Honestly this thread should be put in a sticky at the top of every directory in this forum, especially for the newest of riders, a lot of what was said is a good eye opener for people who just don't think a helmet is as necessary as upgrading a carburetor or other fancy bit of chrome on their bike.
Seriously, I've taken a few spills and even slammed into the side of a moving tow truck on my motorized bike and dozens (spills not tow trucks) on plain pedal bikes and had my helmet on on every occasion, certainly if it wasn't for the helmet my brain would of been
far more vegetablized than my wife says it is now...
I agree that it won't stop you from dying, but honestly why go and purposely increase your chances of death if you have the choice to significantly reduce the likelihood you'll be killed during any accident?
Also the commentary of cars crashes causing more deaths than bicycles, well the one fella pointed it out very clearly, you need more bicycles on the road to fill the gap, and you need them on the road when and where most accidents occur, simply by having a great portion of bicycle riders using the sidewalk you've already dipped into the fatality rate by putting a rider where the cars don't drive. Not to mention that most bicycles carry a single person, so a large truck t-boning a bike will likely injure only a single person, whilst a truck hitting a car or van with 3 people in is has the potential to kill 3 people with a greater potential to kill the driver of the truck as well.
Many other bits of information like 'walking on the same road is 3 times as dangerous' really sounds as made up as it gets unless you disect it to the point where you realize that you are probably looking at 20 people walking on the sidewalk in comparison to probably a single bicycle on the same road. Chances are that if anyone is going to die it's going to be a pedestrian simply because there's 20 times the amount of foot traffic than bicycle traffic on any given route. Numbers are theoretical but you get the drift. Since we're talking about it, maybe let's mention that a vehicle related death is with this 2 ton machine that is pretty darn capable of tearing through other 2 ton vehicles, so if the majority of crashes are vehicle to vehicle and not vehicle to bicycle/motorcycle/scooters then there is a very good chance that multiple people will sustain injury. It doesn't help that bicycles are smaller targets and therefor statistically less likely to be hit by anything in comparison to a hunky 6 by 12 steel box that also can't get out of another vehicles way as easily.
That comment from the surgeon practically seals the coffin (hell Yeah that pun was intented) on who actually makes it to the operating room in regards to helmet vs no helmet riders.
I don't wear a helmet in my tub since I fell like 3 times in my entire life unlike my experiences with bicycles, and I've never fallen off a ladder, ever. Again I'm remarking on the idea from earlier in the thread that people should wear helmets while bathing or climbing ladders, maybe when the department of claw tubs or ladder informists start recommending helmets during those activities I'll bite, untill then I'll take the leap of faith and realize that bath tub related accidents end up in more drowning deaths than skull crushing ones. Maybe I'll start wearing water wingys though just in case.
It would be no different than participating in a gunfight and deciding before going to not wear a bulletproof vest. You know you are going to do something in a dangerous environment with the foresight that a bulletproof vest won't necessarily prevent you from dying during the incident, but you know for a fact that wearing one dramatically reduces the chances you'll be killed. If you still pick not to and get unlucky you can die from a bullet shrapneling into your lung.
I mean really it's that f***ing obvious of a difference yet somehow many bike riders are just as oblivious as the morons who ignore seat belts or decide that driving and using a cell phone at the same time is intelligent. Why bother taking the risk if you can honestly say that NOBODY'S LIFE WAS SPARED BECAUSE THEY DID NOT WEAR A DAMN HELMET!
Sorry for digging up an old thread and sorry for being so zealous about it, but really it's like the complete nature for life to try to preserve its existence, if you want to pull a darwin and get your skull forcibly extracted from your brain then I guess go ahead, at least I know my children will be highly unlikely to mate with your stupid ass after that and I'm happy about it.
As the old adage goes: 'nuff said.