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 Bike
Helmet
Wearing
a bike helmet is by far the most important thing you can do to protect
yourself while riding your bike. Granted, other bike safety
equipment is important. Much of it is focused on making you
more visible to motorists while you’re on your
bike. Bright clothes, reflectors, lights, bells, and whistles
all help make motorists, pedestrians, and even other bicyclists
conscious of your presence, but these devices on their own
aren’t enough. A huge number of bicycle-related
injuries and almost all bicycle-related fatalities are due to massive
head injuries sustained by riders who were not wearing their
helmets. While some of these injuries and fatalities involved
one rider crashing into a tree or another fixed object, most of them
involved a bicyclist crashing into a car or vice-versa. The
car always wins.
If you’re riding your bike and you’re hit squarely
by a truck that’s traveling eighty miles per hour, no bicycle
helmet in the world is likely to save you. However, with most
lower-speed accidents a properly fitted bicycle helmet can make the
difference between getting back in the saddle next week and eating the
rest of your meals through a straw. Modern bike helmets are
comfortable, aerodynamic, and cool. Many helmets, especially
advanced road and mountain bike racing helmets are so perforated with
vents they look like Swiss cheese. Even the airiest of them
are safe though, as all major bike helmet manufacturers have their
helmets ANSI certified before they’re released.
Though a few specialized aerodynamic helmets are not yet certified,
almost all available and affordable for the average consumer are all
safety-certified and will do a great job of saving your noggin if
you’re involved in a crash.
With any bike helmet, be sure that it fits you well before you trust
your brain to it. When it’s on your head you
shouldn’t have it crushingly tight, but it should be tight
enough so it won’t slide easily forward or
backward. If it slides easily in either direction it will
probably do exactly that if you’re in a crash, doing a great
job of protecting the side of your head or the back of your neck while
your skull and brain take the heavy impact. To avoid this,
adjust the foam inserts and strap until the helmet is snug but not
tight. Then hop on your bike and head out into the great wide
world, enjoying the ride and knowing that your head is protected, come
what may.
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