Comments on: Aggressive Driving at Fault

By: Bob

Bob — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 22:24:35 +0000

I wear a helmet on almost every ride. For me it’s routine, a habit. Riding a bike without my helmet feels as strange to me as driving or riding in a car without a seatbelt. But (like you) right now I don’t think government should make it mandatory for adults. (I’m less libertarian about children and helmets.)

What I do know is that I am very, very weary of European sites–a few blogs in particular– that claim that only folks from the UK, North America, and those with mental defects (and that list is a very close paraphrase) wear them. Whether that approach is satire or (as I see it) ridicule, it’s unpersuasive to me. I’ll go with the American and British Medical Associations over the bloggers almost every time.

Do you get into the “whole helmet thing” anywhere in these pages? If so, could you point me to that post or posts? And are you aware of a survey that supports the notion that helmet-wearing discourages entry to ridership? (That second question is a friendly query, by the way, not a challenge.)

By: Andy Cline

Andy Cline — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 21:29:23 +0000

Steve… Yep, move left.

By: Steve A

Steve A — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 19:46:21 +0000

Interesting. All three of the “most common” accidents can be dramatically reduced by the bicycle rider maintaining a more visible (harder to miss) position instead of the typical “really far right.” This despite the motorist being officially “at fault.”

I was a little confused by all that infrastructure talk. That doesn’t seem like something a cyclist can do anything about on a day-to-day basis regardless of whether one LIKES a particular type of infrastructure.