Consumer Reports has released their annual list of the best bicycle helmets for 2015. There's really no excuse for not wearing a helmet while biking, but here is a list of ones I've used: 1) I don't have one. 2) I would have to buy one in order to have one. 3) I only ride on side streets and alleys so it's unlikely that I'll get hit by a car. 4) I'm dumb. 5) I don't smoke cigarettes or go sun-tanning, so not having a bike helmet is my chosen vice. 6) I'm afraid to talk to the bike store employees. 7) My head is gigantic, so they probably don't have any that fit me. As you can see, none of these excuses are what you would call "reasonable" or "good," and they pretty much all boil down to the fact that I was too lazy to stop watching Netflix (they keep adding shows! What am I supposed to do?) for long enough to leave my house and go to the store. Don't be like me! Wear a bike helmet! There are very good reasons for doing so! According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, 87 percent of the bicyclists killed in accidents over the past two decades were not wearing helmets. Consumer Reports also points out that when it comes to nonfatal bike accident injuries, "a 2013 review by a committee at the Institute of Medicine found that wearing a helmet during sports reduces the risk of traumatic brain injury (TBI) by almost 70 percent." Even if statistics aren't your thing, it's hard to deny how compelling these numbers are. When you consider that there's as little as $12 coming between you and a brain injury (or worse), it's probably worth talking to the employees at the bike shop.  In their evaluation, Consumer Reports tested both the helmet's ability to absorb impact and it's ability to actually stay on your head (i.e., the chin strap). One helmet didn't pass the chin strap test, the Cannondale Teramo. Because of this, Consumer Reports didn't bother to put that helmet through the impact test. It doesn't really matter how well your helmet protects your skull when it's just going to fall off before it does you any good. The good news is that many helmets did pass, and there are options for every budget, ranging from $12 to $220. Consumer Report's favorite is the Scott Arx Plus at $150: "The Arx is equipped with a Multi-directional Impact Protection System. MIPS helmets have an inner lining that is supposed to minimize rotational force, believed to be a prime factor in TBI, and reduce the amount of energy delivered to the head." Sounds good to me! For the budget-conscious, they recommend the $12 Schwinn Merge adult bike helmet.  Lazy bicyclists of the world, please suck it up and go to the bike shop. Or suck it up and measure your weird head and buy one online. There is no (good) excuse not to.