Do you wear a helmet when you ride a bike? Around Town, posted by Frank Bravo, webmaster of Palo Alto Online, on Jun 28, 2006 at 5:19 am Frank Bravo is a member (registered user) of Palo Alto Online
This post was created in conjunction with the Palo Alto Online News Poll.
Do you wear a helmet when you ride a bike? Police and emergency officials stress the importance of wearing a helmet when riding, but many daily riders seem to go without one. How important do you feel it is?
Posted by Kedar Doshi, a resident of the Midtown neighborhood, on Jun 28, 2006 at 12:16 pm
I learnt about the importance of wearing a helmet the hard way. Last september I crashed while riding up page mill. My head hit the ground as I fell and was sliding across the asphalt. My helmet was crushed and destroyed while I luckily escaped with just a horrible headache (and a torn ligament in my thumb). I'm sure it would've been lot worse had I not been wearing my helmet. Best $50 investment I ever made.
Posted by David Cohen, a resident of the Midtown neighborhood, on Jul 4, 2006 at 3:52 pm
Head injuries are so frightening to consider, I can't imagine riding my bike without a helmet. It's a minimal investment, minimal discomfort (if any), and huge benefit. I've heard enough horror stories from family members working in E.R.s and rehab, and can't understand why anyone would take a chance not wearing a helmet.
Posted by Mike Sowers, a resident of another community, on Jul 10, 2006 at 9:07 pm
I was rounding a bend in the road and hit a wet spot. I went down hard enough to fracture my clavicle, fracture multiple ribs that punctured a lung, bruised my heart and had a one foot wide bruise that ran from my shoulder to half way down my leg. The docs also suspected a ruptured spleen but it was okay.
Because I was wearing a helmet, the only head injury I received was a scratch on my forehead. If I hadn't had the helmet on I would have either been a veg or dead.