[whistlerbrk]

I'm sorry but this post mentions there isn't any good data and then dives into anecdotes.

"But helmets are not supposed to shatter." Yes, they are. After any crash with a helmet you're support to discard it and purchase a new one. It absorbed, hopefully, the vast majority of the energy of the impact, not your skull.

"Cyclists don’t die from just falling off their bikes, they die because they are hit by cars."

Doubtless, but this is one of the few cases in which there are statistics available because it involves motor vehicles... and death.

"Learning safe riding skills, being visible, and being attentive are the things we all can do to prevent an accident."

Yes, absolutely. Ride defensively and assume NO ONE can see you and knows where you are at ALL times even and sometimes especially in a bike lane.

"I replaced my road bike’s drop handlebars with swept back bars, for a more upright riding position"

The observation of mountain/flat bars being a better city / casual riding position is true. But you don't need to ditch your drops if you ride on the tops when appropriate. Many people have a second pair of brake levers accessible from the tops as well as their integrated levers at the hoods.

What I'm most surprised about is that the author doesn't mention a study where drivers on average, apparently, drive 3 inches closer to cyclists WITH helmets on because they perceive them to be protected.

All this said: WEAR A HELMET. I'll provide an anecdote: the wheel coming off of a front fork after someone tried to steal their wheel earlier in the day (unlocking the quick release). I found the man with his face smashed on the ground, his left eye caved in on the Manhattan Bridge.

Route 9W, bottom of the first major hill, debris collected from over winter. Many cyclists repairing flats, another one who got taken away in an ambulance, helmet shattered and knee "destroyed". He would have certainly died if he had not been wearing a helmet.

The point is saying that helmets don't protect you from crashes is like saying seatbelts don't protect you from crashes. Yes! It's true, but they protect you from hurting yourself too badly if and when you DO crash.

[matt_morgan]

"The people who wear helmets are likely more safety-conscious than those who don’t, which makes comparing the two groups very difficult and will make it appear that helmets are more protective than they actually are."

Unless the act of wearing a helmet is part of what reminds you to be more safety-conscious. Bucking my child into the car has the same effect.

BTW the author does mention that study about drivers coming closer to bikers with helmets.

[kllrnohj]

> "But helmets are not supposed to shatter." Yes, they are. After any crash with a helmet you're support to discard it and purchase a new one. It absorbed, hopefully, the vast majority of the energy of the impact, not your skull.

Read the link. Hint: no, they aren't. The main absorbtion of energy is all in the styrofoam. If the shell shattered but the styrofoam didn't compress then no significant force dissipation happened. Some did, yes, but not enough to have prevented anything more than cuts & scrapes.

> What I'm most surprised about is that the author doesn't mention a study where drivers on average, apparently, drive 3 inches closer to cyclists WITH helmets on because they perceive them to be protected.

They did, actually. That was in the article.