Wear a helmet. It's better than the alternative...

[SheilaT]

154. Some years back when I lived in Boulder, Co,

two kids had similar accidents a couple of weeks apart. They were each maybe seven or nine years old, riding a bike, intersected with a car. One kid was wearing a helmet, one kid not. One wound up in the hospital with what looked like severe and irreparable brain damage. The other kid spent maybe a day in the hospital and then went home, quite fine apart from some bruises. Guess which one was wearing a helmet and which one wasn't?

Your comment is a lot like the posters here who say things like: I've been smoking since I was 15, I'm now 70 and I'm just fine, so what's this bullshit about smoking being harmful to my health?

You and your friends may well have never worn helmets and never had the kind of accident that one would have mattered in. Someone can smoke for many years and never get lung cancer or heart disease. But consider the odds.

Oh, and I almost forgot. My younger son when he was about seven rode his bicycle into a tree, flipped off the bike and landed on his helmet. He was just fine. Needed a new helmet though.

Helmets in cars is not sensible. But seat belts are. Seat belts really do save lives. Or do you not wear one because of the supposed stories of someone who survived a crash because of being thrown clear? Most people who are thrown from a car because they didn't wear a seatbelt are the guests of honor at a funeral.