Hey, Moron!
The Scene: A cyclist coming down 16th Street NW between Q and P on Saturday morning.
The Sheer Idiocy: This fellow was going at a nice clip, on a busy street made of asphalt and surrounded by granite curbs and concrete sidewalks. The cars were of steel. He was riding without a helmet. Nothing newsworthy there, as a lot of garden-variety idiots do that all the time. But this guy had a helmet strapped to the back of his backpack.
I've seen cyclists of this fellow's ilk before, and they are demonstrably the dumbest people anywhere. They pay $40, $60, $80 for a nice, sleek helmet and then leave it someplace where it protects something completely undeserving of protection---they take off for their ride and leave it dangling from the handlebars, they stuff it in their panniers, or they do the backpack thing.
I refuse to consider any of the mitigating scenarios for this moronic behavior: That the helmet is broken and they're on the way to replace it; that they bought one for a friend; or that perhaps the $80 helmet is employed to protect that $160 backpack.
I'd prefer that such morons put on their helmets for their own sake. But they can do it for everyone's sake too, as evidenced by these numbers from the Bicycle Helmet Safety Institute:
- Direct costs of cyclists' injuries due to not using helmets are estimated at $81 million each year.
- Indirect costs of cyclists' injuries due to not using helmets are estimated at $2.3 billion each year.
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3:45 pm
Are you calling me a moron?
5:06 pm
Really, Erik. Ever heard of minding your own business?
5:07 pm
Keep yr laws off my noggin, etc.
6:29 pm
Agreed with Ernest and Jeffrey, tenfold.
8:11 am
Were the people in the cars wearing helmets? No, they were not. Is driving a cars safer than riding a bicycle? Well, actually no, it isn't. Statistically, the people in the cars are much more likely to get a head injury than the guy on the bicycle - per mile traveled.
How many people were killed on bicycles in DC last year? Zero.
Absolutely none at all. Did you hear me? None!
Now go outside and count how many bicycles you see, and do the math.
Pedestrians make up 27% of all traffic fatalities in DC. Looks to Me like it's the drivers and pedestrians who need helmets - not the cyclists!
How many people were killed in cars last year...? Have we lost count?
Studies have shown that motorists drive much more aggressively around cyclists who wear helmets, and that the reduction in injuries (most minor) since helmets were promoted is directly proportional to the number of people who gave up cycling because they were told it was too dangerous. What's actually more dangerous is driving cars, and not getting enough exercise, due to irrational fears.
The only risk to cyclists is cars - and that risk is present no matter if you are walking on the crosswalk, driving in another car, or whatever. The benefit of the bicycle is that unlike pedestrians, your are more visible and move with the flow of traffic. Also, unlike cars, the bicycle poses almost no risk to anyone. In fact, the risks to your health are higher if you don't cycle, than if you do - helmet or no helmet.
- Lee