One man's modus ponens
Sep. 3rd, 2021 01:59 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
brin_bellway[cw: (abstract discussion of) head injury, (arguably) discourse]
Holden Karnofsky: "Interesting argument against wearing a bike helmet. I wear one because I don't want to look reckless and actively enjoy looking dorky, but ¯\_(ツ)_/¯"
Argument:
Me: You know, that's a good point. *goes to research stealth helmets for day-to-day wear*
(why stealth? because--in the absence of lots of normalisation of the augment in question--people tend to be pissier about augments to make average people strong than about augments to make weak people average, and I do not want anyone taking it as a *challenge*.)
---
Well, they're aimed specifically at low-speed pedestrian falls and are not suitable for even bicycle-speed (let alone car-speed) crashes, but there *are* a couple brands out there. HeadSaver seems rather more upfront about its impact-testing data than Ribcap, and is also cheaper.
Of course, "cheaper" is still $130 (I *think* that store denominates in CAD, but I'm not entirely sure), and I suspect this is not currently the lowest-hanging fruit in my life with regards to exchanging money for safety (though if I were clumsier it would be). I will make a note towards (but not at) the bottom of the List and reassess when I get there.
(Certainly I would want to do a bit of my own research first on head-trauma risks, since argument guy is clearly not trustworthy when it comes to which data is worth including.)
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P.S. Actually, hang on, there *is* also a brand of stealth bike helmet. It looks significantly less comfortable than the pedestrian helmets and I suspect it's not worthwhile for pedestrian use, but if you specifically want a stealth *bike* helmet it exists.
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(edit: postscript)
Holden Karnofsky: "Interesting argument against wearing a bike helmet. I wear one because I don't want to look reckless and actively enjoy looking dorky, but ¯\_(ツ)_/¯"
Argument:
But a broader look at the statistics show that cyclists’ fear of head trauma is irrational if we compare it to some other risks. Head injuries aren’t just dangerous when you’re biking—head injuries are dangerous when you’re doing pretty much anything else. There’s ample evidence showing that there’s nothing particularly special about cycling when it comes to serious head injuries.
[...skipping over some near-useless data that *doesn't* account for some activities being more common than others, and which I think less of him for presenting...]
Risk of head injury per million hours travelled
Cyclist - 0.41
Pedestrian - 0.80
Motor vehicle occupant - 0.46
Motorcyclist - 7.66
[...]
Yet, despite the clear threat of fatal head trauma from these other activities, virtually nobody insists that people wear helmets in these situations. In fact, doing so is openly mocked.
Me: You know, that's a good point. *goes to research stealth helmets for day-to-day wear*
(why stealth? because--in the absence of lots of normalisation of the augment in question--people tend to be pissier about augments to make average people strong than about augments to make weak people average, and I do not want anyone taking it as a *challenge*.)
---
Well, they're aimed specifically at low-speed pedestrian falls and are not suitable for even bicycle-speed (let alone car-speed) crashes, but there *are* a couple brands out there. HeadSaver seems rather more upfront about its impact-testing data than Ribcap, and is also cheaper.
Of course, "cheaper" is still $130 (I *think* that store denominates in CAD, but I'm not entirely sure), and I suspect this is not currently the lowest-hanging fruit in my life with regards to exchanging money for safety (though if I were clumsier it would be). I will make a note towards (but not at) the bottom of the List and reassess when I get there.
(Certainly I would want to do a bit of my own research first on head-trauma risks, since argument guy is clearly not trustworthy when it comes to which data is worth including.)
---
P.S. Actually, hang on, there *is* also a brand of stealth bike helmet. It looks significantly less comfortable than the pedestrian helmets and I suspect it's not worthwhile for pedestrian use, but if you specifically want a stealth *bike* helmet it exists.
---
(edit: postscript)
