Would you wear a crash helmet if it wasn't compulsory?

[Taipan]

I used to take my lid off on the back roads on hot days sometimes. Its a lovely feeling riding with the cooling wind in your hair! So if it wasn't compulsory, I'd probably wouldn't wear one for nipping round town on hot sunny days.

You?

[Mr. Dazzle]

Yeah always. If nothing else bees hurt!

I've always had a strong sense of cause/effect. I wouldn't say I'm an anxious "what if" type person, but I do have a very strong sense of "if A then B" sort of relationships...it serves me well most of the time and one of the things it tells me is that wearing a helmet can be the difference between a headache and eating through a straw.

Besides....I just think riding without one would be bloody uncomfortable.

[weeksy]

Yup, without a doubt.

[Horse]

Yup.

Just being launched, and so landing, at 12-15mph was enough to crack the shell of my helmet, the impact also leaving me with concussion, several months altered personality and affected my memory for 18 months.. Not that I needed convincing before then.

[Le_Fromage_Grande]

Yes, having slid down the road on my face in a full face crash helmet after a 30mph SMIDSY in 1985 I wouldn't wear an open face, never mind not wear a helmet at all

[Yorick]

Always.

[Whysub]

Yes.

Although I do have an open face helmet for when riding the scooter locally. Traffic very light in the places I tend to ride it, other wise its full face and a different bike

[cheb]

Not always, so a bit like now then. Test rides etc is when I don't bother.

[DefTrap]

On a proper motorbike, yes.

On a scoot going around town, maybe not. I don't mean ugh commuting in UK cities, I mean if it were somewhere warm and groovy.

[Rockburner]

Not always, so a bit like now then. Test rides etc is when I don't bother.

Something like that. 5 minutes up the road and back then maybe not, especially on a nice warm day on a nice quiet back-country road. Otherwise yes definitely.


Ironically - the 1 time I actually did it is the one time I saw/met/got stopped by the local plod patrol car about 500 yards from the house!

(luckily he didn't spot that the back brake lever wasn't actually attached so I just got a ticket for the non-helmet).

[DefTrap]

I got stopped by plod helmetless - pushing a clearly broken down bike in the middle of nowhere. He advised me I still needed to wear it. I did, until he was out of sight again.

[Mr. Dazzle]

5 minutes up the road and back then maybe not.

See this is an example of when I'd be most likely to be diligent about wearing a helmet. Accidents are really likely when you're "just popping out for 2 mins" very near home and not paying full attention aren't they?

I got stopped by plod helmetless - pushing a clearly broken down bike in the middle of nowhere. He advised me I still needed to wear it. I did, until he was out of sight again.

Yeah, ISTR that's one of the theory test questions for a bike. Technically you're still in control of the bike I suppose....

[cheb]

Does that mean you don't need to wear a helmet when you're crashing. If you're crashing you're not in control of the bike.

[Dickyboy]

Happy enough to ride without a helmet at times, I mean it's not like you crash everyday is it?

[Skub]

My perspective is probably a little different to the 'norm',as there was no legal obligation to wear a crash helmet when I started riding.

When I bought my first bike I didn't even own a helmet until a few months later Early visors had very bad optical quality and so easily scratched,so it wasn't unusual to see other riders like me riding with no visor. 70s lids were for the most part shite. I hit the deck at 120mph on my Z1 and my Premier helmet took one hit on the road and disappeared off my head in another direction. Fit wasn't a big thing then....

Anyway,as far as the question is concerned I'd wear a helmet if I'm heading out for a decent ride,but there would be times I'd still like the choice to do without.I occasionally run the bike up and down our road sans skidlid and it doesn't cost me a thought.

[Rockburner]

5 minutes up the road and back then maybe not.

See this is an example of when I'd be most likely to be diligent about wearing a helmet. Accidents are really likely when you're "just popping out for 2 mins" very near home and not paying full attention aren't they?

I always understood that it was the 'last 5 minutes of a long journey', when your attention is waning and you're tired that was the qualification for that statement.

[Nobby]

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No.

[The Spin Doctor]

Helmets? Yes. I once rode in Italy when it was still optional to ride minus lid and it felt weird. On more recent trips to the US I've been in states where there's no helmet law but saw no need to exploit this particular freedom. I did go open face on the hire scoot in Raratonga a couple of years ago.

Although I rarely hit my head when crashing, the big highside crash on the Chichester bypass at 70+ smacked the back of my head on the deck hard enough to knock me out for a few seconds, then as I tumbled to a halt there were four other impact marks, one of which also ripped half the visor off. I don't think that crash helmetless would have had a good outcome.

I got stopped by plod helmetless - pushing a clearly broken down bike in the middle of nowhere. He advised me I still needed to wear it. I did, until he was out of sight again.

I would never argue with a plod (on the grounds that they WILL find something to ticket you for if you piss them off) but I'm fairly certain he was wrong UNLESS you were actually astride the bike at the time.

[The Spin Doctor]

5 minutes up the road and back then maybe not.

See this is an example of when I'd be most likely to be diligent about wearing a helmet. Accidents are really likely when you're "just popping out for 2 mins" very near home and not paying full attention aren't they?

I always understood that it was the 'last 5 minutes of a long journey', when your attention is waning and you're tired that was the qualification for that statement.

There is an 'almost home' effect that causes people to relax, usually at the end of a really tricky journey. But there's also a statistical probability about it too. If you think about it, the roads closest to home are the ones you ride on most often so even if crashes were totally random, the chances are you'd have one close to home.

[Supermofo]

Yeah always. If nothing else bees hurt!

Had my visor open once and got a bee in the eye at about 30 mph. Couldn't see a thing for ages as my eye wouldn't stop watering. Would have been even worse when I hit the wood pigeon, that hurt with a lid on!