BikinginLA

Today’s common theme is bike helmets.

Just a day after British bike scribe and new Forbes transportation writer Carlton Reid says he doesn’t wear a helmet when he rides, a couple others chimed in on the subject.

A Montreal writer says the problem with that is that bike helmets are proven to save lives. Which is true, as long as you don’t look at the studies that contradict them.

And pro cyclist Alex Dowsett says helmets “should be compulsory for all cyclists, everywhere, all of the time,” after crediting his with saving his head during yesterday’s stage of China’s Tour of Guangxi.

As regular readers of this site may know, I always wear a helmet when I ride.

But I realize that they’re not magic talismans that protect you from any injury. Except for the new MIPS helmets, they don’t protect against concussions, and they don’t protect any other part of the body.

They’re also only designed to protect against impacts up to 13.5 mph. Which means bike helmets are better in a slow speed fall than a high speed crash.

So yes, they can offer some protection, and may even save your life under certain circumstances.

But they should always be seen as the last line of defense. Not the first.

It’s better to avoid a crash in the first place than count on your helmet to save you.

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Thanks to the Los Angeles Times for alerting the world to the dangers of this site in yesterday’s daily email blast.

Although I prefer to write it as one word.

Thanks to Chris Klibowitz for the heads-up. 

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Local

The LA Times offers their endorsements for next month’s election, including a no on Prop 6, which would repeal the recent gas tax increase to fund road repair.

 

State

A new class-action lawsuit against Lime and Bird calls for banning e-scooters in California, with three plaintiffs alleging they were injured by defective and unsafe scooters; the suit also alleges the companies created a public nuisance and abetted assault. On the other hand, they love them in Portland, and are replacing car trips.

The CHP’s Pedestrian and Bicyclist Enforcement and Education Project has received a $1 million federal grant, as San Jose becomes the fourth California city to adopt Vision Zero.

Sad news from Sunnyvale, where a man was killed in a hit-and-run while riding his bike.

 

National

A writer for Business Insider says he can highly recommend REI’s own line of hybrid bikes.

As if anyone still cares, Cosmo updates the world on Britney Spears inner circle 20 years after the release of Baby One More Time. Although if you want to scroll all the way down to #13, Nigel Dick, the director of that video and some of her other hits, is one of us.

A Missouri city administrator explains there are many reasons why he rides a bicycle. But mostly, because it’s fun.

Critical Mass has finally made it to Brattleboro, Vermont, population just below 11,500.

Sure, that’s it. The New York Post’s resident anti-bike crank says local residents are making a last stand to fight a planned bike and pedestrian bridge, arguing that the mere presence of people on bicycles would lower their property values. And that the bridge is just the mayor’s attempt to get even with the governor, whose mother lives nearby. Of course. Who wouldn’t build a multi-million dollar just to get back at your political nemesis?

A WaPo writer says DC pedestrians have to walk at their own risk. And it’s not much better for people on bikes.

Speaking of DC, the district is considering banning right turns on red lights to improve safety for people on bicycles and on foot.

 

International

Most Scots think bicycling is a good thing, but over half say it’s not for them. Meanwhile, a newspaper wonders why so many adults lose the ability to ride a bike when it’s literally child’s play.

A Euro website looks at L’Eroica and the return of vintage steel road bikes.

For the second time in a week, a French mountain biker has been shot by a hunter; the victim was hit in the shoulder by someone who apparently thought he was shooting at a wild boar. Since so many try to escape hunters by bicycle, evidently.

A Kiwi writer says he has seen the future, and it’s dockless bikeshare.

Caught on video: An Aussie bike rider suffered a broken ankle when he was the victim of sidewalk rage, after a large man brushed against him rather than move over a bit to make room.

 

Competitive Cycling

VeloNews calls the just concluded Tour of Guangxi a success, as it builds a cycling bridge between east and west.

 

Finally…

When protected bike lanes come to Dinkytown. And just in time for Halloween, the bicycling dead.