Protecting Your Brain
Helmet Use and Fit
In Alberta, all children under the age of 18 are required to wear a properly fitting bike helmet at all times while riding their own bike or on or attached to an adult's bike (including in bike trailers). All participants, regardless of age, are required to wear a helmet during Safer Cycling Calgary courses. You will not be allowed to ride in a course if you forget your helmet, if it's broken, doesn't fit you properly or isn't meant for bicycling. Exemptions for religious headwear apply, though many types of headwear can accommodate a helmet: a helmet that doesn't fit or isn't worn properly (for example on top of a turban or tipped way back to fit a kippah) will not protect your brain and is useless (see below for more on religious headwear).
Helmet Type and Risky Behaviour
There are many different looking helmets, but only a few types: there's helmets that are only meant for biking, or only meant for winter sports (skiing/snowboarding, ice skating, tobogganing) and some that are meant for more than one "summer" activity (skateboarding, inline skating, biking). Any helmet - even the wrong kind - is better than no helmet if you hit your head, but please check your helmet to make sure it's the right kind for biking. Another reminder: only bicycle or multi-sport (summer) helmets are permitted in courses.Helmets and religious headwear
Religious headwear comes in many shapes and forms, including the Jewish kippa, Sikh dastar, and Muslim hijab, with variations in each. Many of these can be paired with a helmet, so religious beliefs need not be sacrificed in order to enjoy the safety benefits of a helmet. For those with long hair, an adjustment in the method of securing the hair may be all that's necessary to accommodate a helmet. Most headscarves are no concern under a helmet, though the fabric should not be very bulky or slippery, to ensure proper fit. Some turbans are simply too big to fit under a helmet.
In 2023, a Canadian company has developed a bicycle helmet designed for Sikh kids to fit the patka (may also fit adults with a smallish head and a "sportsman" turban). This is a huge step forward in pairing religion and safety! 2024 update: new medium size available for larger heads. Learn more here.
Wear a large turban or other religious headwear that doesn't work with a helmet? You can still attend courses, just need to sign a helmet exemption.
Helmets are so... blah
Why bother?
Reasons commonly given for why cyclists don't wear a helmet include discomfort, messing up the hair, just riding a short distance, belief that motorists give less space, wearing a helmet makes one take more risks or they're just plain ugly. Much of this is true, but when it comes to your brain, why risk it? A very experienced cyclist, who rode east to west and the reverse across North America wrote in one of his books about a conversation he had regarding helmets that went something like this: friend: "I don't wear a helmet, why do you bother?" Joe Kurmaskie (the very experienced cyclist): "if you don't think your brain is worth $35, then neither do I." How much value does your brain have to you?
Would you think differently if you'd had a bad experience? Could you learn from other people's bad experiences? Men typically take greater risks, but it was a bike park feature meant for beginners. He'd ridden from Calgary to Banff on the highway, gone mountain biking many times and spent countless hours on the bike: a beginner jump was literally no big deal. The image on the right shows his helmet after he made a mistake, on the first run of the day. Imagine if he'd had no helmet? A quick image search for "broken bicycle helmet" will show many more, worse than this. Depending on source and reporting method, it is estimated that anywhere from 40-90% of cycling fatalities could be prevented by helmet use. If death doesn't scare you, what about epilepsy, Alzheimer's disease, osteoporosis, paralysis, loss of speech, impaired balance, or constant headaches? All of these are linked to brain injuries (though not the only cause). A helmet can't prevent all brain injuries, but it can reduce the severity of many of them. I'll defer to Joe's wisdom: if you don't think your brain is worth the cost of a helmet, that's your choice, but I like my brain more than I like having that money in my bank account.
"Wear your helmet for the love of living, not for the fear of dying" - Dr. Paul Patey Read the story of how a quick thinking doctor saved a teenager's life following a crash with no helmet.
Care of your helmet
Remember to replace your helmet after any impact with a hard surface (unless the manufacturer says otherwise), even if there's no visible damage. Invisible damage may mean the next impact is transferred directly to your skull. Helmets should be kept out of direct sunlight when not in use, and out of the extreme heat of an auto parked outside in the summer. Even when it's not hot outside, the temperature inside an auto can rise to extremes, and the foam and plastic in a helmet could melt. When you take off your helmet, don't hang it from your bike's handlebars or throw it on the ground. Take care of your helmet as if your life depends on it: it does!
Helmet Standards
Helmets are tested to ensure they meet certain criteria in order to provide protection. Organizations that are involved in setting standards, for helmets sold in Canada include:
- Canadian Standards Association (CSA)
- United States Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC)
- American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM)
- National Operating Committee on Standards for Athletic Equipment (NOCSAE)
- SNELL Memorial Foundation (SNELL)
- European Committee for Standardization (CEN)
Helmets that don't bear one or more of these certification stickers should not be used for biking. Retail stores in Canada can only legally sell a helmet if it bears certification to at least one of these standards.