Helmet

[Andreu]

What are the rules in the USA for riding....is a crash hat compulsory or not...and what is the general feeling about wearing them?
In UK it's only compulsory in road races, not TTs. My opinion is that TTs are actually more dangerous for a couple of reasons
1. there is more likelihood to mix with trafic in a TT than in a Road race...and a RR bunch is more intimidating to traffic so cars etc tend to avoid you (and there is a rolling closed road normally).
2. TTers tend to have a low position and sometimes take their eye off the road (almost impossible in a RR).
Anyway I can't understand why anyone would want to go out without a crash hat on if there was even a 0.00001% chance that they might hurt there heads in anyway.
Spain....its compulsory as soon as you hit the road in any guise...but some people don't bother and get away with it. Though the culture is changing slowly to be more excepting of them.
A
:crap:

[Speedi Pig]

At USCF sanctioned races, helmet are required for all RR's, TT's and crits. Not only are they required during the actual competition but when you're warming up or warming down as well (except on rollers or a trainer).

Outside of races, helmet laws vary by state, but where I live (Georgia), helmets are required for children (under 16, I think) but are optional for adults.

Incidentally, one scene struck me as odd in the recently released documentary The Hard Road (which is about a pro cycling team based in Los Angeles). They showed one of the riders on a training ride in LA, and the narrator was talking about how the ride had to be "hyper aware" of what was going on around him due to the dangers of the road blah, blah, blah. But, is he wearing his lid? NO!! :crap:

[Roy E. Munson]

If you are talking official UCI races, helmets are now compulsory in all disciplines except for the last climb in a hilltop finish. Notice Lance uses a new TT helmet because his old helmet was basically just a shell and is now illegal by UCI standars as it doesn't meet safety standards.
As for domestic USCF races I have seen more than one person catch heat from an official for warming up or cooling down without a helmet, they take the issue very seriously.

[BumbleBeeDave]

. . . helmets are mandatory for all riders under age 14. But it’s one of those stupid laws passed by our brain-dead legislature to make themselves look good. Local constabulary has more work than it can handle already and it is never enforced except, it seems, as an excuse to stop “suspicious” looking kids.

I always wear a helmet when I ride and don’t even notice it anymore. My daughter deserves to have her Dad in one piece . . .

BBDave

[Kevin]

BBDave,

You are 100% right. Wear your helmet. It protects yourself and it may even protect your children from losing a parent. I can't ride without it. It just does not feel right.

Kevin