While I am not I do see the necessity of wearing it if you have had issues with those injuries. Ive ridden with a couple of people who are older and really need the protection because of the recovery time at their age. I am at least going to start wearing knee pads soon Ive had several accidents hitting my knees. I did have a rib cage injury but chest protector would not have helped in my case as I was pulled off the bike and pulled some muscle in between my ribs.