How often do Americans take risks?(UP FRONT)

Sure, your inner Grandma tells you to wear a helmet while biking and sunscreen when you're outdoors all day. But how many of us pay attention? To find out, the Consumer Reports National Research Center recently asked 1,000 Americans how often they did an assortment of risky behaviors. It turns out that 58 percent never wear a helmet when riding a bicycle, and 27 percent never use sunscreen when they're in the sun for a long time. Moreover, 70 percent never wear hearing protection when using a gas lawn mower or a leaf blower.

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The results are revealing, not only because some Americans aren't listening to CR's advice (for shame!), but because those behaviors can cause real harm. Ninety-two percent of bicyclists killed in 2007 reportedly weren't wearing a helmet, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, which notes that helmet use has been estimated to reduce risk of head injury by 85 percent. The American Cancer Society estimates that more than 1 million new cases of basal and squamous cell cancers were expected to be diagnosed in 2008. And according to the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, prolonged exposure to noise at or above 85 decibels (emitted by many mowers) can cause gradual hearing loss.

Risky business

The table below left has details on such unsafe behavior. (Percentages exclude respondents who don't do the activity in question--mow or ride a bike, say.) Men and women didn't act much differently except when it came to wearing sunscreen (women did more often) and reading the info sheet for medicine (ditto). Behavior of younger respondents varied most ...