BikeBendOR

All that DJ and Gearhead 4077 said plus a few more things to consider:

Bicyclists are considered "traffic calming devices" - simply their presence has the effect of getting traffic to slow down and drivers to pay more attention to their driving. Studies show that the more bicyclists there are on the road the greater the traffic calming effect. It is also documented that more people bicycle when there is little or no requirement to wear a helmet and, ergo, there is substantially less bicyclists when helmet wearing is mandatory. So, logic indicates that if we want more people bicycling with a greater impact on traffic calming (and related safety) we should not tell individual bicycle crash stories to argue for more helmets, but rather argue for more bicyclists out there with or without helmets riding on the road in designated bike lanes or in the roadway if there are no bike lanes or sufficiently wide enough shoulders.

FYI - Riding on sideWALKS - note they are NOT named "siderides" - is statistically more dangerous than riding in a legal fashion in designated bike lanes (and illegal in the designated downtown area.) And, while designated bike paths separate from roads are the safest approach, good luck with getting the average motorist to agree to open their wallets for the large cost of building such things and even better luck getting land owners to allow such paths to be built on their land.

Scott Aycock is cycling the wrong direction. The number one reason people don't wear helmets is because helmets can be inconvenient - not because they "aren't cool looking". Short distant commuters and errand riders find that a helmet gets in the way of the task they are attempting to accomplish as it is one more thing to remember, to take, to wear, to take off, and to remember to put back on for the ride home. "Not cool" is way down the list past "too expensive", "too hot" and too "just not me".

P.S. I always wear a helmet when I mountain bike as stationary trees and rocks don't move well when I hit them. I almost always wear a helmet when I road ride for exercise and/or recreation as it keeps my hair in place. But when I commute the helmet gets left behind.

Remember, bicycles are "vehicles" according to O.R.S. so "Take The Lane" / Share the Road when there are no bike lanes or whenever it is for your safety (O.R.S. allows this).