I've ridden only once without a helmet in as long as I can remember. Felt vulnerable! - Adam Loving from StumbleRead

It's true. They work. - Andrew Feinberg

wow... that's amazing. how old is your cousin jesse? - dave mcclure

dave, my cousin's 30, just 1 year younger than me - Jesse Stay from twhirl

You can read her story, in her own words here. I'm inspired: http://thetopotheworld.blogspot.com/ - Jesse Stay from twhirl

This happened to a friend of mine at the beginning of the month. He didn't do so good in the accident, but the helmet obviously saved his life. Thankfully is on his way home tomorrow: http://www.caringbridge.org/visit... - Steve Lacey

I used to ride my bike without the helmet even though it is mandatory in Chennai, India. But after reading this I am not even going to the next street in my bike without helmet. - Sudar

I never wear a helmet. When hearing things like this, I always think of this article.http://news.bbc.co.uk/1.... In the Netherlands no one wears a helmet. It seems safe to me. - Peter Stuifzand

I was hit while riding to work in summer 2006 & did not want anyone to touch my helmet at all costs. If my brain was scrambled, I did not want anyone to touch my egg:) I highly recommend a helmet especially if you think you will not need one! Mine was almost the same color too & manufacturer, but there is no conspiracy there:) - Roney Smith

Bicyclists/motorcyclists that don't wear helmets are better called future organ donors - Brian Sullivan

Thanks for sharing. I ride often at traffic time between cars. always wear my helmet...itsg good to know that It does work :) - jonathan from twhirl

that's incredible... - Jamie Allen from twhirl

Wow, glad to hear your friend is doing well after that. I agree, helmets save lives. Regardless, I've many intentional close-calls by drivers who don't want to share the road. Unfortunately, this is the common attitude where I live (southern US). - pete

we wear helmets for everything: mtb, snowboarding, wakeboarding, skateboarding & even surfing - skulls are fragile why not put a protective layer around it (i also try real hard to not ride on streets - a high percentage of drivers are oblivious to bike riders)... - mike "glemak" dunn

I always ride in my helmet and stay to bike lanes as much as possible. Nice to know the safety tools work. Now, if I can just avoid that NYPD cop with a penchant for knocking people off their bikes. Hopefully, he won't transfer to LAPD. - Jason Toney

Peter Stuifzand, my cousin would be dead if she did not wear her helmet. That article is BS. Wear your helmet! - Jesse Stay from twhirl

Point blank. You are a moron if you ride without a helmet. Sorry, but that's true and you're just going to play into Darwinian theory should you continue to ride without one. Any 'real' cyclist (e.g - you've been hit by a car - and yes, I have been) will tell you this without reservation. Helmets work without a doubt. - AJ Kohn

I survived a nasty motorcycle crash in my youth and would also be dead without that helmet - which cracked in 2 like an egg (that would have been my head, as the nurse aptly put it!). - Susan Beebe

A friend who's a cop refers to motorcycles as donorcycles whenever she sees someone riding without a helmet. I figure that applies for bicycles, too. - ha3rvey (doink doink)

I was on the way to work Monday morning while it was raining, when the third car in front of me spun out of control and flipped twice into a ditch. When I pulled over to help her out she was just fine. She only had a scratch on her left shoulder from the broken window and was not hurt anywhere else. THE REASON: She was wearing her seat belt. It's nice to hear that these devices are actually helping us! - David Cook

Awesome. I ride my bike to work everyday and I see a lot of people with no helmets on. I don't know how they do it. - Clint Ecker

Wow! I wear mine! Didn't for years - I was lucky I guess. Thanks for posting that! - matthew hunt

OMG... Jesse, do you have a link other than here on FF? I have friends whose kids refuse to wear theirs, and seeing this may help. - Cyndy

Cyndy why not just link here - http://friendfeed.com/e... - Brian Sullivan

Dutch don't wear helmets and they don't get killed by cars http://www.ski-epic.com/amsterd.... - Peter Stuifzand

Actually they do get killed by cars. But culturally they are not inclined to wear helmets. - Brian Sullivan

Cyndy, with this being dug out of the grave, I just noticed your question. That particular picture is from my cousin's blog here: http://thetopotheworld.blogspot.com/2008... You can read the full story here: http://thetopotheworld.blogspot.com/2008... Search for "run over by car" and you can read about her entire ordeal. - Jesse Stay

My brother would not be alive today if he did not wear his helmet while riding his motorcycle; please wear a helmet! - Sandra

man - Shey, Jamaican of FF

If it's nice enough to ride, I probably won't be bothering with the human-powered bike any longer. I always wear a helmet on my gas-powered bike. - MiniMage, sheeple of FF

As long as we won't have mountains, we Dutch will not wear those things. Otherwise we won't be able to recognise the tourists on bikes. - Ton Zijp

Thanks for sharing - I had a mishap with a car, wasn't wearing a helmet at the time, was lucky. If they don't see you, it doesn't matter either way. Wear the helmet! - Rick Bucich

This isn't as extreme as this but when I fell off my bike onto a sidewalk and broke my arm, I thought I was fine for a while. Later, my dad noticed that the whole front of my helmet was all scratched up and the visor in front was torn off! I realized that if I wasn't wearing my helmet on the 2 minute trip down the road, I probably wouldn't be typing this comment right now! Not that I'd be dead but I would have suffered some head damage, limiting my ability to do most things. - Kevin Lyons

Helmets for cyclists are mandatory in Australia. Still gives me the shudders when I'm travelling and see bareheaded bicyclists on the roads. - Kate Foy