Forgot my helmet today

[serisman]

At about 2 miles into my 7 mile commute this morning, I realized that I had forgotten my helmet that was sitting less than a foot from my bike.

I was wondering what suggestions or tips others might have to make sure that never happens again?

 

[mattrb]

Make a list.

 

[ambroseliao]

Hang the helmet on your handlebars.

 

[Ykick]

Two wheeled transportation is akin to flying. While we may roll along only a few feet above ground it's probably best to treat it as a pilot - pre-flight checklist and walkaround inspection of the vehicle.

Simply good habits to practice with absolutely no downside!

 

[gogo]

Habit. You should feel naked without it.

Occasionally riding naked is allowed when you feel the need to let your freak flag fly.

I was within earshot of a conversation in which I overheard the question, "But who always wears gloves while riding?" The person questioned pointed at me and said he'd never seen me ride without gloves. I'd never thought about it, but he was correct. I feel naked without them.

 

[kudos]

You should just carry on without a care in the world like all othe ther cyclists around the world who don't wear helmets - ever.

Keep your speed down a bit of course.

I do not want to be drawn into debate on this, wearing a helmet around your house would result in many more saved lives than wearing it cycling but we don't do that do we.

Wearing it while driving would save even more lives but we don't do that either.

If the safety theatre of wearing a helmet makes you feel better then fine, but don't feel bad about not wearing one from time to time.

Where I live quad bikes are classed as cars so you don't need to wear a lid. Now I do think that's silly seeing as they can do serious speed.

Look at the stats, if you want to avoid having a serious accident on a bike, don't ride in the two rush hours.

Sorry going off topic here.

I would hang the lid around your seat so you have to put it on to sit on the bike.

All the best,
Kudos

 

[The fingers]

Don't crash like I did, twice.

 

[serisman]

Great feedback.

I don't think a list or pre-ride checklist will work for me, because I could just as easily forget to do that.

But, hanging the helmet on the handlebars or seat seems like a great way to make sure I have to consciously think about it.

In general, I don't worry too much about the helmet for myself (it is an absolute requirement for my daughters). For my first 700 ebike commute miles I didn't bother with it (mostly because I wasn't sure where it was). But, with the higher speeds that usually come with ebiking, I figure it is better safe than sorry (not that a helmet will necessarily help in many crashes). My opinion is that being as alert and aware of your surroundings as possible is probably more important than a helmet, but why not do both.

 

[r3volved]

The #1 reason I wear a helmet is to influence my son to always wear his.
It also helps me to remember it every time...after a while its engrained, gloves and a helmet is like putting on your seatbelt

 

[serisman]

I always thought gloves were just about comfort. Is there a safety aspect to them as well?

 

[gogo]

I always thought gloves were just about comfort. Is there a safety aspect to them as well?

Abrasion protection for both. The helmet can help spread the impact force and make it less to an extent, but a bonk to the head is bad news in any case. Gloves are all about the concept of sacrificial skin, for me. Dripping bodily fluid from road rash is considered unsafe in many places these days.

 

[Jamzz]

I always thought gloves were just about comfort. Is there a safety aspect to them as well?

Ditto leaving the helmet on the handlebars.


I started wearing gloves on long rides for comfort. I didn't realize how useful they were during a fall until two weeks ago.

I was doing some un powered road biking (16-18 mph), hit some oil, and went down side ways pretty quick. I landed thigh first and my paws took the rest of the impact. It just so happened I was not wearing one glove because it was too painful to get on because of an earlier finger sprain. They were fingerless too.

I should have just dealt with the pain getting that other glove on- Picking out road debris from my left palm was worse.

Luckily my bike was ok and my pride was the only major casualty.

 

[USAEBIKECO]

I never ride long distances without my helmet. Its just not safe riding at 25mph without one.

I now wear clear goggles too because of all the junk in the air getting in my eyes. Goggles comes in handy too when its pouring rain.

8)

 

[serisman]

I guess I'll have to dig up my riding gloves from whatever hiding place they are in. I hadn't really considered the road rash implications.

I completely agree on the eyewear concept. My eyes are very sensitive to the sun anyway, so almost always have at least sunglasses on. The one time I tried to ride without them (the sun was down) my eyes got really watery (from the wind). Of all the senses, I would probably hate to lose eyesight the most.

 

[steelmesh]

Watch a video like this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dNFaAqS2f18 and start to believe in your heart that you could fall or get hit this time, everytime. Been riding motorcycles for a decade now seasonally on the busiest city in my state, no accidents but you won't ever catch me without a Helmet, Gloves, CE Jacket at the minimum. I actually feel safer on I94 in Detroit during rush hour on my CBR1000F than on my bicycle on the weekend in my quiet town because these people end up cutting you off or pulling in front of you as you cross a street consistently all the time, it's messed up. I got a cree 1200lm light which helps, but sometimes I feel like building a bin to hold 3/4" steel nuts so I can chuck them at these cars when they try to kill me.

 

[amberwolf]

I find it easiest to remember things just because I'm used to them...but I also leave my helmet on the bars. Since the design of CrazyBike2 means my knee goes where the helmet hangs, I can't forget it's there. :lol:

Other stuff, like rain gear, etc., I leave in the cargo pods whenever I'm not using them, during the seasons for that.

I used to also leave my gloves and good leather jacket/pants etc in the pods, but on the unfortunate day of the house fire I had the gloves in the jacket pockets (along with a number of other things like my spare keys and notepad with lots of data and sketches in it, my scientific calculator/etc), and the jacket was in the bedroom that burned. (helmet was also not on the bars that day but sitting in the house, cuz the bike was outside to be taken apart and worked on, but I have a new helmet now...don't yet have new gloves or jacket).


So...leave your stuff ON the bike handlebars or in any cargo carrier you have on it, and it's hard to forget. But really, if you actually *use* the gear, and want to, it ought to be a little hard to forget to put it on. (everybody does have their braindead days, though, and I have more than my fair share so I shouldn't speak :lol: )

 

[amberwolf]

I always thought gloves were just about comfort. Is there a safety aspect to them as well?

Everything you wear on a ride can be about safety--think of it all as a skin outside your skin to keep your skin on your body instead of on the road.

 

[leffex]

At about 2 miles into my 7 mile commute this morning, I realized that I had forgotten my helmet that was sitting less than a foot from my bike.

I was wondering what suggestions or tips others might have to make sure that never happens again?

Haha that happened to me too once or twice.Not fun.

 

[steelmesh]

I always thought gloves were just about comfort. Is there a safety aspect to them as well?

If you fall going 5 mph or 50 mph, you're probably going to want to have gloves on if you want to keep from grinding off skin and embedding small pieces of gravel into your fingers and palms =) You'd be surprised how nasty it can be to just fall on some gravel in a corner while wearing just shorts and a t-shirt.

I just took these images from my buddies FB pics: it was when he was showing off on a pocket rocket after the wedding ceremony that he stood up in. He was wearing a tux, no helmet or gloves. His right eye brow slowed him down, he had one of those flappy eye brows that you can fold over.

Here is his hand from the fall: WARNING GRAPHIC
http://imgur.com/a/k29TA

 

[MadRhino]

My experience is that the 3 places that are the most likely to be hurt riding a bike are: Hands, feet and eyes.
I wear hand, feet and eye protection all the time, yet I still hurt my hands a few times a year. I'm riding with a broken finger right now.

Next are the knees and elbows, legs and arms, then head.
I wear no protection for those most of the time. I hurt my knees or elbows about every second year.
My head is still clear of any hit, touch wood. :wink:
I ride 20 000 Km a year, on and off road, fast and hard.
Rubs and scratches are not counted as wounds in those statistics, they happen every week working and riding.

Yet, it is different for various riders. Some are head prone I'd say. In doubt, wear all the protection that you feel the need to.

 

[arkmundi]

 

[Ch00paKabrA]

I never forget my DOT approved baseball cap.

 

[Racer_X]

Crashed in my first year of ebiking 2010. Suffered concussion and Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo (BPPV). With symptoms of dizziness, vertigo, lightheadedness, imbalance, and nausea. Took like 4 weeks for the my head to stop spinning.
That taught me to never ride without a helmet. I now feel naked if I don't have my helmet, I also wear eye protection and gloves. For those who don't wear helmet, don't wait until you crash to get motivated like i did.

 

[Chalo]

At about 2 miles into my 7 mile commute this morning, I realized that I had forgotten my helmet that was sitting less than a foot from my bike.

I was wondering what suggestions or tips others might have to make sure that never happens again?

My advice is don't waste a lot of attention worrying about your last, not very effective line of defense, and pay more attention to your first, second, third, etc., most effective measures. Using your head to stay out of an accident is almost infinitely more effective than what you wear on your head in case you're in one. A number of years ago, I decided that the noise of wind across my helmet straps presented more added risk to me (by diminishing my situational awareness) than the questionable value of its protection. So I stopped wearing one.

I have borne witness to a time period when bicycle helmet use has risen from approximately zero to approximately half of all riders, yet fatality and serious injury rates among cyclists are about the same as ever. I would not count on your magic hat to do very much for you. If going without it makes you more attentive and cautious, that probably protects you better than the hat.

 

[Chalo]

In general, I don't worry too much about the helmet for myself (it is an absolute requirement for my daughters).

Yet somehow, all of us here over the age of 40 made it through our childhoods without helmets (unless we were spastics). What callous, uncaring people our parents must have been!

Did you know that the incidence of concussion is a lot higher in American football, where helmets are worn, than in the similar sport of rugby where helmets are not worn? This is an example of an effect called "risk compensation", and it is a lesson very well applied to cycling.

The moral of the story is this: If there's something you'll do with a helmet that you wouldn't do without one, then you're better off not doing whatever that is. If going without a helmet makes you more circumspect about taking risks, then you might actually be safer that way.