When should you wear a helmet? All organized races now require them. Often I see families out for a ride and the children are wearing their helmets, yet the parents aren't. When riding, weather on of off road, always wear your helmet. Adults are the example to children and if they don't wear their helmet, how can you expect a child to wear their's when they're teenagers.
According to the Bicycle Helmet Safety Institute, if they'd been wearing helmets, 90 percent of bicyclists who were seriously injured or died in accidents in 2000 would have survived with treatable injuries.
The thing that makes helmets so important is how high your head is above the ground when you're riding. That's a long way to fall and quite an impact if you strike your head.
True helmet safety story: as a teenager in 1988, a member of our staff was on a night road ride with some friends. He was without a light, riding on a borrowed bike in an unfamiliar area and not wearing a helmet. He was going down a steep incline and hit an unseen object. He was thrown off the bike, and memories of events get vague after that. His riding companions contacted EMS, so he has some flashes of memories: ambulance, hospital, x-rays and being told in between "don't fall asleep". The diagnosis was a skull fracture, a closed head injury. After spending a week in Primary Children's Hospital for observation, he was told he was lucky he's not a vegetable. The near tragic event could have been avoided had he just worn a helmet. |
A properly fitted helmet is safe and comfortable. If a helmet is too small it will feel tight, possibly be painful, and will not give proper coverage on the forehead. If a helmet is too lose it will slide forward or backward no matter how much you try to tighten it. Those who are new to cycling and are unsure of how a helmet should fit may put it on backwards. If you are unsure of how a helmet should fit or feel, have someone assist you while trying on your first helmet. 
