So I know there are a million helmet threads out there so don't comment if you feel the need to reiterate that.

I'm struggling with the decision to start wearing a helmet as I haven't since I started riding. With all the geniuses on their phones and doing everything but driving these days it seems more important to do this and now having a 2 year old little lady in my life it seems like the right choice but it is still difficult for me. I struggle with wearing one since I haven't really in the past and while is is petty the looks of some of them don't agree with me.

I guess what I'm looking for is some input on what made you start wearing one other than the law that may help me make my decision.

 

Personally I don't care for helmets and almost never wear one when I am in a state that does not require them. Have totaled 2 bikes and not a scratch on a helmet. When your number is up its up. As far as I am concerned the only time they are useful is when it is raining hard. With a visor I can at least still see. JMO

 

I like helmets because it keeps wind and exhaust noise down and preserves my hearing.
The helmet also keeps my head warm in winter and the wind out of my slowly receding hair. I arrive and my hair is somewhat combed like it was before putting on the helmet.
Finally the helmet acts as a hat for keeping the sun and skin cancer off my head and ears.
Safety and brain splattering concerns is secondary.

 

So I am making this assumption that you never have taken a safety course. Because you dont like wearing helmets. They usually tell you the importance of one when you take a class and all these statistics. If you did you probably weren't paying attention.

Anyways.. So now you want to wear a helmet because you have a kid. I think it pretty frickin stupid that you want to wear one now because of others in your life. My reasoning for this is if you didnt wear once before you had kids what makes you think you will want to wear one after? Having children shouldnt be a deciding factor whether you should wear a helmet or not.

I always wore one because of the importance of safety. A great example is when I took a refresher course for experienced riders. This guy was doing low speed maneuvers at the parking lot. He dumped the bike, fell off and hit the back of his head. You could hear the helmet and the pavement smack the back of his head. It was a pretty hard hit for going slow. If that guy didn't wear his helmet he would have been rushed to the hospital with a serious concussion.

Look no one here will convince you to wear a helmet. It is up to you.. the choice is yours.

 

I've worn a helmet off and on...because it was a law...in the 70s but when I started riding again, I knew I'd wear one all of the time for the reasons you said, too many goofballs doing everything behind the wheel EXCEPT driving.

I also wear one with a face shield because of bugs and other flying objects and wind noise...but I also wear earplugs for that too. And since we now have an intercom, it's another reason.

 

As I recently posted in another thread, 50 years ago I had a slow speed low side and hit my head on the pavement. Closed head injury as a result. Still living with the consequences 5 decades later.
Now I wear a full face all the time. Not only helps to protect the noggin from road rash or worse, but also keeps bugs and crap out of your face.

 

I don't wear a helmet very often, but when I do wear a helmet a full face does the job. I wear it like you to protect myself from the weather and to be miked up. When your number up it's up.

 

vizcarmb makes conclusions about an incident he witnessed in a parking lot. He may be correct but probably not. In all likelihood a helmet will not prevent a brain concussion. It may prevent scalp lacerations and could prevent a skull fracture.

I have gone down both wearing a helmet and not wearing a helmet. Wearing a helmet the helmet got some serious gouges that I would not want on my head. When not wearing a helmet my head never touched the ground and did not receive a scratch or bruise. Perhaps the weight and diameter of the helmet caused or contributed to contact with the road.

I now sometimes wear a helmet for the reasons some mentioned previously such as weather, etc. I find a half helmet pretty comfortable. I have an expensive full face helmet that I cannot stand to wear.

Try on different styles and see if you like one and wear it or not. It's up to you. I doubt your longevity will be affected either way. Good luck.

 

And if you took a safety class you'd know that the two areas of your head that make contact the most in accidents is the right side of the chin and the left side of the chin. I was give this info in the Harley Riders Edge course. So to me a full face is a no brainer.

Clarifying this was to the OP of the thread not the quoted user

 

If I were you, I'd stop riding.
This is only your first excuse, the rest will follow soon.
You can't ride in fear.