Mike Belshea has experienced a few close encounters during his time at Iowa State.

He’s come close to running over a few people. He’s come very close to the front end of a Chevy Cavalier. He’s even suffered a minor crash when the traction on his tires couldn’t handle the ice on Osborn Drive.

“You just have to expect some bumps and bruises every now and then,” he said.

Belshea, junior in biology, has been riding his bike around campus since his freshman year.

“It’s the quickest way to get around campus,” he said, “even with all the traffic.”

He may ride his bike daily, but Belshea never wears a helmet.

“I have one at my apartment, but I think it would be annoying to carry it around with me to class everyday,” he said.

According to the Bicycle Helmet Safety Institute, 85 million people ride bikes in the United States.

Of those 85 million people, about 540,000 visit the emergency room for bike-related injuries every year. One in eight people suffer a brain injury.

These statistics don’t seem to bother Belshea or many of the other bicyclists on campus.

“I know I should wear one [a helmet], but it just seems like it adds so much more time instead of just getting on your bike and riding,” Belshea said. “Plus, even though our campus can get pretty busy, I don’t think there are many places where it can get really dangerous for a bike rider.”

Joshua Merryman, senior in agricultural biochemistry, thinks otherwise.

“I wear a helmet because I know that people can drive a little crazy around here [on campus],” he said.

While Merryman was waiting for the bus one day his freshman year, he saw a bike and a pedestrian tangle after the student walked out in front of the bike rider.

“I saw an accident right in front of me my first year here, and I’ve worn a helmet ever since,” he said. “Neither one of them was hurt really bad, but they were bleeding. I know that accident is the reason why I wear a helmet today.”

Merryman said there are a lot of people around campus who don’t pay attention – from bikers to drivers and walking students – and sometimes you have to see an accident happen to scare you into wearing one.

According to the National Center for Statistics and Analysis, part of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, there was a more than 11 percent increase in the number of deaths of 21- to 24-year-olds due to bicycling accidents in 2005.

“Well, that’s enough information to keep me wearing my helmet every time I ride my bike,” Merryman said.

Luke Gran, senior in forestry, also wears a helmet every time he rides. He said it’s foolish not to wear one, as people can die from not having a helmet on.

“It seems so silly that we pay all this money on tuition to become smarter people,” he said, “but we won’t go out and buy a $20 bike helmet that could save our lives.”

Gran said he believes that a major reason people do not wear helmets is looks.

“People don’t want to look dorky or uncool,” he said. “People are embarrassed to put on a helmet because then others will see them looking dorky.”

Gran has also seen his share of accidents, which makes him wear his helmet and makes him persuade others to wear one as well.

A friend of Gran’s was hit by a car and her head hit the windshield. He said if she hadn’t been wearing a helmet she could have been seriously hurt.

Thanks to extra protection, however, she ended up being fine.

“We are the leadership of the world,” Gran said, “and if we can’t put a helmet on, what are we saying?”