Non-Helmet Society, and Life is Like a Box of Chocolates
I'm not sure why I haven't mentioned this before, but it's definitely something that bears it.
You do not wear a helmet when riding a bicycle in Japan. I'm not saying "It's even dorkier here than in the States." I'm saying you just don't. When I got here, I looked for one, but I could only find them in kids' sizes. I've looked in a number of different cycle shops, and I have not a seen a single adult-sized bicycle helmet.
Now, I know they exist somewhere. While hiking, we saw two sets of three mountain bikers who were all wearing helmets. And on two other occasions, I've seen men riding bicycles in heavy traffic with helmets, but they were the kind of guys who wear the tight cycling pants and the bright yellow spandex T-shirts. All children up to the age of about six or seven wear them, but they suddenly disappear around that time.
In some ways, I can understand the sentiment; a helmet is a big thing to lug around, even if it's light, and adds to the massive pile of crap I might otherwise be accoutered with at the moment. In addition, fashion here is much more important than I've noticed before. This could either be an expansion in my awareness of it, or an actual change, but it's hard to tell either way.
Don't worry, I still pick my clothes based on how many pockets they have and blindly mix and match colors.
Now, with all of that said, some kinds of helmets do exist here, and you see anybody on a motorcycle or scooter wearing one. Now, whether them wearing it is any help to them or not, I'll never know, since half the time the things aren't even strapped on. I have to assume enforcement of some helmet law (which I also must assume exists) is pretty strict here, which would also explain the munchkins.
I know it won't help in terms of stopping concussive impact, but I do my best to wear my hat and cycling gloves every time I go out.
It sounds stupid - because it is, I know - but I figure a new hat or pair of gloves beats reconstructive scalp surgery or permanent scarring, and will also help to keep little bits of road from getting embedded in the bits of me that jut out. Like my head. And hands.
I dunno, it makes me feel better about not wearing a helmet, though.
To temper that, I should point out that been involved in four different collisions since I got here, but none of them have been serious, and one should hardly count. Here we go:
And that's about all I have to say about that.
You do not wear a helmet when riding a bicycle in Japan. I'm not saying "It's even dorkier here than in the States." I'm saying you just don't. When I got here, I looked for one, but I could only find them in kids' sizes. I've looked in a number of different cycle shops, and I have not a seen a single adult-sized bicycle helmet.
Now, I know they exist somewhere. While hiking, we saw two sets of three mountain bikers who were all wearing helmets. And on two other occasions, I've seen men riding bicycles in heavy traffic with helmets, but they were the kind of guys who wear the tight cycling pants and the bright yellow spandex T-shirts. All children up to the age of about six or seven wear them, but they suddenly disappear around that time.
In some ways, I can understand the sentiment; a helmet is a big thing to lug around, even if it's light, and adds to the massive pile of crap I might otherwise be accoutered with at the moment. In addition, fashion here is much more important than I've noticed before. This could either be an expansion in my awareness of it, or an actual change, but it's hard to tell either way.
Don't worry, I still pick my clothes based on how many pockets they have and blindly mix and match colors.
Now, with all of that said, some kinds of helmets do exist here, and you see anybody on a motorcycle or scooter wearing one. Now, whether them wearing it is any help to them or not, I'll never know, since half the time the things aren't even strapped on. I have to assume enforcement of some helmet law (which I also must assume exists) is pretty strict here, which would also explain the munchkins.
I know it won't help in terms of stopping concussive impact, but I do my best to wear my hat and cycling gloves every time I go out.
It sounds stupid - because it is, I know - but I figure a new hat or pair of gloves beats reconstructive scalp surgery or permanent scarring, and will also help to keep little bits of road from getting embedded in the bits of me that jut out. Like my head. And hands.
I dunno, it makes me feel better about not wearing a helmet, though.
To temper that, I should point out that been involved in four different collisions since I got here, but none of them have been serious, and one should hardly count. Here we go:
- With a random mother and her kid strapped in a rear rack seat. I was dodging people near the Shijo-Kamagawa bridge and she was, as well, and we dodged into each other. Fortunately, the baskets on the front of most bikes are made of a pretty pliable (and very rust-prone!) kind of metal, probably iron, and make great crumple zones. And they usually deform just a little, but it sure helps and isn't hard to fix.
A quick "Are you okay?" from both of us and we were off. - With a guy who decided it would be a good time to go through a red "Don't cross the street right now" light. I was turning the corner and neither of us stopped, so we sort of bodychecked each other. I got a bit of a rugburn on my inner thigh, which was less than comfortable, but I think we were both okay outside of that. Quick "Okay?" from each of us and it was over.
With a car, while coming out of my apartment one day.
Usually, when I leave, I glide downhill into the road and merge happily in, but there's a wall that prevents me from seeing to the left until I'm actually in the road. Fortunately, Japan is a drive-on-the-left country, so I can see oncoming traffic plenty early enough.
This time, though, the guy was on the wrong side of the road and only inches from the retaining wall. Combine that with the fact that I was turning left this time, and stupidly didn't stop to check left, neither of us could have known about the other due to the wall. Fortunately, I just barely heard his engine noise and was able to slam on my brakes. He hit his brakes, too, but too late and slammed into my front tire. Fortunately, it turns.
I don't know if this is normal, but our conversation went like this:
Car-Man and I simultaneously: "Excuse me!"
Car-Man: "Are you alright?"
Me: I glance at myself, look at the bike tire. "Yeah, I'm okay. ... Well..."
And we head off.- This was just yesterday, on my way back from getting fried rice cakes filled with course red bean paste (tsubuan yakimochi). I saw the train going overhead and tried to get out from under the overpass before it got there. There was a junior high school kid coming the other direction and we both tried to go to my left to go around each other. If hadn't been rushing, it would've been fine, but I was, so neither of us had enough time to negotiate. We both hit our brakes and I came to a stop with my foot on his front tire. My 90kg (~200 pounds) is plenty to stop a small Japanese kid of probably 1/3 the weight, it would seem.
And that's about all I have to say about that.
posted by William at
8/23/2008 07:33:00 PM
9 Comments:
Bikes..and yikes. I also recall you writing about an incident with some sort of sign post or pole sticking out of the sidewalk in front of some shop.
I'm guessing that the bike helmet thing is not only because of style reasons but a whole different cultural attitude about such things.
When I was a kid, no one in my area wore bike helmets. I'm not sure we even knew what they were. You very rarely heard of anyone injuring their head in a bicycle accident...or injuring anything anymore than kids will in any other general playing/transportation circumstance.
I think people who raced in major bicycle races wore them, but none of us knew any of those people and it would have seemed extraordinarily weird to wear bike racing equipment to ride your pedal brake/banana seat bike a few miles to your friend's house or to school. It just wasn't part of our reality.
I do think helmets are a good idea and that they save people from injuries --- don't get me wrong. But I also think that originally here in the US, the desire for the common bicyclist to wear helmets was originally a copying of people wearing sporty equipment by those with money and style sense, which then became a trend, which then became more and more common and eventually legislation was in place in many areas about bike helmets and their very specific design requirements and such and every kid was required to have one and so forth.
As to their helpfulness for the average joe, here is one person's fairly brief suggestion that it might be law-abiding behavior in general, not just the wearing of helmets.
http://philica.com/display_observation.php?observation_id=8
For a longer history of the bike helmet use in the US if you have some time on your hands, this article has pictures that are interesting and occasionally funny photos (if you find evolving styles and trends somewhat humorous, that is).
http://www.bhsi.org/history.htm
And to add..there are only 21 states with manadatory bicycle helmet laws, and all of these are limite to children under 15 years old. Washington is one of the states with no bicycle helmet law at all.
(source: http://www.iihs.org/laws/HelmetUseCurrent.aspx)
We never usd helmets...and would have laughed at anyone who did. Are there really any major head injuries from bicycles? ok..maybe some, but not enough, in my opinion, to mandate everyone wear one. It's kind of like seatbelts. I'm sure Thots about stuff remembers riding around sitting on the back of a pickup tailgate, riding in the back windows, let alone riding without a seatbelt.
I think my first experience with a seatbelt was on a airplane. That's why they still give the "insert the metal plate into the metal buckle" speech when you get on the plane. While most people are asking who is stupid enough not to know how a seat belt works, there are still folks out there riding around with the seatbelts cut out of the car.
(On a side note, there were people when I joined the Army in the 80's who, when asked their boot size, responded "Medium"...but I digress.)
Seatbelt, helmet, smoking, drinking and other "let's keep them safe" laws are a relativly new thing. It used to be the government would have been chastised for curbing the individual rights of the people. Not anymore.
Oops...getting political and off-topic.
I'll end with one of my favorite quotes...
The ultimate result of shielding men from the effects of folly is to fill the world with fools. (Herbert Spencer)
Indeed. Yeah, riding in the back window was great fun and you could look right up at the clouds or stars and watch them while your parents drove along on road trips. Cool stuff, that.
Seat belts used to be those things you shoved down under the seat because the metal buckle hurt if you accidentally sat on it.
Regardless of whether or not it's required, I use a helmet going to and from school every day back in the States. I don't plan to do so here because of the difficulty of finding a helmet, especially one in my size, the increased stigma associated with wearing one, and general laziness.
LOL...no one said you should or shouldn't use one. It IS a good idea. Just the different culture of it is not at all surprising to me.
Americans tend to be a paranoid bunch, and also a bunch that creates things like a helmet frenzy to ensure there is something else that everyone feels strongly that they need to buy and an object that somehow contributes to the sense of well-being. I have one, also. I don't always think to wear it because it wasn't a habit from my childhood, not because I don't think it's a worthy thing to do.
Now, I always wear a seatbelt unless I'm in a vehicle where one is not available. I started that well before it was a law. It's just that I think you'll find people in many places in the world are not so hyper as Americans are about such things.
Recently, laws were enacted that require children in Washington state to be buckled in car seats or booster seats until they are 80 pounds. Eighty pounds!!! It seems a little ridiculous to me.
Will you drive like a kamakazi. Please look before blindly merging with traffic. Wear a helmet..hell wear an airbag.Please come back alive.
Keep in mind that these are the worst examples of the time I've been here. Weird thing is that all of these happened in the past month or so. The rest of the time I've had no problems.
Thanks for your confidence, though
Yeah...perhaps in your specific case,I'm sure there is some kind of Ninja helmet that no one would even know you are wearing. That would be cool.
Hey, besides all that, I want to hear more about the chocolate...you mentioned chocolate in the heading.
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