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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Karl J" data-source="post: 1216907" data-attributes="member: 1066">yes you do make some interesting and relevant points Ovenbird, particularly the move toward the centre of the lane. I'd especially suggest doing that when riding through pinch-points (dunno if you have them in the US, but it's where the road is narrowed to allow a pedestrian refuge to be built in the middle of the road, to aid them in crossing a wide busy road). Riding in the left hand edge of the road / in the gutter just invites motorists to pass too closeAs for helmets - the fact is they are designed to work at or below 12 mph, which may be handy if you fall off while riding slowly and aren't hit by a car / bus / lorry / tractor. Which i suspect means they will only offer limited protection against smaller / surface wounds / grazing etc. Personally i've only ever had one instance where it became an issue - Riding through Norwich i ended up taking a corner 'speedway style' across a wet manhole cover. After having my broken ribs seen in hospital i was given a lecture by a vastly overweight dr, who smelt of tobacco, on various health benefits (!!) inc. the of wearing a helmet and how they protect you. Now quite how it would have protected my ribs i've never really understood, but there you are. There is also some thought to them possibly increasing the risk of rotational neck injury (very nasty) through the effect of widening your head, and their encouraging motorists to drive more aggrssively <<a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/somerset/5334208.stm" target="_blank">link to</a>> Bath University research  - which includes the quote "...this study suggests wearing a helmet might make a collision more likely in the first place" . As for light-less cyclists, i couldn't agree more. If anyone's a little unsure, this <a href="http://www.ctc.org.uk/DesktopDefault.aspx?TabID=4071" target="_blank">is a link</a> to the legal requirements in the UK for lights and reflectors, but at a guess those who need to read it won't.</blockquote>

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