Tuesday, April 10

Helmetlessly Hurting

Yesterday, I wasn't wearing my helmet. I knew that not wearing it exposed me to the risk of a brain injury. I, too, have read the newspaper scare comments about cyclists eating (or is it drinking?) through a straw and (insert your favorite troll comment here). I've even hit my head before. As is usual in such cases, the event was totally unexpected, though foreseeable to any dispassionate observer. To modify a phrase to better suit the collision in question: "When an engineer and a filing cabinet collide, the cabinet always wins." Though, in my own defense, the cabinet suffered a dent and thus did not get away totally unscathed. When I donned my helmet for the ride home, I felt that cabinet's pain all the way home. Ditto for the commute today. Luckily for where I work, it did not QUITE rise to the status of a recordable incident. Darn that Safety Pyramid!
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15 comments:

  1. OldfoolApril 10, 2012 at 5:36 PM

    Hmmm, maybe you should wear a helmet all the time. No offense intended as I need protection to my forearms and hands all the time if all the blood letting is any indication.

    ReplyDelete
  2. cyclerApril 10, 2012 at 7:41 PM

    Ha!
    I had a similar incident last week with the edge of an office cubical. I'm afraid I used an unladylike phrase when I straightened up from plugging in the printer and whacked my noggin. It still aches days later, but I wiill be fine

    ReplyDelete
  3. Old Knotty BuoyApril 10, 2012 at 8:00 PM

    I can't remember the last time that happened!

    Ride well and be safe out there.

    OKB

    ReplyDelete
  4. John Romeo AlphaApril 10, 2012 at 8:42 PM

    I do wonder what some minimal safety gear, say, a helmet, kevlar vests, lumbar pad, goggles, N95 mask, worn all the time, (I mean, ALL the time) would do for mortality rates. I'm sure it would make getting a date much more difficult, and passing through airport security much more interesting.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Steve AApril 10, 2012 at 9:50 PM

    Oldfool - news comments rarely include forearm damage to cyclists. I have some of that as well from last weekend. Also not related to cycling, though someone asked if it was.
    Cycler - fortunately, I avoided any unladylike phrases. Perhaps we need a "mandatory helmet in the office" law. Which is where JRA is going - perhaps with humorous intent. If not, he is forgetting the staple-proof gloves.

    ReplyDelete
  6. limomApril 10, 2012 at 11:48 PM

    I think you should just ride your bike around the office.

    Once it while I'd like to ride sans helmet, but with my luck that's when I'm going to need it.

    ReplyDelete
  7. KhalApril 11, 2012 at 6:00 AM

    Egads. Don't let LANL read this or we WILL have a mandatory helmet rule in the office!

    Shows to go you, most accidents happen in the home or office. My broken toe birthday present to myself this year being an example (crashed toe into heavy chair while watering the plants).

    ReplyDelete
  8. GreenComotionApril 11, 2012 at 10:18 AM

    I know my hard hat saved my head from injury when I was trimming some branches from a tree in our front yard.

    The comment about all the "wild" gear, reminds me of "In the Line of Fire". Do y'all remember the scene where Clint Eastwood and Rene Russo return to the hotel room? :)

    Paz :)

    ReplyDelete
  9. IanApril 12, 2012 at 12:26 AM

    Did you see this ? What do you think?

    http://blogs.dallasobserver.com/unfairpark/2012/04/striped_bike_lanes_arent_nearl.php

    ReplyDelete
  10. Steve AApril 12, 2012 at 5:40 AM

    Ian's link is very interesting. I'm not sure putting bollards up for cyclists to run into is a net improvement, and a 10% mode share would be a major change for DFW cycling, but his approach and the resulting changes would get cycling out of the "we didn't think of them" category.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Invisible ManApril 13, 2012 at 7:01 AM

    I pointed out in one recent blogpost that the fatality rate in Great Britain for pedestrians was worse than for cyclists: http://invisiblevisibleman.blogspot.co.uk/2012/03/it-may-be-fun-but-is-cycling-part-of.html . Maybe pedestrians ought to wear helmets and hi-viz vests all the time.

    I've undermined my point subsequently, however, by realising that cyclists' serious injury rate is much higher than pedestrians', which is a pity: http://invisiblevisibleman.blogspot.co.uk/2012/03/good-life-looks-marginally-worse-thanks.html

    I do enjoy your rigorous take on safety, DFW.

    Invisible.

    ReplyDelete
  12. KhalApril 13, 2012 at 10:53 AM

    Those Dallas bollards look like excellent ways to induce a diversion fall in a cyclist.

    ReplyDelete
  13. KhalApril 13, 2012 at 10:55 AM

    Oops--those are not in Dallas! Thankfully.

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  14. Steve AApril 13, 2012 at 5:11 PM

    Perhaps it is time to revisit the "Killer B's." Bollards, bricks, and Bott's Dots.

    ReplyDelete
  15. RANTWICKApril 19, 2012 at 11:08 PM

    Hahahahaha! You hit your head! You dented a filing cabinet with it! You rock.

    ReplyDelete

No Need for Non-Robot proof here!