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Comment by sva_ | Hacker News Reader

If you fall on asphalt without a helmet, you can very easily get seriously injured

I used to be an EMT. There was one week when I went to two different calls that illustrated this perfectly. Both riders middle aged, both at low speed. One wearing a helmet hit a pothole and had minor facial injuries despite going over the handlebars. The other no helmet and out of practice fell sideways and the first thing to hit the kerb was her head. She's permanently disabled and living in a care facility.

Anecdotal fear inducing internet story.

Statistically 'in real life' extremely rare for this to happen.

Yeah. But the family of the rider probably wishes she wasn't a statistic.

You can become a statistic just by walking outside.

> Statistically 'in real life' extremely rare for this to happen.

Just like most forms of harm; most of the time that you take some form of insurance against a negative event, it's not necessarily because of the likelihood of that event, but the sheer totality of the harm that will occur if that extremely rare event comes to pass.

And this is why you always wear a helmet when walking or going for a jog?

It’s very hard to fall on your head at 10 mph or greater when jogging

When did anyone fall off a walk or a jog?

When was the last time you've been outside?

How often do people fall off of bicycles?

Every single winter lots of people fall when walking or jogging.

Unless you're Usain Bolt, you probably ain't jogging or walking at bicycle speeds.

At bicycle speeds?

15-35 kmph for recreational usage. It's sprinting speeds for people who walk.

Many walkers and joggers wear a lit up harness (or even bicycle lights) to improve their visibility while walking after dark in my area. So yes, some wear safety gear.

If you cycle a lot, you're almost guaranteed to crash at some point. Falling from walking or jogging is extremely unlikely. You also have much better chance of blocking the fall with your arms, as they're not on a handlebar, but rather already balancing your body.

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