# Poll: How old were you when you started wearing a helmet ?



## onbelaydave (May 10, 2006)

Most of us were raised in olden times when no one wore a helmet. Somehow we survived, although I can't figure out how, given the "helmet or die" standard message being preached now a days.

I find it funny watching all the little 2-3 yr olds on their "Big Wheels" in helmets. Next will be full body gear and air bags.

Honestly, I learned to ride a bike back in the early ' 60's and was taking it off pavement soon after. I bought my first "real" 'MTB in ~' 83/4 and still had never seen another rider in a helmet.

When did it become gospel that everyone "needs" a helmet ?


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## jeffw-13 (Apr 30, 2008)

I grew up in the helmet free 70's. I have the scars on my noggin to prove it.


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## HotBlack (Feb 9, 2008)

erm

was 4 when I started, and 28 when I stopped.

so...


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## lidarman (Jan 12, 2004)

After I got my first STD.


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## hitek79 (Oct 24, 2008)

My mom and dad had me on their motorcycle at the age of 2 with a helmet. Worn them ever since.


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## sgltrak (Feb 19, 2005)

As a kid, I used to jump the banana seat bike off a wooden ramp in the driveway and jump ditches with no helmet. Started wearing a helmet 20+ years ago when I was 20. Had been mountain biking for a couple of years, and took some pretty good diggers, so decided it was time. I have broken 2 helmets with my head in them, and 2 weeks ago came close to breaking another. Started my kids wearing helmets on their skateboards, inline skates, and bikes when they were pretty young.


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## sean salach (Sep 15, 2007)

since i was 14 and started venturing out on the road more. i'm actually the one that asked for a helmet, so my mom took me to the bike shop to get one. learned to ride at 3? maybe 4.


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## wmodavis (Jun 21, 2007)

When I was 64. Still don't wear a seat belt though.


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## vaulter1 (Oct 3, 2008)

I've been wearing a helmet since I started riding as a child. I reckon that wearing a helmet has saved my life twice in big crashes (I've broken 2 helmets so far) so I never leave home without one.


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## Renovatio (Nov 22, 2007)

lidarman said:


> After I got my first STD.


hahahahahaha! nice.

I learned to ride a bike with a helmet, stopped after I was a bit older and started when I started MTBing


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## sixate (Feb 27, 2008)

Bought my first helmet this year, and I'm 31.
I only wear it when I go to certain trails. The rest of the time it sits in my garage.


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## DPL (Mar 23, 2008)

I started wearing one all the time when I was around 16, so 11-12 years ago, although I was actually forced to start wearing one. Most of the people I rode with at the time wore helmets and a few of them said I really neded to start wearing one but I didn't, thinking it would be uncomfortable. Eventually one of my friends brought his spare helmet along on a ride for me and said "You *ARE* going to wear that". I kinda protested but he stood in front of my bike and physically prevented me from riding any further until I put the helmet on (and he was bigger than me so I didn't really have much of a choice). Then finding out that wearing a helmet really wasn't as uncomfortable as I thought it would be, I bought my own. A couple of years later I came off in some woods, smacked my head against a nice big rock and cracked my helmet, so had my friend not forced me wear a helmet originally I might have actually ended up in a pretty bad way. I owe him a thankyou!

I haven't done a single ride since then without wearing a helmet, and I'll never ride again without wearing one. I have a very strict no helmet-no ride rule. It isn't the best option for everyone, but it's the best option for me. I like my head in one piece!


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## emtnate (Feb 9, 2008)

When I was 16 or 17 I started to wear one on the trails. I have broken a few on some rocks, so I glad I wore it. When I was 21, I had a bad injury in a ski accident leaving some permanent injuries that might have been prevented had I been wearing a helmet. Now I wear one regularly on bike rides and while skiing.

Also consider I've treated many a patients who weren't wearing helmets. It hits close to home when you see people critically hurt while doing something you do all the time.


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## Lawson Raider (Jul 24, 2006)

I grew up never even knowing there were helmets for bicycle riders. 1970's and 1980's. Since I started riding again back in 2006, I put a helmet on any time my butt sits on a bicycle seat because the one time July 4, 2006 I was too lazy to put the helmet on was the one time I slid out on a wooden bridge and dislocated my shoulder and was very lucky I didn't slam my head. 

That woke me up and I won't ride unless I got a noggin protector on my skull.


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## lobolator (Oct 29, 2006)

I had to wear one for my cycling club in HS. So I got one of those swanky leather helmets that all the 'cool' riders were wearing.
About a week later, I was out training in the farm fields of New Jersey (yeah they used to have farms there!). JRA on a country road, head high corn on both sides, road about 1 1/2 lanes wide, when I hear old farmer Tom coming up behind me. No big deal, passes and waves everyday, friendly guy, so I just keep riding......when WHAM...upside the head with the big metal side mirror and off into the corn I go.
I woke up or came to in a mess of corn all wrapped around me and the bike. I then realized what happened.......and apparently Farmer Tom had not, or he just didn't stop. Luckily, I was unhurt, except for my first concussion, and so was my bike. So I readjusted myself and got back on and rode home. All the way realizing I might have a much larger dent in my head had that almost useless helmet not been there.
Went out and bought a hard shell helmet the next day. Rarely ride w/o one, and when I do, it's probably hanging from the bars waiting for me to put it back on after the climb.
And I have a few scalp scars from childhood days of craziness on the big wheel.


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## donalson (Apr 13, 2004)

mom and dad bought me my 1st lid when i was 11 or 12... it was the SWEET old school type with the lycra coverd type shell that you could pull the cover off and wash it... lol... it was hideous (my how far they have come)

it wasn't till i was 17 or so that i got religious about em... it was at that point that a 14 y/o friend of mine had her accident... riding around town (in panama... the country, on base) she was riding around... comming down street thats on a pretty good slope she fell... at the end of this street was a cross street, some dirt... then a 6' deep man made cement ditch (rain forest means they had lots of these)... anyway she slid down part of the hil, across the cross streat and ended up in the ditch head 1st... mostly doing so on her face... she ripped her lip from her jaw, broke her nose, and snapped her helmet in 2... but she lived... after that i could hardly bring myself to go around the block with out a lid...

that was back in the day of the most off roading i'd do would be some fireroads... now that i'm taller and riding singletrack i seem to pop my head on low lying branches with regularity... that'd hurt with no helmet up there lol...


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## themanmonkey (Nov 1, 2005)

There were plenty of folks wearing helmets in the 70s and earlier just so folks know. I started wearing in in the late 70s when I was 10. Back in those days it was mostly MSR climbing helmets. I think mine was a Protec skateboarding helmet.


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## stoo61 (Nov 2, 2008)

I have to be honest, I was embarrased to wear a helmet when I was younger....they did look stupid. Since Ive got back into it though I wear it every time. No one cares nowadays, not worth a terrible injury.


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## Idriver (Nov 14, 2007)

Never used to wear one as a kid then when I got my first mtb bike and rode my first real trail I bought a helmet on the ride home. I have worn one every time I ride since 1992.


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## burtronix (Jun 5, 2006)

When I graduated from the Western Flyer single speed with coaster brakes that I inherited from my cousin to a Sears Free Spirit 10-speed that my brother wasn't using anymore. The first time I took it down a steep descent & clocked my speed in excess of 40mph (no speedo in those days), I knew I had to have more protection. None of the local stores sold bike specific helmets. I tried the motorcycle helmet, but it was hot & heavy. Finally, I saw a fiberglass-shell helmet made for bikes. It came in yellow & black - I got the yellow so that I'd be more visible to cars & also because I knew the black would heat up more in sunlight.

I used that first helmet for more than 20 years. I always got lots of stares when wearing it - first because nobody else was wearing helmets on bicycles - then because it was way out of style compared to the newer helmets. My kids have always worn helmets on bikes & think their friends who don't are weird. We also wear helmets roller-blading, skiing, & snowboarding. I windsurf without a helmet, but maybe I should get one - it's the only sport that's given me a crease in my head (after a fall, the wind flipped the board back onto my head as I floated in the water).


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## Glen Campbell (Oct 15, 2007)

I started about 1984 when i started road racing.


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## markf (Jan 17, 2007)

mom got all the kids helmets when i was 11 or 12.(1992 or 3) none of my buddies had them, so of course i rarely wore mine. had to leave home with it on though, so after i was out of sight of the house i'd take it off and loop it around my handlebars. brilliant and safe. now i wear one virtually all the time. see too many pics and stories from people who fell doing simple things and needed stitches or worse.


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## Whirl (Aug 27, 2008)

I grew up riding bmx's and 10-speeds in a small town and helmets were unheard of (think early 80s). Hell i never even saw a mountain bike until i was probably 15. I still don't wear one the majority of the time. Honestly its situational imo. If i know I am going to be riding downtown near heavy traffic I take one, or mountain riding, or somewhere else thats halfway hazardous.

If your just cruising around city bike paths or riding to work on the sidewalk I think its uncalled for, may as well wear a helmet while driving to work too. On the other hand IF you do bust your ass its extra protection. At least its not enforced by law (yet) allowing riders to decide for themselves when there is a risk. 

I guess it's only fair to mention when i was a child I was hit by a car on my big wheel, sent me spinning in to the curb and i woke up on the couch in my parents living room with a concussion. ut: Could of used one there i suppose.


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## jayjudy13 (May 8, 2004)

I grew up skateboarding and riding BMX in the late 70s-early 80s. The only time anyone I knew ever wore a helmet was at skateparks when they were required. (Or on BMX tracks during races) Outside of that, on a skateboard I'd wear one when riding vert. I never had any head injuries that convinced me they were necessary. When I started riding MTBs (in the late 90s) I thought it was goofy that my friends all wore helmets but in a short while I started wearing my skate lid to avoid getting ragged on by the early helmet Nazis. 

Then, about 6 years ago, I was riding at speed on a mellow trail when my pedal hooked on a hidden branch and sent me OTB. I was clipped in so my bike followed me and basically landed on top of me. One of my pedals hit me in the back of the head leaving a deep hole in my helmet. Because of the helmet I had a headache but nothing more. If I hadn't been wearing a helmet it would have been brain trauma for sure. Now I always wear a helmet, period because my crash proved to me that freak stuff can just happen. 

In the past 4-5 years I have gradually shifted from XC to freeriding so these days I usually wear a full face. Its just dumb not to IMO.


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## Macson (Jan 14, 2004)

I started wearing one when I switched from road to mtb in 1991. In the 70's my uncle rode from Florida to Michigan with a church group. Since he was under 16, they "made" him wear a helmet for the first few days until he could prove that he wouldn't fall asleep on the bike. Then he rode the rest of the way without one. Made it all the way to his home street, pulled a wheelie in front of the house and taco'd his rim when he lowered it


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## dadat40 (Jan 3, 2005)

I wore a helmet on the bike as a boy when i was pretending to be Roger DeCoster .


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## Neppo1345 (Apr 22, 2008)

I bought my first helmet last year at 21 alongside my first 'real' mountainbike.


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## Glynis27 (Sep 28, 2007)

I got my first helmet when I was 11 or so at my mom's request. I hated it as I was the only person I knew that owned one. It was heavy, huge and uncomfortable. I never wore it unless my mom could see me. Stopped wearing it all together at 13.

When I started biking again 2 years ago, I went and bought another helmet. This time it was light, comfortable and not nearly as ugly. In fact I forget I have it on a lot of the time. I ALWAYS wear it when on the trails and when doing tricks, but don't wear it much on the road or the MUP.


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## bstyle74 (May 8, 2005)

in the 90's when i started mtn biking and all the trails required it


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## Gary the No-Trash Cougar (Oct 14, 2008)

I never wore a helmet as a kid. I've blasted down plenty of hills and it's just some kind of miracle that I didn't eat it raw. Since I've gotten back on the bike this year, I started wearing a helmet. It's a good idea I guess, especially on the streets, as crazy as traffic is.


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## nealric (Dec 4, 2006)

My mom did head injury rehab for a living and drilled the need into my head at any opportunity. I met a lot of her patients. 

I was helmeted at age 4 and have been wearing one ever since for any riding.


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## wheelerfreak (Jul 3, 2007)

jeffw-13 said:


> I grew up in the helmet free 70's. I have the scars on my noggin to prove it.


 I did/do as well. I never had a helmet until about 1990 or so, long after childhood days of helmet free riding.


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## HarryCallahan (Nov 2, 2004)

I bought my first helmet back in the early 1980's after a bad crash on my road bike sent me to the ER for stitches and clean up of extensive road rash. I've been wearing one ever since.


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## seosamh (Mar 17, 2007)

about a year and a half ago at the spritely age of 29, still only wear it for offroad on the downhill really.


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## WTB-rider (Jul 25, 2004)

Since I started ridng mountain bikes in around 1986 or '87. Had a camo Bell V-1 Pro, it was heavy but it looked cooler than anything else available at the time.


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## pinkrobe (Jan 30, 2004)

I didn't wear a helmet until after I crashed my bike pretty hard when I was 15. I got knocked out and broke my wrist. As soon as I healed up enough to ride again, Mom and I went to the bike shop and picked out a nice turquoise Vetta SuperCorsa helmet. Lexan shell and all, must have weighed a couple of pounds. I have worn helmets pretty much continuously since then, except when I crashed and broke my Specialized Sub6 in half. I rode around with a bandana on for 3 months [gotta look kewl, G] until I could afford a new helmet. Since then I have crashed a variety of times, either cracking or breaking my helmets. I'm happy to wear one, 'cause I might not be all here without it.


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## Rufudufus (Apr 27, 2004)

I got my first helmet when I was 28. A buddy and I were doing jumps on a construction site, when I endoed, flipped over the bars and landed on my a$$. Figured I might not be so lucky the next time I crashed.


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## 06OutlanderAWD (Oct 1, 2008)

bought my first helmet not along ago, im 23 also got some fox knee pads as well, only wear the helmet and pads when i go on certain trails (ones with bigger jumps) most of the time it all just sits in the house


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## Eirene (Feb 22, 2008)

Picked up my first helmet at 21 when my buddies started taking me out on more than just dirt roads. I also saw the aftermath (a couple of days after) of one of my friend's crashes and what his helmet looked like. Yea, that sold me on wearing one myself. That was 8 years ago, I've since busted 2 and come close a few times to busting up my current one.


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## Judd97 (Jun 6, 2005)

I'm only 23 so I wasn't around during the helmet free years. When I was growing up, my friends and I were all indoctrinated in wearing helmets, so I've been wearing one since I started riding (about 18 years).


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## Bullitt3401 (Oct 11, 2008)

Got mine at age 39 a couple weeks ago...but I bought my first real bike just a month ago. 

While riding in the GF's neighborhood pre-helmet, I remember thinking "This is really going to hurt if I take a spill." 

I grew up in the era of Evel Knievel and I can say yeah, TV can influence kids.  But like the OP said, we seemed to survive it.


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## bigpedaler (Jan 29, 2007)

Me: 41
Daughter: 4
Nephew: 4

I also grew up without the helmet, but the first crash I had with it that cracked it was the seal on the deal. Also, since the population has exploded so much over the last 35 years, there's a lot more chance of random contact with an idiot in a cage.


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## mtnbkr123 (May 15, 2007)

im 19, grew up with one, however, if im just playing around in my neighbor hood, i dont wear one, but everytime on the trails and my FF when i downhill/do stupid things. Also I'll wear one with a road bike, if i ever get one, haha. (which i would like)


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## Bartj (Sep 19, 2006)

Back in the 60's my mom got tired to taking me to the doc to get the head stitched up so she made me wear my football helmet while taking my Schwinn Stingray over the old door on top of the cinder block! Ah, the good old days! I think I got my real first helmet about 1981.


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## Qatarbhoy (Jun 13, 2008)

"My mom ... drilled the need into my head at any opportunity..."

Yup that would hurt if you weren't wearing a helmet art the time.


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## lampy29 (Oct 16, 2008)

My kid won't ride his big wheel with a helmet. If he's stupid enough to flip one of those over, well...

regrettably when I was 4 I was forced to.


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## Team Fubar Rider (Sep 3, 2003)

OBD,

There isn't a rule that you or anyone else has to wear a helmet. It is called survival of the fittest. As a matter of fact, I wish less people would wear helmets to "thin the trails out", but, in this litigious society, helmets keep us on our bikes. Lemme 'splain.

First, going back to the kiddies on the Big Wheels, if a kid is rippin' down the sidewalk and rolls the Big Wheel, someone will sue the company that makes Big Wheels for not making it roll over resistant. 

Second, people on mountain bikes ride in public areas. If enough people get hurt (their fault or not) there is a good possibility that the area will be closed down to mountain bikers. 

For me personally, I have worn a helmet since I got a mountain bike (over 20 years ago). I have broken 4 helmets (while they were on my head...) and I guarantee 2 of those wrecks quite possibly would have killed me had I not had a helmet on.

Finally, I knew a woman (in her 60's, not that is makes a difference in the outcome of the story) that would ride her bike up a paved road in the local canyon every morning. One day, coming back down into town, she slid out on a bit of gravel and crashed, hitting her head on a small pebble. The pebble punched a bit of her skull into her brain and she spent her remaining days on life support, not being able to do anything for herself, including breathe. A helmet would have changed everything. 

So, yes, we all did survive being kids without a helmet and without seatbelts or car seats, or any of the other things we have now, but we survived despite not having these. It was luck. I do agree people can go overboard with their kids and no one should MANDATE this stuff, but these safety devices are great! I fully intend to keep riding until I am an old man and my helmet will help me achieve this.


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## Oracle7775 (Oct 31, 2008)

I love that argument: "we never wore helmets, and we survived!"

It's not as if the people whose brains were splattered on the side of some large tree somewhere are posting, so I think the sample is somewhat skewed.  

Anyway, I began wearing a helmet in 1994 after a nasty chainsuck stopped the rear wheel on my brand new Cannondale M300 cold, and sent my face against said large tree, requiring root canals and reconstruction of front three teeth, stitches, 1 month recovery from the concussion, and a number of pictures in which I looked just like the Phantom of the Opera, without the mask.


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## mtbmag (Oct 21, 2008)

Team Fubar Rider said:


> OBD,
> 
> There isn't a rule that you or anyone else has to wear a helmet. It is called survival of the fittest. As a matter of fact, I wish less people would wear helmets to "thin the trails out", but, in this litigious society, helmets keep us on our bikes. Lemme 'splain.
> 
> ...


Nicely stated. And we did not all survive without them...I knew of 2 permanent head injuries, bike related when I was young and a horseback riding head injury...and given the spills I took on both it is sheer luck that it was not me. Luck. 
All of us who gladly wear helmets feel the same way...why risk it when there is a choice. But why do those of you who don't wear or want to wear helmets mind them so much? I know that occasionally on the tail end of a ride I will yank mine and let the wind air dry my long hair...yes...feels great...but I swear even for that short time I feel vulnerable. So why the big resistance?


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## Raineman (Feb 7, 2008)

When I first starting riding a bike, I was 5. Within a year, I got a few stitches in my head from crashing into a cement curb. I'm 50 now. I didn't start wearing a helmet until I went off road - at age 40. I always wear one when riding. I wouldn't be here if it wasn''t for wearing one - many times over. I won't ride with anyone if they don't have a helmet on, mainly cuz I don't want to deal with someone when they get a head injury.
The survey results show that only 2% of us remain slow learners.


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## seosamh (Mar 17, 2007)

Team Fubar Rider said:


> OBD,
> 
> There isn't a rule that you or anyone else has to wear a helmet. It is called survival of the fittest. As a matter of fact, I wish less people would wear helmets to "thin the trails out", but, in this litigious society, helmets keep us on our bikes. Lemme 'splain.
> 
> ...


you do understand that people like myself who only wear a helmet in certain situations(ie downhill) understand the dangers completely?

as i've said before i put other things above helmets when it comes to bike safety..

and before anyone else starts it's nothing to do with cool..


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## mtbmag (Oct 21, 2008)

seosamh said:


> you do understand that people like myself who only wear a helmet in certain situations(ie downhill) understand the dangers completely?
> 
> as i've said before i put other things above helmets when it comes to bike safety..
> 
> and before anyone else starts it's nothing to do with cool..


I knew of a man years ago who slipped backwards in a wet parking lot jogging to the car with his little girl. Head injury...dead. Very little inherent risk there...meaning the little things can put a whammy on you if it involves your brain and injury. Downhill...Ok, more danger...but why differentiate then if it just means "more risk"...many of the injuries I know of were from quick or non-risky unexpected things...stupid mistakes...whatever...
Just an odds game...hope you stay lucky


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## milehi (Nov 2, 1997)

I was 15 and the bike shop through in a goofy looking Gyro helmet when I bought my first real mountainbike, a 1985 Schwinn High Sierra. I didn't wear it at first; I always wore cycling caps. One day I decided to wear it and came up short trying to jump a ditch at speed. The ditch turned out to be wider than I thought and I came up short, piledriving my head into the far wall. I dusted myself off and rode home. When I took my helmet off, it folded in two. I never knew it had broke in the crash, and I've been wearing one since. I feel vulnerable without one.


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## emtnate (Feb 9, 2008)

Team Fubar Rider said:


> ... A helmet would have changed everything....


There are a lot of good reasons to wear helmets listed here and there is no need to argue that the benefits of wearing a helmet far outweigh any risks of one. However, this general statement has been repeated a few times and is false.

In the case of this woman, how you do know this to be true? A few facts about helmets: Skateboarding, bike, ski, and similar types of helmets are tested and rated for safety around 13 mph. Motorcycle helmets are tested at about 30 - 40 mph. Helmets will also not protect you from all head injures. The manual makes that very clear for legal reasons which Fubar Rider also touched on.

I've treated people who were wearing helmets with very serious brain injuries, also seen people killed by brain bleeds despite wearing helmets. Statistically, they're 50% effective in preventing or reducing injury. Those odds are plenty good enough to warrant wearing them, especially since they're not expensive.

One needs to remember that helmets aren't a protective force shield. I've met people who are willing to take a higher risk while wearing protection. This false sense of security leads to increased injury. I would never ride a trail or ski a slope with a helmet on that I would not have without wearing one.

Edit: Most helmets are also good for one impact. There are some skateboarding styles out there which are rated for multiple impacts. Even a drop from a counter top to the floor can damage the stryofoam innards of them and further reduce their effectiveness in a crash.


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## WTB-rider (Jul 25, 2004)

pinkrobe said:


> I didn't wear a helmet until after I crashed my bike pretty hard when I was 15. I got knocked out and broke my wrist. As soon as I healed up enough to ride again, Mom and I went to the bike shop and picked out a nice turquoise Vetta SuperCorsa helmet. Lexan shell and all, must have weighed a couple of pounds. I have worn helmets pretty much continuously since then, except when I crashed and broke my Specialized Sub6 in half. I rode around with a bandana on for 3 months [gotta look kewl, G] until I could afford a new helmet. Since then I have crashed a variety of times, either cracking or breaking my helmets. I'm happy to wear one, 'cause I might not be all here without it.


My wife used to sport one of those turquoise Vettas. I grabbed a Sub 6 when they first came out , I never had much confidence in it and ended up giving it away.


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## Team Fubar Rider (Sep 3, 2003)

You're right. I don't know definitively that she would have survived or not been seriously injured, but based on the type of injury, where it was located on her head and the approximate speed she was going, the "experts" said (doctors) that she probably would have been OK had she been wearing a helmet.

I also agree that a helmet is only _part_ of the solution for reducing injuries. The other is proper "training" on how to ride a bike. I have ridden with far too many riders that think a helmet is a license to ride like a fool, way over their head (no pun intended). A helmet is like a seatbelt in your car. It doesn't guarantee that you won't get hurt or killed in a car wreck, but it does increase your odds of surviving. Same thing with a helmet. It doesn't guarantee you'll not get a head injury, but it will reduce a head injury v. a head without a helmet.


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## Team Fubar Rider (Sep 3, 2003)

seosamh said:


> you do understand that people like myself who only wear a helmet in certain situations(ie downhill) understand the dangers completely?
> 
> as i've said before i put other things above helmets when it comes to bike safety..
> 
> and before anyone else starts it's nothing to do with cool..


I fully understand this. That is why I don't think it should be mandatory (at least in adults). I ride a motorcycle as well and would never get on it without a helmet, but I don't think it should be up to the government to tell me to wear one. I think the same thing about seatbelts...should not be a law. As I stated before, it is survival of the fittest. If someone chooses to NOT wear a helmet or a seatbelt, it should be their choice. I hope you realize I am not telling you or anyone else they HAVE to wear a helmet, I am just saying why wearing a helmet makes sense.


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## emtnate (Feb 9, 2008)

^ Right on about mandatory laws, especially for adults. I firmly believe they'll just make things worse. I have the right to do stupid things. I choose to wear them for the reasons I've stated. I'm an advocate for their use and tell people I ride with they should be wearing them, but in the end , I can't nor shouldn't force them.

There is a law pending in Michigan which would require helmets to be worn at all ski areas, punishable by a fine. There's many loopholes in the proposal and the author even admits in the the law that an adult, experienced skiier should not be forced to wear a helmet on a bunny slope. I wrote this congressman with my concerns, especially about people renting helmets with unknown histories, but was not given a response.


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## seosamh (Mar 17, 2007)

mtbmag said:


> I knew of a man years ago who slipped backwards in a wet parking lot jogging to the car with his little girl. Head injury...dead. Very little inherent risk there...meaning the little things can put a whammy on you if it involves your brain and injury. Downhill...Ok, more danger...but why differentiate then if it just means "more risk"...many of the injuries I know of were from quick or non-risky unexpected things...stupid mistakes...whatever...
> Just an odds game...hope you stay lucky


touch wood, the odds are heavily stacked in my favour off not having a life threatening injury..

regarding why i differentiate, there is alot more likely hood of me falling off on offroad downhill, pretty simple.


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## seosamh (Mar 17, 2007)

Team Fubar Rider said:


> I fully understand this. That is why I don't think it should be mandatory (at least in adults). I ride a motorcycle as well and would never get on it without a helmet, but I don't think it should be up to the government to tell me to wear one. I think the same thing about seatbelts...should not be a law. As I stated before, it is survival of the fittest. If someone chooses to NOT wear a helmet or a seatbelt, it should be their choice. I hope you realize I am not telling you or anyone else they HAVE to wear a helmet, I am just saying why wearing a helmet makes sense.


btw i wasn't getting at you really, it was more of a general question to people who say oh i heard such and such had an accident, this is difinative proof you must wear a helmet.. i do realise you have an each to their own attitude which is good.


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## nealric (Dec 4, 2006)

> There's many loopholes in the proposal and the author even admits in the the law that an adult, experienced skiier should not be forced to wear a helmet on a bunny slope.


As an expert skiier, I would just like to say that the bunny slope is where I want a helmet the most. I can control my own skiing on an expert run and so can anyone around me. Expert runs are rarely crowed anyways. By contrast, the usually crowded bunny slope is full of out of control people who could hit me before I have a chance to react.


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## marsh rider (May 18, 2008)

Here's an ironic story about wearing a helmet:
It's about snow skiing, but could have easily been about biking. Several years ago a friend of mine got a brand new pair of fast skis and couldn't wait to try them out on the black and double black diamond trails (not wearing a helmet). The first several runs went smoothly, but he eventually lost control on a run, veered off course, and slammed into two trees. His body was wedged between the trees, he was knocked unconscious, and his neck was broken. If you didn't know, if your head is moved the slightest bit while your neck is broken, there's a good chance you'll be paralyzed from the neck down for life.

Anyway, the mountain crew responded by cutting down the tress and strapping him onto a stretcher. He was airlifted to the hospital. My friend has since made a full recovery and has returned to the slopes. The mountain crew at the ski resort got a letter of congratulations from the hospital for their extreme care in not letting his head move. Apparently of all patients with broken necks, something like less than 10% don't end up paralyzed. 

The funny thing is, the doctor told him that not wearing a helmet probably kept him from being paralyzed. If he was wearing a helmet, he may not have been knocked unconscious. If he hadn't been unconscious, he almost certainly would have moved his head around somewhat, which would have paralyzed him. Nevertheless, he now always wears a helmet when skiing, as I do when biking.


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## Montana Rider (Aug 21, 2005)

I always wear a helmet but for the first time in my live I spaced out on my pre-departure essentials checklist (shoes, helmet, backpack) and forgot it this summer.

It was a 40 minute drive to the trailhead (Emerald Lake, outside of Bozeman MT) and I just couldn't turn around and go home, so I rode without it.

It felt VERY strange to ride without one and I got the 'I hope I don't have to call the ambulance for you look' from all the cyclists I passed that day. No harm, though.

I won't snowboard w/o my helmet either but I still xc ski w/o one which can be just as scary at my skill level.

My daughter (2.5) already knows the rule too: no helmet, no bike rides...


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## emtnate (Feb 9, 2008)

nealric said:


> As an expert skiier, I would just like to say that the bunny slope is where I want a helmet the most. I can control my own skiing on an expert run and so can anyone around me. Expert runs are rarely crowed anyways. By contrast, the usually crowded bunny slope is full of out of control people who could hit me before I have a chance to react.


Blue groomers are the worst, especially when people who think they can ski because they can ride the fall line in a pseudo tuck. I've been hit a couple of times skiing on the easier slopes, never on an expert run. I did crack some ribs last year when I booted out on a steep run and hit (and destroyed) a baby tree. I also tore up my shoulder in a crash during a race. Obviously, my helmet was of no use those times.


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## 4slomo (Jul 4, 2006)

I started wearing one (leather strap type) when I started road racing in high school. Forty years of helmet wearing, probably including each technological advance in helmets.


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## yater (Nov 3, 2006)

themanmonkey said:


> There were plenty of folks wearing helmets in the 70s and earlier just so folks know.


Not where I grew up. Helmets were for dorks and "special" kids through the 80s. We rode our bmx bikes on half pipes, skated, rode "10 speeds", and eventually mtbs all sans helmets. In my group of ~50 friends at that age, not one of us ever wore a lid. In fact, wearing a helmet was "gay" unless you were a bmx racer.


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## 62kona (Mar 25, 2008)

I had a stupid old school one that made me look like a mushroom, so i never wore it. Then I just recently picked up a Giro Remedy last year. Now I wear it all the time.


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## 245044 (Jun 8, 2004)

10-20 YO.

Required to race BMX. 

For mtn. biking it was the same day I was hit by a car while riding between trailheads, fortunately.


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## BRKNSPOKE (Jan 2, 2007)

I always wear my helmet.It makes me look so coooool!


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## carbuncle (Dec 9, 2005)

I started when I got into commuting when I was 21, then 8 years of messengering kept the habit going.


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## dave54 (Jul 1, 2003)

Local EMS and fire agencies started a policy of no helmet = you get a bill. No more taxpayers picking up the tab.


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## Monk_Knight (Aug 1, 2008)

emtnate said:


> I would never ride a trail or ski a slope with a helmet on that I would not have without wearing one.


Really????

Either you ride some pretty intense stuff without a helmet or you stay on the bike paths.

While I agree with the false sense of security (though I don't think that a simple xc helmet really does that... dh helmet + pads... I know that does for me), I think that it's a little silly to say that you can't push the envelope a little bit as long as you have one.

I dunno, I never really wore one riding paths and messing around as a kid.. but I've always worn one while actually riding trails. Still, if I'm just messing around with friends I don't bother, but for any sort of trail riding I will.

I was actually just talking to a friend about this earlier today when we saw someone descending a rather sketchy, tight, rock-drop filled trail sans helmet. While I might rarely crash, and when I do I rarely need it, it's those couple few times that you do need it that makes every other time so worth it.

Plus, it's not even really the big, burly stuff that I think you have to watch out for. It's the stupid little crashes messing around. I crashed earlier this year off when I tried to catch some air off of a little rise in the trail, landed wrong, and went over the bars, down an embankment, and into a rock garden and then a tree. At least that's what my friends tell me. I walked away from that with a cut up face, a concussion, and short-term memory loss. And I was wearing a helmet. Who knows how bad it could have been without one?

Besides, it's not like they are painful or anything... light, comfortable, I usually forget mine is there. Until I need it.


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## emtnate (Feb 9, 2008)

I think you missed my point a little. When skiing or riding difficult trails, I don't think to myself "I'll come back and try this drop when I have a helmet" Any more I always wear my helmet - I had a concussion skiing sans helmet 5 years ago leaving some permanent minor damage. I've had close calls biking, but helmets did their job. TBIs are cumulative as well. I've already had 6 concussions in my life, it is possible for a minor bump on the head to leave me eating through a straw if I were to reinjure the same part of my brain again.

I treat my helmet as if it weren't there, it is another level of protection, but not a hard shell of courage sitting on top of my head.

I've seen people ride without helmets and comment that they'd try certain sections when they get a helmet. I always think to myself that putting on a helmet won't increase your skills. I think this increases your chances of crashing because to some, helmets give them the false confidence to attempt trails they do not have the skills to ride safely. 

I said in an earlier post that helmets are only effective in preventing or reducing about 50% of head injuries, this is a significant help, but still leaves a large risk of injury. Someone added that helmets are part of injury prevention, eduction is a bigger part of it.


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## seosamh (Mar 17, 2007)

emtnate said:


> I think you missed my point a little. When skiing or riding difficult trails, I don't think to myself "I'll come back and try this drop when I have a helmet" Any more I always wear my helmet - I had a concussion skiing sans helmet 5 years ago leaving some permanent minor damage. I've had close calls biking, but helmets did their job. TBIs are cumulative as well. I've already had 6 concussions in my life, it is possible for a minor bump on the head to leave me eating through a straw if I were to reinjure the same part of my brain again.
> 
> I treat my helmet as if it weren't there, it is another level of protection, but not a hard shell of courage sitting on top of my head.
> 
> ...


:thumbsup:


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## m0ngy (Dec 22, 2005)

Here in Australia it's been law to wear a helmet since I was a kid, maybe 15 or 20 years. I've never heard of the cops pulling anyone over and breaking their nuts with a fine, but they could. It's like wearing a seatbelt. In Australia you'd be breaking the law by not wearing a seatbelt, but after a lifetime of wearing one you feel vulnerable and naked without it.

Initially, everyone b!tched and moaned about wearing a helmet but now you wouldn't even consider going for a ride without one, or any other such essential riding equipment. I think much of the issue was twenty years ago the helmets looked like a piece of sh!t. I think my camo Giro Xen looks sweet, it's almost bling, like an X.0 derailleur or spanking new 55's.


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## itsdoable (Jan 6, 2004)

> ... But like the OP said, we seemed to survive it.


Only those of use who have survived it can say that.

The first person I knew that died of a bike related head injury was in high-school, and that didnot get me to wear a helmet. Neither did the second person.

The 3rd person was a vegatable (post university days) and I bought a helmet then - mostly because the price had come down to something reasonable, and I actually had some money.

It's a game of statistics, just like gambling. And a lot of people like to gamble.


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## strangeland2 (Apr 8, 2006)

I never wore helmets till I enlisted and it was base regulations that helmets had to be worn while riding on base. I survived the 80s and 90s with out a helmet but definitely had enough crashes that it wouldnt have been a bad thing to have worn one. 

When I got out of the military and moved back home the group I started riding with were all wearing them so I just kept wearing it. Otherwise I probably would have ditched it. They definitely arent a bad thing.


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## revrnd (Aug 13, 2004)

I've worn a helmet since I got into MTBing back in '04. 

In the 70s I crashed riding home from my friend's house. I guess I hit my head & got a concussion as about an hour later I felt nauseous (Natasha Richardson scenario). Parents took me to emerg as a precaution. Spent a couple of days there & I was OK. 

In '81 I was riding home from work on my 3 speed when a woman drove across 3 lanes of traffic into my path. I attempted to turn right to avoid her, but ended up sideswiping her car. No damage to me or my bike, but that was the last time I was on a bike until 5 years ago. 

Now whenever I'm out of my driveway on my bikes, I've got my helmet on.


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## Hopping_Rocks (Aug 23, 2008)

I wore a helmet as a young kid when I was first learning to ride a bike. Then as a teenager my parents didn't force me to wear one. I'm 22 now. I've always loved biking, but was never serious about it until last year when I bought my first helmet.


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## ae111black (Dec 27, 2008)

I started waring my helmet around 95' after a pretty bad crash. Didn't hurt my head but I was not gonna take any chances.... My mom at the time Didn't think it was necessary???? and thought it was some kind of luxury...???? shortly after that I got my bro and dad waring them and they both had bad crashes and I think the helmet saved there sculls


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## ultrarob (Aug 16, 2006)

When I was 15, my Mom gave me the choice between riding with a helmet or not riding. As much as I hated the helmet, it was a pretty easy choice. 

A couple years later, I had a crash and broke my helmet into 4 pieces. The ER doc took one look at it and said I was lucky to be there. I walked out of the ER 30 minutes later. I've never complained about wearing a helmet since then.

My kids are 4 & 6 and they point out anybody riding without a helmet.


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## Impalla (May 10, 2007)

jeffw-13 said:


> I grew up in the helmet free 70's. I have the scars on my noggin to prove it.


+1 :thumbsup:


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## mtbames190 (Nov 18, 2005)

The poll dosent cover the age when I first wore a helmet. I was 3 when I got my first bike and that's when I started wearing a helmet. Now I'm 18 and the only time I don't wear one is on my pumptrack and riding street around my town. But I always wear one on the trail, a full face its all I feel safe in. I hate those lame little xc helmets


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## BrakeL8 (Nov 30, 2008)

I learned to ride at ~4 or 5 with a helmet, have worn one exclusively since then. Would absolutely be dead without one in both a bd DH crash and a mid-air collision of the MX bike over a dune where I was hit by a quad going the other direction in the air.

Most everything else can be fixed- and I can afford the best surgeons. However my brain is something that I do not play around with. 

Don't care what others do- just my feeling.


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## ArmySlowRdr (Dec 19, 2003)

around 30


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## Deme Moore (Jun 15, 2007)

Helmet free 80s for me. And 90s too! It's amazing how quickly we went from "only idiots wear those things" to "only idiots don't". Kinda scary when you think about it, a nice lesson in how quickly totalitarian thinking can take hold amongst your fellow citizens! Last year I forgot my helmet 20 miles from the trailhead. Rode anyways cause I wasn't gonna miss out, it was amazing how much preachy BS I had to put up with at every single water break! DUUUDE leave me alone! I was riding these trails lidless before you were even born!

I still ski without a noggin protector. The slopes are currently at the place where MTB was a decade ago. Helmets have popped up on newbies, stunters and little kids but the average joe still goes lidless.

Overall I'm acquiring beginning to start quite a collection. First the motorcycle helmet, then the bike, and now skiing?! I'm still waiting for the sexin' helmet. You know if you're not careful you can roll out of bed and that fall is enough to cause brain damage if you hit your head just right. Showering is dangerous too. I think I can use my bike helmet in the shower and still get enough shampoo through the vent holes...


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## zadey1234 (May 7, 2007)

I can't ride without one, I'm too used to one, which is a good thing. My riding gets wonky when I don't wear one. Its like my balls go into hiding without a lid on my head.


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## Razorfish (May 9, 2008)

If skid lids count then about 18. But I was racing motocross and playing hockey well before that and wearing a helmet.


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## nagatahawk (Jun 20, 2007)

I don't really remember the first helmet, i believe it was one of the early bell helmets. so that must have been in the late 70's. I grew up before the helmet road steel frame road bikes sanz helmet. I have crashed several times on my road bike. and scratched the helmet. I do believe that little impact would have done much more damage to my bare noggin, since I was tumbling and bumped my head twice. T

he latest and worst, i crashed head first down hill into granite. the helmet cracked, I received severe concussion, 3 compression neck and back fractures. started riding mild single track last month, and still in rehab, 9 months later. The helmet saved my life!!!


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## sanjuro (Sep 29, 2004)

My first helmet was a brand new Bell V1-Pro (yes, I am that old).

Ultimately, no one can make anyone wear a helmet. Unfortunately, I am going to stop and administer first aid if you crash. 

That's why I won't ride with people without helmets: because I rather spend 5 minutes dusting you off and laughing at you than 2 hours immobilizing your spine and waiting for medivac to arrive.


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## jakekenney (Nov 4, 2008)

I'm 15 and i wear a helmet whenever i ride... i enjoy having a functional brain.


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## Felton_Flyer (Dec 11, 2008)

Gary the No-Trash Cougar said:


> I never wore a helmet as a kid. I've blasted down plenty of hills and it's just some kind of miracle that I didn't eat it raw. Since I've gotten back on the bike this year, I started wearing a helmet. It's a good idea I guess, especially on the streets, as crazy as traffic is.


you got that right ... don't be a larbage - throw away your garbage!


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## papago warrior (Nov 29, 2008)

My dad crashed and broke his collarbone in 5 places, along with 8 ribs. luckily his helmet absorbed the impact to his head. it was cracked and had gravel imbeded in it


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## ProEdgeBiker (Jun 24, 2004)

i think the 20-30 rule cause that around when the law changed


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