Unless by track bike you mean a bike with no brakes then the bike isn't an issue, not riding with a helmet is usually not the best choice though.

Many of them have brakes. In which case there is nothing to worry about. The lack of helmet is slightly less safe for them but that is their business. Not everyone is eager to do everything they can to extend their miserable and inevitably temporary lives.

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Kat Hunter reports on the San Dimas Stage Race from inside the GC winning team
Aeroweenie.com -Compendium of Aero Data and Knowledge
Freelance sports & outdoors writer Kathryn Hunter

Many of them have brakes but plenty of them no brakes and no helmet and above all riding in the congested and big city. This is what I am worried about. The safety of pedestrian is my concern if they are not aware of how unsafe they are when using the road.

I think that you are conflating unrelated issues. I personally have two Fixies. Both have at least a front brake (one has front and rear since I originally planned to ride it as an occasional cross bike). I don't even ride around the block without a helmet. Fixies can actually be safer, for instance, one of mine has aerobars on it, and I can still brake while on the aerobars by using my legs. Fixies are also not necessarily track bikes at all. Mine are a former road bike (early 90's trek 2200 with filed vertical dropouts) and a single speed cross bike (Independent Fabrications). Most fixies sold these days are never intended to be track bikes, and if sold for road use should always come with at least a front brake.

The conflated issues are the following: Fixies are sometimes ridden with "insufficient" brakes (i.e. only the legs/chain to slow the rear wheel). This is required on the track, but a bad idea on the road at any significant speed as tests show that the stopping distance of a rear-only brake (no matter what the source of the braking) is significantly longer than a front and rear or even front only brake. The issue is that the rear wheel will skid quite early, reducing its ability to slow you, especially if the road/tire interaction has low resistance. True track bike forks are not drilled for a front brake and thus are unsuitable for riding on the road. Most fixed gears are not true track bikes, or at the least do not have track forks, and thus it is the rider who is making the choice about mounting or leaving off a front brake.

As to the helmet, most fixies are ridden by commuters over reasonably short distances. They are popular because they are cheap, currently trendy, and easy to maintain. Commuters in general wear helmets at low rates, especially those who might be overly style conscious (see "trendy" above), which thus would increase the likelihood of seeing helmetless fixie riders.

Nothing about fixies in and of themselves lead to unsafe behavior, it just happens that those choosing fixies may also choose to ride in less safe ways.

C'mon man, you couldn't google it?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQu1rNs0an0



And then there's this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3nMnr8ZirI


10 feet! Oregon law!

I like her. She should be in more things that I watch.

I ride fixed gear and always have a helmet and front brake(sometimes rear too) on the fixed gear bike.
With that said probably less than 1% of the riders in the world even own an helmet. These are a lot of people who ride their bikes every day in big cities or very rural areas. Contrary to what we think in America there aren't giant wards of bike rider head injury hospitals in the world cause the riders don't wear helmets. I didn't start wearing a helmet until the 80s and still don't wear one 100% of the time. It does seem a bit strange when you go to Denmark or Holland and see the thousands of people without helmets on while commuting in the big cities.
Fixie riders sometimes deserve their bad rap for being asshat riders, and a lot of "fixie" riders are actually single speeders. But bottom line your observation is correct and there is no real explaination as to the the why of what they do. But at least they are out there riding. Skiing is another sport that helmets are showing up a lot more than they used to. I have had more friends have serious injuries from sans helmet skiing accidents than helmetless bike rider incidents.

Legally in England a fixed machine on the road requires only a front brake.

I grew up in a time when no one wore a helmet. It was very sad to see most of my friends die from head injuries or die from dehydration because we only drank when thirsty.

For public safety fixie riders are advised not to wear helmets. It has been calculated that more people would die from the shock of fashion crime with hipster helmet hair, than from actual hipsters dying from further loss of brain function. There is not too much worry about pedestrians, because most people instinctively avoid hipsters :) /pink