[jmspring]

Generally, I've seen three types of injuries with regard to cycling -- the classic being the collar bone breaking, next up some road rash (ie, you know how to lay your bike down or slide out due to a rear flat tire at speed), and head trauma. The first two, the helmet is useless to help. The third? Usually pretty darn helpful.

Around here in Santa Cruz, a town known for biking -- many local builders, a couple of clubs, and a very forceful pro-bike lobby -- we still don't have the infrastructure that places like Portland or Amsterdam have. In fact, the roads are pretty much crap in most places. So you have to be careful. One recent solo accident involved a young adult who was biking at night on a dark road (dumb) but also not wearing a helmet. He crashed. Currently he is in critical condition. Pretty sure a helmet (and a light) would have helped him out.

The story -- http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/localnews/ci_21655013/santa...

Personally, I've had some spills while mountain biking where a helmet has come in pretty darn handy.