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RE: It's amazing how many people talk about how riding a bike gives them a sense of freedom
I do miss riding a bike. 20 years ago I was struck by a car at 55+ mph and spent a week in a coma - it was hard on the wife so I'm not allowed to ride any more.
Ironically, I wasn't wearing a helmet at the time. It was January and I had a wool cap on instead. The doctor said that if I had been wearing a helmet, I would have been broken my neck and been paralysed for the rest of my life. I've been suspicious of safety features ever since.
Safety is one of my concerns with bicycling. Statistically, it's safer than riding in a car... but people give me more warnings about bike accidents than car accidents.
Having had a serious accident yourself, what is your opinion on bicycle safety? Thanks for sharing your anecdote on helmet wearing. I don't wear a helmet right now, but am not totally opposed to it and I have my children wear them.
Oh, I think bicycle safety is fine. I'm not sure if I'd make my kids wear helmets - but then again, I'd probably go to jail for refusing to use those child-safety booster seats too, which are legally mandated even though they show no statistical difference in injury protection, even when they're installed properly, which they rarely are.
I think a big part of our country's decline comes from everyone expecting to be "safe" all the time - we're raising a generation of whiny nitwits. Life is supposed to be risky and occasionally painful and it's going to kill a few of us off whether we wear helmets or not.
I might feel differently if I had kids, though!