Modern Vespa

I'm only a scooterist, and I wear a FF helmet, jacket and gloves. I ride in traffic obviously. Now most days I will see cyclists riding on the side of the road where there isnt enough room, cars wizzing by them at speed and they usually have no helmet on, or those little beanie style helmets. I look at them and think they are CRAZY.

Do you guys that cycle with traffic worry about the head protection that affords?

I started thinking about this more and more as my girlfriend works in a hospital on the brain injury floor. She tells me hey, no more ladder climbing for you etc, as she gets a new patient with that specific injury. Well she is way more worried about me ridding a bicycle than a scooter, because of the number of bicycle head injury patients she gets... no motorcycle ones yet. Now that is more likely because they wear helmets and serious injuries are more likely to be spinal etc.

But anyway, does it seem crazy to anyone else how cyclists ride? I gotta think a bike messenger job in a busy city is pretty scary.

I have the same concerns as you. I see most motorcycle riders around here riding on the highway at high speed with no helmets or any protective gear of any kind. Got passed by a crotch rocket with his girlfriend on the back wearing a sleeveless T shirt and flip flops. They were weaving in and out of traffic. I was doing at least 65 mph and they zoomed past me. All I can do is shake my head.

When I was riding my bike anywhere out of town I always wore a full face helmet. It saved me from a serious bang up when I put my bike in a ditch. I've got the evidence on my helmet. The big scratches would have been on my face and noggin.

I wear a 3/4 when scootering but am looking to get another full face.

Since I got my scooters I haven't ridden the motorcycle.

I always wear a helmet when I ride (bicycle or scooter). The bicycle helmets are pretty effective, even in traffic. I have not used my bicycle helmet in an accident with a car, but I have used it against a rock wall. I was glad that I had it. Having gotten road rash on a bicycle is probably what makes me wear a protective jacket with armor, even in the 100+ degree weather we are having. 30mph road rash was really painful; I don't even want to imagine 50+mph road rash I think people who ride without helmets are nuts, but I will stand up for their right to do so (I figure it thins out the stupid ones )

Agree, I live in a non-helmet law state now and do think it's up to the individual if they want to wear one and they should have that choice. An MD I work closely with told me that they like the non-helmet laws as they provide awesome organ donors - sorta morbid I know. Needless to say, I wear a helmet all of the time!

Bicycle helmets are remarkably high tech and good at protecting the brain if the cyclist is hit at cycling speeds and not clobbered by a car at high speed.

Watch the tour crashes sometimes. A famous one was a rider called Beloki who fell at about 40 to 50 mph: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h_8m5-sR6I4

Broke his hip, but his brain was fine. Nasty crashes happen all the time on the races, riders often get up, get a new bike from the support car and ride on. A rider 2 days ago finished the race with a broken collarbone and a punctured lung. Racers are a tough bunch of bastards, don't let the lycra fool you.

They must also be thrown away if they hit anything with it on your head. Does not matter how hard, because the protective material crushes to protect you.

The worst I have personally seen is rider who was broadsided by an RV at 45+ while descending Sanitarium Road in Napa.

The damage to the helmet was massive, it was just a plastic rag and you could see where the foam material just liquefied absorbing the energy. The rider? Well, we going out that day for a ride on the same road. 6 months of recovery from the broken wrist and other injuries, but his head was fine.

A bicycles's primary defense is agility and maneuverability.

Alright, I've had this concern. My girlfriend is an avid cyclist. The only protective gear she owns is a helmet. She rides at about 25mph in heavy rush hour traffic.

I realize cycle helmets are nice and high tech, but the truth of the matter is, it only covers 1/3 of your head!

There are no other alternatives in cyclist protection, because a FF helmet would probably be too heavy, but it still worries me. Call me vain, but I don't want my girlfriend's face smeared on the road.

I wear a ff helmet, boots, jacket with armor, and gloves when I ride. She wears a helmet, rolled up pants, chaco sandals, and a t-shirt when she rides. How is that safe?

Ok that makes sense. It just seems to me if someone saw me riding a scooter with a bicycle helmet they'd think i was nuts, and when cycling speeds approach scooter speeds it just seems odd to me I guess. Nut i release weight is a concern on a bicycle. As a side note i have noticed kids in my area riding bicycles with full face helmets on, i guess they might have overprotective parents.

Yeah, the downhill full mask helmets.

I would NEVER ride a scoot with a bike helmet and expect it to protect me. For one, the cycle is 15 to 25 lbs, not 250 to 350. There is little risk in a fall from the cycle, other than racking your nuts something fierce.

Facial damage is still a big risk. A mate of mine was hit a meager 15 miles an hour by a car. Went over the hood and the damages was a sprained wrist.

And 5 shattered teeth.

You know the sick part? Event Talking about crashes on bicycles make me want to take the OTHER Italian bike out for a ride!

I think about it a lot.

When the weather is nice I am either taking my scooter to work, or my bicycle. I have a 8 mile commute and the roads I take are identical in the bike and the scoot (suburban back roads). The funny thing is - I think I am safer on my scoot! I have a FF helmet, protective jacket, and soon I'll have new gloves and boots. On my bike, I have a helmet and some spandex and that is it (OK 1/2 finger bike gloves - wow).

My max speed on my bike or my scoot is the same - I have a long downhill stretch on the way in where can hit 45mph on my bicycle. YIKES! I try not to think about the protective properties of spandex at that point.

Yes, for most of my ride on the scoot I am doing 30 to 45 mph and my AVERAGE on my bike is 18 mph...but as far as max speed goes it is the same.

Trust me, I don't want to go down on either vehicle, but atleast ont eh scoot, my skin and head are way more protected.

Everything has risk.

It's all about how informed you are, how careful you are, how much practice you have.

Everyone involved in an "accident" has some culpability.

The people who show up in the brain ward at the hospital *probably* took more risk than they were capable of handling.

It's true. A fair number of them were drinking and cycling, and got hit by cars. I used to cycle a fair bit, but since I started scootering, I just dont feel as safe anymore, so I dont really do it except for trails. Im not afraid of falling off, Im afraid of cars. Maybe more cities have bike lanes, and that makes sense, but in my city there aren't many, and daily I am forced to drive close in my car to careless cyclists.

As an avid cyclist for many years, I couldn't have said it better.

Hell, sometimes I have to run on the side of roads without sidewalks and that's as dangerous as riding a bike there too.

It's probably most dangerous for you, whether on a bicycle, motorcycle or on foot near or on the road, when you stop being afraid. I just read a story this morning about an NYC cop drunk behind the wheel (arrested for DUI) who mowed into a pedestrian crossing the street.

Expect the unexpected. Always.

I've been riding a bicycle for quite a few years and yes I think about crashing all the time, but I don't worry about it. If I did I probably wouldn't ride at all. Somebody else posted about being careful. I think that's really it. Be careful, pay attention to everything around you, and ahead of you. Try to anticipate what other people "might" do and be ready, don't assume they will see you, or care if they do see you.
When I first started riding my scooter a couple years ago, maybe it was last year?, I didn't have a helemt, so I wore my bicycle helmet for a while. It was great at first, then I did start thinking about how much faster I was going on the scooter compared to the bicycle, and I was scared a little, so I bought a motorcycle helmet. When I'm on the scooter, I ride like I'm on my bicycle, as far as being careful and watching everything around me, etc.

So far so good!! I'm knocking on wood now!

I wear a helmet or did when I cycled. I crashed numerous times (i'm not a nut I swear, but I was a daily commuter for 15+ years & you can only avoid accidents for so long before some fool hits you etc) & only actually hit my head on the pavement once, but that once made it all worthwhile. I was turning very slowly on an icy corner & the bike flew out from under me. My head did a vicious double bounce on the pavement. I hate to think what would have happened if I hadn't had it on. helmets are required here but cops never enforce the law like so many others.

I think bicyclists are exposed to more risks than a scooter because they are being overtaken by every over vehicle on the road. Scooter/motorcycles are exposed to different risks because of their speed. Both are more fun than not riding for fear of getting hurt. One has to decide what is an acceptable risk to get that pleasure of being on 2 wheels.
I'm tempted to go w/o gear but figure that will be the time I fall or get hit.

For what it's worth, there is actually a lot of contreversy(sp) about helmets, at least on bicycles. I read an article a while back, which I couldn't find again, about wearing bicycle helmets in Australia. The article said basically that helmets caused more serious injuries than they prevented. Whatever, I'll keep wearing mine.

I always wear a proper bicycle helmet.
Tennis shoes (no flipflops) and biking gloves with gel inserts, and eyeclasses, too.

Spandex...umm, no.

I am a former trauma nurse (still do nursing, just not in the ICU) for a level 1 trauma center. I am also an avid cyclist and scooterist. I can be seen traveling to my job (around a 26 mile round trip) on either conveyance, most days. I always wear a helmet no matter what I am riding. I wear a full face on my Vespa and good quality bicycle helmet on my Specialized Sequoia Elite.
I don't know how many times I have spoken with crying parents looking at their now brain damaged child (who is usually a former honor student) and they say to me "he/she usually wears his/her helmet, but forgot it this time". Motorcyclists/scooterists without helmets are called 'organ donors' in hospital parlance.
There is risk inherent in every activity, whether riding, cycling, skiing or walking across the street. Sensible folks mitigate that risk by wearing the appropriate safety gear, and being alert to your surroundings.
My .02 cents.