Why are UK cyclists fixated on helmets

[GrumpyGregry]

It's a tiny little thing that "might" make a difference, but I'd rather have it than not.

err mate, wanna buy a medal?

 

[GrumpyGregry]

Up until now... my skull has done a very good job of protecting my brain... a bit of polystyrene isn't going to make my skull any stronger. A bit of polystyrene may well stop the skin around my skull from being ripped open, but that's just cosmetic damage. With an impact big enough to compromise my skull, I'm going to need a lot more than polystyrene... something closer to a motorbike helmet would help in that scenario, maybe.

"Chicks dig scars." TLH has made me grow my hair long to cover mine up in case other chicks dig it too much.

 

[Mugshot]

this is going to get tricky... aside from my initial thoughts about the up-sell being a driving force for helmet use in the UK... the only other factor I can see is the perceived 'pros' of what a helmet will do in the event of an accident.

I do understand the initial fixation. It's a helmet, a helmet protects your head, therefore if I wear one and am involved in an accident I am better protected, it's obvious really. Generally this perception goes absolutely unchallenged and people appear to have a reluctance to look a little deeper into the facts. The perceived merits are so ingrained that parents don't even feel able to allow their children to ride around a park on a bike with stabilisers unless they're wearing a helmet and so a new generation grows up believing that cycling is inherently dangerous, is rather sad really

 

[snorri]

. The perceived merits are so ingrained that parents don't even feel able to allow their children to ride around a park on a bike with stabilisers unless they're wearing a helmet and so a new generation grows up believing that cycling is inherently dangerous, is rather sad really

Yes, but the question is why are these views so common in the UK but not in mainland Europe?

 

[MontyVeda]

Yes, but the question is why are these views so common in the UK but not in mainland Europe?

I recall years and years ago... a TV programme about how the UK is fixated on cleaning products and we'll buy kitchen sink cleaner, bathroom sink cleaner, kitchen table cleaner, worktop cleaner, banister cleaner and so on... all in different bottles. Whilst in Europe, they're happy to buy just one 'cleaner' and use it in the bathroom, kitchen and throughout the home.

I think on the whole... we're just gullible.

edit... and now i think about it... the discussion/argument i once had about using shampoo to wash the whole body.
Me: if it cleans hair and scalp, surely it'll do for the rest of me.
Them: it's shampoo... its for hair... not your body.
Me: but my body is covered in hair... very fine hair, but hair none the less
Them: you're an idiot!

 

[JonUK4]

I wouldnt make the leap that wearing a helmet means it's dangerous, just more likely to be fun. It's true I'm reluctant to look into facts and perhaps it's my own lazyiness which means I'll not see the scentifically conducted tests which can prove otherwise. But I'm paranoid at heart so I have a certain disbelief of research unless they divulge their methodologies.

And we should also state that most of our views should be taken with a pinch of salt as we're obvioulsy the empassioned few as evidenced by our presence on a forum devoted to a hobby/method of transport.

(and greggy, no medals for me please).

 

[Nigel-YZ1]

Maybe I should copyright the custard helmet in case someone steals my idea

In an emergency can the custard be extracted onto an apple pie?

 

[Colin B]

In an emergency can the custard be extracted onto an apple pie?

Only if its warm

 

[Nigel-YZ1]

Only if its warm

The helmet or the pie?

 

[Colin B]

Lol the pie , but on a serious ish note Google bullet proof custard they're thinking of using it in kevlar jackets as an impact absorber so it does have logic and would feel all squishy and not hard like polystyrene
My wife does think I've lost the plot btw

 

[User6179]

If you are fact adverse, your opinions here have no worth whatsoever. Please at the very least read the link I posted back up there.

Was your link not mostly opinion rather than facts?

 

[User6179]

No

It's not surprising that people who've been through a crash on their bike and escaped serious consequences but found helmet damage often believe strongly that the helmet has “saved their life”. However, the number of helmet users with this experience SEEMS very much greater than the number of bare-headed cyclists who ever suffer a head injury. This suggests that the reality might not be so straightforward.

This is an opinion as it uses no statistics , as soon as they wrote this made up statement you then know the writer has an agenda!

 

[goo_mason]

Scoosh this became a helmet debate within 36 minutes of the OP on Sunday morning. Doyleyburger, Dave123, and Midliferider made it so with their assertions. I flagged it as such and tagged you to draw your attention to the fact.
Why not just do the sensible thing and move it rather than the offer of locking?

I dunno - in between those posts where people veer off and try and make it a helmet debate, others are still trying to discuss the OP's question - so the thread still has validity.

And for what it's worth, my belief is that we're so fixated on helmets in the UK because we're too scared to tackle the bad driving & woeful cycling 'infrastructure' so instead we lay the blame for being hit by a speeding idiot on a mobile squarely on the victims. "The deserved to have his legs severed after being run over by a drunk driver - the reckless idiot wasn't wearing a helmet!"

 

[Scoosh]

MOD NOTE:
For the thread to remain Open - and some people not to get thread-banned, please keep the discussion to the OP's point and don't get into the Helmet Debate ... there are plenty of threads for that over here.

 

[JonUK4]

The custard must always be cold with warm pie surely.

Not sure why the helmet thing is so ingrained in me. My parents pushed me to wear it like crazy when I was little and I remember leaving it hanging in nearby trees for collection later.

As an adult it now seems like the least I can do to stop the Mrs worrying especially when I come back with tales from wolverhampton's ring road. I just feel safer wearing one. Other peoples observed behaviour isnt going to change that, because any conclusion from a study would state a generalisation. I dont want to be safe generally, I want to be safe as much as I can (with whats in my control at least) even when those exceptions happen.