> 2. The use of safety gears, such as helmets, has an element of magic
> in it akin to, say, powdered tiger whiskers or rabbit feet that are
> supposed to keep people from harm's way. They role is to provide
> peace of mind, but not necessarily actual safety.
>
>
Since my post yesterday is evidently completely incidental to the
conversation (not sure why) I'll just reiterate that, whatever the research
says, when I was hit by a car on my bike I definitely would have been
seriously if not fatally injured without the helmet. Perhaps it's all about
the specifics of the crash, but like jordon my Bell helmet was cracked
basically in half around my skull as a car tire rolled over my shoulder and
head. I went away in an ambulance as they were sure I also had internal
bleeding, but ended up with only a fractured scapula.
Perhaps this was a rare case where the odds would have been against non helmet survival, but it seems like a pretty strange risk to take considering the importance of the cargo it's protecting. On the other hand, I still have student loans to pay off. Maybe I'll feel differently once I've amortized the investment I've made in my brains, whenever that may be.
S