Loving the Brain Bucket

Photo courtesy of Belle Helmets

As an avid recreational cyclist and frequent bicycle commuter, I would never dream of swinging my leg over a bike without wearing a helmet.
Bike helmets work. I have a few that I've worn over the years bearing the unmistakable signs that they served their intended purpose: cracked and scraped where my skull would otherwise have borne the damage.
That said, wearing a helmet is a personal choice that should not be forced upon me or any other adult. Those who impose helmet use on all cyclists impose a double standard of safety and needlessly impede the popularity of bicycling.
We should take note of the dearth of bicycle helmets in Europe. There, the widespread use of bicycles is largely fueled by pragmatism. In many cases the bicycle is the simplest, cheapest, easiest way to complete a desired trip. That includes one's attire.
Europeans rarely bicycle in anything other than their street, school or business attire. The bicycle helmet has not part in it.
In the same way, Americans would hardly find it convenient to wear a crash helmet while driving our automobiles, although one could doubtlessly complete a thorough search of the research literature and "prove" that widespread helmet use would reduce the number of head injuries from automobile accidents.
After all, helmets are entirely acceptable to NASCAR.

Some personal choices, stupid as they might appear, should not be legislated. Light up a smoke and think about it.