore a helmet on the road. I am not used to wearing one and I view them (poor analogy coming) as my parents viewed seatbelts in cars in the Jimmy Saville safety campaign days.
2. I have fallen or been hit quite a lot. In my younger days I was casual about safety and pain and I have never been a master of bike control. I have yet to hit my bonce in any way that has made me think I ought to wear a helmet.
3. I have a knee that jerks easily. WHenever colleagues used to implore me to wear a helmet, my resolve not to do so simply hardened. I am thick like that.
4. I like to ride in a casquette. It seems the most comfortable thing in warm weather and keeps the sun out of my eyes. In winter I wear a beanie or similar. Neither fits well with a helmet and both are more comfortable.
5. As mentioned by another poster, I dislike carrying a helmet or having to lock it to something. I rode first in the days when all you needed was a bicycle.
So... Why do I wear one at all?
1. I am superstitious. Sometimes I just get spooked and wearing one makes me feel better. It doesn't have to be logical.
2. One of my kids is far happier when I wear one. So is my wife. I love them both and occasionally acquiesce.
3. (And don't shoot me down for this) When I'm in the hills, helmet straps keep the left headphone of my iPod in place. I only use the left, for safety reasons....
I am one of many on these forums who are strongly against compulsion but find the realistic prospect of it coming highly unlikely.