Bicycle Helmets – The Beginners Guide to Biking

Bicycle Helmets 

Bicycle helmets are an extremely important part of the overall equipment needed to both keep you safe and secure on the road or on a mountain bike trail.  When you are on the road — yes! you are also a vehicle and carry the same rights and responsibilities as any other vehicle.  As such you need to be familiar with your local state and municiple laws as they pertain to the use of helmets.   

Currently in the US, 21 states have instituted helmet laws (per the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety www.iihs.org).   Here is a view on that:

(source: http://www.iihs.org/laws/mapbicyclehelmets.aspx)

Here you can find the table of the US States and applicable bicycle helmet laws;

Now, having said all this, let's also look at the more practical sde of things — bicycle helmets provide safety.  Here is the reason why we say that — i.e. just look at the statistics also from iihs.org:

Bicylist deaths by helmet use, 1994-2011
Year No helmet use Helmet use Unknown Total
Number % Number % Number % Number %
1994 776 97 19 2 1 0 796 100
1995 783 95 34 4 11 1 828 100
1996 731 96 27 4 3 0 761 100
1997 785 97 23 3 3 0 811 100
1998 741 98 16 2 0 0 757 100
1999 698 93 42 6 10 1 750 100
2000 622 90 50 7 17 2 689 100
2001 616 84 60 8 53 7 729 100
2002 589 89 54 8 20 3 663 100
2003 535 85 58 9 33 5 626 100
2004 602 83 87 12 33 5 722 100
2005 676 86 77 10 31 4 784 100
2006 730 95 37 5 2 0 769 100
2007 646 92 50 7 3 0 699 100
2008 654 91 59 8 3 0 716 100
2009 573 91 52 8 3 0 628 100
2010 429 70 94 15 93 15 616 100
2011 450 67 100 15 125 19 675 100

 (Source: http://www.iihs.org/research/fatality.aspx?topicName=Bicycles)

So now that you are very convinced that a bicycle helmet is a necessary and a good thing to have, let's look how to select one.  The criteria / steps involved are the following:

1) Start with choosing a helmet that fits snugly.  You may be able to use adjustments that many helmets come with to loosen up the frame that makes the helmet fit.  Many helmets come with a small wheel in the frame that loosens up or make it tighter in fit.  The point being the helmet should not rock sideways or back and forth on your head

2) the edge of the helment should be about 2 fingers from the top of your eyebrows; This way it will provide protection for your forehead;

3) Adjust the straps — as stated earlier when you strap the helmet it should fit flat on your head, you should feel the helmet pulling tightly in your head when you open your mouth with the straps clipped.  You should not be able to fit more than 2 finger (next to each other) between your chin and the straps 

And of course you can always look for help in making the helmet purchase from your local bicycle shop!

Happy riding!

Bicycle Riding School….Really! Now on CBS News….

Well folks, I did not know that there could be a school for learning how to ride a bicycle, but come to find out, Yes, they exist.  Earlier this evening I watched a news segment on CBS — covering a whole bunch of topics — from learning to ride a bicycle school, to bicycle friendly cities like Portland, OR.

Here is the CBS Video Segment:  

  • 150% increase in trips make by bike in the last 10 years
  • in Amsterdam – an inspiration for Portland OR – more than 25% of all trips are taken by bicycle
  • Portland OR has more than 300 miles of bicycle paths/lanes
  • 40% of all urban trips in the US are 2-miles or less long — think about doing those by bicycle!
  • Across the US, less than 1% of the population rides a bicycle for transportation, but in Portland that figure is 6% and reaches 15% in some neighborhoods

I personally know several of my colleagues who ride to work and enjoy both the exercise as well as the benefits of reducing smog and reducing the $ spent for gasoline.   

OK, so what am I doing?  Well, I ride my bicycle for two reasons:

  1. Exercise 
  2. Combining the health reason of 1. above with the money saving of taking those short 5-10mile trips under my own pedal pushing power…