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Bicycles Safety and Polka Dots, together at last

Posted by anomalily Fri, 28 Mar 2008 00:01:00 GMT

My coworkers and I all went through the annual bicycle safety training this past weekend. Thus, they have spent all week reminding me that my bicycle helmet is unsafe and abused. My (very modest) Americorps stipend makes dropping 35 dollars on anything a tall order, but my work with elementary and middle school students has taught me that a helmet is one thing that is definitely worth the money.

For too long I've been telling myself that just wearing the helmet, despite its scratches and degraded foam pads, was enough. This morning I finally bought a new, stylish, USCPSC safety-rated helmet from Clever Cycles, an awesome Portland bike shop that focuses on commuter and utilitarian cycling, particularly bakfiets (amazing dutch cargo/children hauling bikes.)
The sexy multi-colored polka dots of this helmet enticed me.

And while I generally obey traffic laws and haven't had a bicycle crash in years, the average careful bike rider may still crash about every 4,500 miles. (Just counting errands and commuting, I ride over 5,500 miles a year.) Head injuries cause 75% of our 750+ annual bicycle deaths. Medical research shows that bike helmets can prevent 85% of cyclists' head injuries. And for Oregonians under the age of 16, and now everyone in Vancouver (WA), they're the law.

Now I do not support helmet laws (for the record, neither does the BTA) because studies have shown that helmet laws actually decrease the amount of riders on the road (perhaps not if they were all so awesomely stylish of helmets, though.) The number one thing that makes cycling safer is lots of cycling on the road. There's more to be said for safety-in-numbers than there is to be said for government enforcement of personal safety. I believe helmets are a must for cycling in the US (we're not as safe as Amsterdam) but I don't believe that helmet laws will increase safety for cyclists. Awareness campaigns will.

Speaking of awareness campaigns, Watch this video, please. It's so worth the time.

My old helmet, while it had never been in a crash, had probably been dropped on the floor more than was fair, and had seen a number of days of being left in the rain hanging from my bicycle. While I don't care if my bicycle has scratches (feel free to stop by the BTA anytime to see the nicely destroyed paint job on my Cannondale R Series), it can be a sign of reduced effectiveness on a bicycle helmet. Rain can degrade the quality of the pads on the inside of the helmet (mine were threadbare in spots.)

My question is, what does one do with an old, unsafe helmet? Any art project ideas?

I certainly feel much safer now that I have a properly fitted, USCPSC standards-rated bicycle helmet. I will have to resist the temptation to add a sticker to the smooth surface, as it is designed to slide along the pavement to protect the neck from being jerked in a crash.

I just have to pony up enough money to tape these handlebars now, which have been bare metal for over a year. I never said I didn't procrastinate.

A version of this was also posted on the BTA blog.