I'm with you on the personal choice side of things, however I wouldn't consider going ANYWHERE (on a bike...) without mine now. I used to think the whole "I can ride ok" sort of argument, then some twat decided that I looked like a better place to drive than the road while I was going 200 yards down the road to pick up some stuff from a mate. Fortunately I came away with only a mutilated shoulder, hanging off ear, half a skinless face, concussion (was in and out of consciousness for around 3 hours following the incident) and memory loss. If I'd have been wearing a helmet he would probably still have hit me, but I would have come out of it a lot better off. I was lucky... Next time it happens, I might not have been