Well, when stereotyping other people on the road (which I do in order to guess how they are going to move), a scruffy old guy on a $30 bike with no helmet is going to ride like an idiot; a scruffy old guy on a $30 bike with a helmet is a hippie.
I always wear mine, personally; not because I necessarily think it's going to save my life in a crash, but because it's unlikely to hurt. Plus my partner would kill me if I didn't, regardless. My understanding is that they are primarily designed for lowish-speed accidents that don't involve being hit by cars; there's still potential for such accidents on the road. Plus, my mechanic wears them, and I trust him.
Interestingly, when I see people biking incompetently without helmets, I get irritated with them; if I see people biking competently without helmets, I check out their hair. Logically this might have something to do with "you don't look competent enough to not just topple over sideways and hit your head with no outside influence," but it's probably just being elitist.
If "magic plastic hat" was some clever reference I didn't get, I lose.
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regna
(no subject)
Date: 2007-09-17 11:55 am (UTC)I always wear mine, personally; not because I necessarily think it's going to save my life in a crash, but because it's unlikely to hurt. Plus my partner would kill me if I didn't, regardless. My understanding is that they are primarily designed for lowish-speed accidents that don't involve being hit by cars; there's still potential for such accidents on the road. Plus, my mechanic wears them, and I trust him.
Interestingly, when I see people biking incompetently without helmets, I get irritated with them; if I see people biking competently without helmets, I check out their hair. Logically this might have something to do with "you don't look competent enough to not just topple over sideways and hit your head with no outside influence," but it's probably just being elitist.
If "magic plastic hat" was some clever reference I didn't get, I lose.