Helmets anyone?

phil wrote:
**sigh*

So you wear a helmet when out walking? Statistically it's more
dangerous than biking, so presumably unicycling too.


Phil *


Could you elaborate on that? How, statistically, is walking more
dangerous than biking?


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onewheeldave wrote:
*Could you elaborate on that? How, statistically, is walking more
dangerous than biking? *


Isn't it obvious?! What's wrong with you people, I mean, you go 3 times
as slow, you got 200% more control, so why dont you bloody underst--
right... err, nevermind uh, yes. So, someone mentioned free coffee?


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I'm such an awesome Coker rider that I'm never going to hit my head from
a Coker UPD. My reactions are very quick so I'd be able to keep my head
off the ground in any kind of a Coker UPD. And I'm so good I don't
crash anyways.

When Coker riding my concern is more on the cars around me, the
bicyclists around me, the skaters around me, the joggers around me, the
dogs around me, the kids around me, and all the other things around me
that I can't control. Being hit by a car would make it very difficult
for me to keep my head safe from impact on the car or on the ground.
Getting tangled up with a bike, dog, or jogger could cause me to tumble
in a way that causes my head to make direct contact with the ground.
Those are things that are mostly out of my control and the main reason
for the helmet. Then there are the unexpected things that can happen
like the unexpected bump at 15+ mph that could lead to a bad UPD and a
head impact.

I don't usually wear a helmet for freestyle except for when trying a new
skill that feels very unstable. I wore a helmet when first trying
backwards riding and while first learning wheel walking. When I get to
trying gliding I'll probably put the helmet on again for the learning
process. Otherwise I don't see a helmet as necessary for standard
freestyle riding.

I do wear a helmet when riding trials and muni and when riding along
roads or the cycle paths.


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onewheeldave wrote:
*Could you elaborate on that? How, statistically, is walking more
dangerous than biking? *

Fatality rates per billion km travelled, according to the 'Department of
Transport' (http://tinyurl.com/a7cx5):

Bus: 0.4
Car: 3.1
Bike: 42
Pedestrian: 59
Motorbike: 106

These are figures for 2001, but I can't imagine it having changed all
that much since then.

Phil


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phil wrote:
*Fatality rates per billion km travelled, according to...

These are figures for 2001, but I can't imagine it having changed all
that much since then.
*


Well, if you're going to rely on FACTS to support your argument... pah!


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phil wrote:
*Fatality rates per billion km travelled, according to the 'Department
of Transport' (http://tinyurl.com/a7cx5):

Bus: 0.4
Car: 3.1
Bike: 42
Pedestrian: 59
Motorbike: 106

These are figures for 2001, but I can't imagine it having changed all
that much since then.

Phil *


So... does anyone know why walking is so much more dangerous than
busing, and somewhat more dangerous than cycling? Any idea what the
cause of those walking fatalities generally are?

I'm having difficulties understanding why walking is apparently
resulting in more fatalities than cycling, as cycling seems to carry
more risk, and, when I'm cycling it definitly -feels- more risky than
walking on the pavement.

I notice that the stats given are per billion km travelled, could that
in some way be distorting the figures?


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onewheeldave - Semi Skilled Unicyclist

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But you can make the ******* work for it."

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"onewheeldave" .com writes:

I notice that the stats given are per billion km travelled, could that
in some way be distorting the figures?

Using those stats and assumjing bikes travel 5 times as fast a
pederstians, I figure a bicyclist is 3.5 times more likely to die per
hour. Stating it this way, one could easily claim walking is safer.

john_childs wrote:
*I'm such an awesome Coker rider that I'm never going to hit my head
from a Coker UPD.*
...even if it's caused by a drunk driver behind you?

Ever seen a bicyclist going downhill 100 k.m./h in Swiss during a race,
and a femal driver (around a corner) driving in the oppesit direction in
a posh-cabrio (and ignoring police orders), meeting VERY close (and not
though the door...)...?

Or let's remember Fabio Carsatelli, untill 10 years ago an Italian
team-mate of Lance Armstrong under Dutch team-manager Hennie Kuiper...

Last two case were on two wheels... most likely wont have happen on one
wheel.
But it illustrates your just fragile, and part of traffic.


Personally I never wear a helmet, I don't even have one anymore.
But okay, I'm not a cokernaut, don't trail, muni, and in traffic avoid
being close to cars.


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phil wrote:
*Fatality rates per billion km travelled, according to the 'Department
of Transport' (http://tinyurl.com/a7cx5):
Bus: 0.4
Car: 3.1
Bike: 42
Pedestrian: 59
Motorbike: 106
*


that's the number of people who are killed....how about you do the
percentage of pedestrians that don't get hurt to pedestrians that do get
hurt, vs. bikers who don't get hurt to bikers who do get hurt. I bet
those statistics will tell a different story.


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leo wrote:
*...even if it's caused by a drunk driver behind you? *

You took the smiley off the end of that paragraph. I should have used
the sarcastic smiley cause that first paragraph was a jab at people who
claim they are so good that they can ride fast and not need a helmet.
It's an argument some use to justify not wearing a helmet when they
bike. That argument ignores physics and it ignores the fact that other
vehicles and people are on the road/trail and you have almost no control
over whether they crash into you or not no matter how good of a rider
you are.

I'm pro helmet but also pro individual choice and anti mandatory helmet
laws.

My main concern when Cokering is having another vehicle or person hit
me. My second concern is the odd type of fall or UPD where you fall
with no warning or no control. Both are reasons to wear a helmet just
in case.


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