Helmetless riding stupid, illegal

By Dave Kannas

There's certainly something to be said for wind blowing through one's hair and whistling unimpeded past one's ears while rolling along on a bicycle sans helmet among the many mine fields that we bicyclists negotiate. The same sensation is true for motorcyclists.

Then there's "helmet hair," yuck! But there's also my wife Delores, a trauma nurse at Harborview Medical Center's Trauma Intensive Care Unit in Seattle. She has a very succinct term for those who ride without helmets: "donor cyclists." Sad, but there you have it from one who knows and has seen the carnage caused by helmetless riding.

But let's forget the inconvenient truth about what riding without a helmet causes in the way of injury and worse and what it does to families who have to care for a permanently impaired bicyclist (Or should I say, former bicyclist?) who will no longer feel the free flow of wind through his or her hair.

Let's examine the King County Ordinance that now makes riding without a helmet unlawful. You can find the complete text of Title 9 in the Education Foundation section of the Cascade Bike Club web site (cbc.org). Chapter 9.10 of this ordinance states: Any person operating or riding on a bicycle not powered by a motor on a public roadway, bicycle path or on any right-of-way or publicly owned facilities located in King County including Seattle, shall wear a protective helmet designed for bicycle safety. The penalty for violation of this infraction is $30 plus court costs. That is $30 that could better be used to purchase a helmet. As for those among you who think that Seattle Police can't or won't enforce this law, think again.

Let's go even further and talk about what truly says it for me in this ramble: my opinion of those who ride without helmets. As you may have guessed by now, I have a generally positive opinion of my fellow humans, but I part ways with those of the helmetless school. So as to leave no doubt where I stand, I think they must already have suffered brain damage at some point or contracted a severe case of the stupids. Sorry about that, but they must have contracted the stupids or they wouldn't risk brain damage or death when the simple slipping on of a helmet would prevent or decrease head injury.

Have I always been guilt-free? Nope.

Back in the day, I recall not wearing a helmet mainly because they weren't readily available, and those that were available consisted of some sort of shock absorbing material covered by leather that formed bands that ran along side and over the rider's head. While these looked sort of jaunty, they didn't offer much protection. One evening in Los Angeles while cruising down a hill, a car passed me on my left then made an immediate right turn in front of me. Helmetless, I hit the right front fender of this car, flew headlong over the hood and did a three-point landing on both hands and the left side of my face.

I must have cut quite a figure in flight and wish to this day that I had it on film. I woke up on the street, blood flowing briskly from a cut near my left eye, wondering what happened. An ambulance ride to a hospital, several stitches and a damaged bicycle later, I was almost back to normal. A helmet wouldn't have prevented the crash, but it would probably have prevented a trip to the hospital and what became a sinister looking scar. As for brain damage, I'm here to write about it.

But really, my fellow bicyclists, it isn't a small matter. For starters, I've already stated the obvious: it's dangerous to ride without a helmet. It's also not stylish any longer. You've all seen the wide choices of style and color now available. Helmets are also priced to fit most budgets, but don't buy the cheapest one. While price doesn't necessarily equate with quality, it can.

Speaking of style, I attended an organized ride in the North Cascades last June. Being alone, I joined a group of riders who left the start at the same time as I did. (Like most riders, they had no problem with one more person jumping in to help pull on a long and challenging ride.) One of the men in the group was riding a bike like mine, so we struck up a conversation which included talk about helmets. I noticed that his helmet matched his bike. He said that he had a problem finding a helmet that matched the color of his bike. I told him that I had the same problem, but had found the right one after a long search. At that point one of the female riders who was behind us yelled, "You sound like a couple of women!" We took this as a compliment and rode on. The same woman rode steadily away from us on the first climb of the day. I don't recall whether her helmet matched her bike.

It was clear that riding slowly up Washington and Rainy Passes that day wasn't much of a threat to brain matter, racing down at 40-plus mph was. We all limited the threat by wearing our helmets. You should do the same.

Safe and happy riding.

Dave Kannas may be reached via wseditor@robinsonnews.com