With an increase in bikes on campus comes an increase in a more dangerous trend: riders without helmets.
Riders on campus primarily cite fashion and inconvenience as the reasons why they risk pain and suffering when they ride.
A group of students riding fixed-gear bikes on the Union Plaza said the main reason they don’t wear helmets is because they see them as more of a hindrance than a safety measure.
“A helmet is kind of a hassle to carry,” said Chase Bardole, a freshman in architecture. “I’ve been riding bikes my whole life. I felt comfortable enough to ride without a helmet.”
Collin Stewart, a freshman in physical therapy, said he wears a helmet when riding on the streets, but not on campus.
“It just doesn’t seem extremely necessary,” Stewart said.
The cyclists agreed that fashion and the threat of “helmet hair,” played a role in their decision not to sport the headgear.
“I guess that’s kind of it, too,” Bardole said.
Despite the risky trend on campus, Utah has a higher percentage of cyclists who wear helmets than the national percentage, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Utah is one of 14 states that does not have a mandatory helmet law for bicyclists.
Paris Latham, a non-matriculated student getting a certificate in geographic information science, joked that she only wears a helmet when she’s been drinking.
“I don’t own a functional
(helmet),” Latham said of the real reason she doesn’t wear a helmet while riding across campus. “They’re kind of expensive, but I guess so is my brain.”
Latham said her commute to campus is short and she uses TRAX most of the way, so biking without headgear doesn’t seem like a big deal.
“When I’m on a road bike, I’ll wear a helmet,” Latham said.