Local law leaves a lot up to the discretion of the rider including helmet use, which was one of the factors in deciding to move here. Now, statistics show that use or not use of a helmet comes out pretty close as far as overall safety is concerned, with extra factors such as fatigue, reduced field of view and distortion of outside sounds increasing the probability of crashing, tilting the overall score slightly in favor of not using a lid under most circumstances.
OK, I live in an agricultural area. Depending on the season and time of day, there are big bugs that hurt, little bugs that smart like riding in a sand storm and medium bugs that sting and bite. And, don't forget the birds that buzz around eating said bugs.
In the winter, the bugs are hiding out, the birds are gone south, but when I ride bareheaded, my ears wish they had gone south too.
