Wear that helmet!

[Gaspode]

Glad to hear you're ok

[Hackney]

ohHello said:

Kermit power said:

That's your freedom of choice. That's all well and good until you come out of a side road without looking into the path of an oncoming vehicle and die from head injuries which you would've survived if you'd been wearing a helmet.

Cycle helmets are simply not designed to protect against impacts of that severity (the test for them is a static drop from 1.5m IIRC). If you are run over, a helmet will not save you.

This is the most stupid anti-helmet argument ever. I had a similar debate with a woman the other day, she insisted there's no point wearing a helmet because "it won't help if a lorry crushes you".

It won't but it'll help prevent you becoming a cabbage if you have a low speed slip and bang your head on a kerb.

Whether you wear a helmet or not, I don't really care but using this argument just proves you should wear one as you've clearly had too many bangs to the head already.

[Mr Will]

Hackney said:

This is the most stupid anti-helmet argument ever. I had a similar debate with a woman the other day, she insisted there's no point wearing a helmet because "it won't help if a lorry crushes you".

It won't but it'll help prevent you becoming a cabbage if you have a low speed slip and bang your head on a kerb.

Whether you wear a helmet or not, I don't really care but using this argument just proves you should wear one as you've clearly had too many bangs to the head already.

I'm not worried about low speed slips and falls. I am worried about being hit by a lorry. Will a helmet help with any of the things I am worried about?

[Mr Will]

TwistingMyMelon said:

Thought of this thread on Saturday

Had a nasty accident on the last bit of a club ride, I was rushing home to take the family shopping (ironically I hate shopping!)

In a split second I was thrown over the handlebars on an empty road, just on a straight piece of smooth road no obstacles

I think I hit a pothole and the metal mudguard was a touch loose, so it jammed in the wheel, I've had a few crashes , but this was the quickest, not even a split second to realise or react. I was straight over the handlebars and landed head/face first on the ground, I didn't even get my hands out, I think I might of somersaulted in the air. My club mate then hit me/my bike and went off as well

My helmet took most of the impact and a huge chunk is missing, Ive already binned it. My face is a mess, bruised ice socket, deep graize and very fat lip, rest of me is OK. I guess I was very lucky not to loose teeth, as the helmet took most of the impact away from my mouth. Bike is a bit fcked, especally the brand new wheels I just put on for the ride!

Not really sure why I am posting this, but it reinforces in my mind why helmets are a "no brainer" (oh dear) . For me the worst thing about "crashing" is the "what ifs" and the trauma after, I keep going over in my mind what an idiot I was and what I could have done to avoid it, I would hate myself even more if I didn't take the precaution of wearing a helmet as I would probably be a lot worse and missing some teeth!

This is why we should all wear full-face helmets. There is no excuse for only protecting part of your head. Why on earth didn't you buy a proper helmet that protects it all? You would have walked away without injury...

(Glad to hear you are okay - wouldn't be taking the piss if you weren't....)

[Justin Cyder]

Mr Will said:

I'm not worried about low speed slips and falls. I am worried about being hit by a lorry. Will a helmet help with any of the things I am worried about?

You may not be worrying sufficiently about all of the eventualities that befall cyclists.

[walm]

Mr Will said:

I'm not worried about low speed slips and falls. I am worried about being hit by a lorry. Will a helmet help with any of the things I am worried about?

Pedal harder.
Then you can worry about high speed slips and falls!

[Norwegian Blue]

For those who didn't see it last year, the invariably excellent Ben Goldacre wrote this for the BMJ:

http://www.badscience.net/2013/12/bicycle-helmets-...

The link to the BMJ website also gives a number of responses which are also worth reading, not least for their unusually reasonable and level-headed tone.

[ohHello]

Hackney said:

This is the most stupid anti-helmet argument ever. I had a similar debate with a woman the other day, she insisted there's no point wearing a helmet because "it won't help if a lorry crushes you".

It won't but it'll help prevent you becoming a cabbage if you have a low speed slip and bang your head on a kerb.

Whether you wear a helmet or not, I don't really care but using this argument just proves you should wear one as you've clearly had too many bangs to the head already.

(my bold) The odds of which are so vanishingly remote as to be not worth the bother of wearing a helmet.

I was replying to the post that suggested it would be beneficial to wear a helmet if involved in a collision with a motor vehicle, so please read my reply in that context.

I'm quite sure that in certain limited situations a helmet could prevent an injury. However, not only are those situations rare in the first place, but the situations where a helmet will make the difference between a minor and a major head injury, or the difference between a major head injury and death, are minuscule.

There are many activities where the likelihood of a lowish speed head impact is at least as high as when cycling, yet if anyone suggested it would be a good idea to wear a helmet when out walking, you'd look at them as if they were mad. Pedestrian helmets would save more lives than cycling helmets, but no one promotes them. Why not?

Your "cabbage" comment is hysterical nonsense.

[Hackney]

It's better to have a gun and not need it, than need a gun and not have it

/ClarenceWorley

[S10GTA]

Interesting topic.

Personally I can't see a reason for not wearing a helmet. I guess in a high speed crash or being run over by a truck it won't do anything to help, but I know that if I'm going to crash, be it a 10mph or 25mph, I'd rather have a bit of polystyrene hit the ground before my head does.

[Mr Will]

S10GTA said:

Interesting topic.

Personally I can't see a reason for not wearing a helmet. I guess in a high speed crash or being run over by a truck it won't do anything to help, but I know that if I'm going to crash, be it a 10mph or 25mph, I'd rather have a bit of polystyrene hit the ground before my head does.

By that logic; why take it off when you get off your bike?

[S10GTA]

Mr Will said:

By that logic; why take it off when you get off your bike?

Because the chances of me crashing at 10-25mph on the bike are significantly higher than they are when I'm stood still off the bike

[Hackney]

Mr Will said:

S10GTA said:

Interesting topic.

Personally I can't see a reason for not wearing a helmet. I guess in a high speed crash or being run over by a truck it won't do anything to help, but I know that if I'm going to crash, be it a 10mph or 25mph, I'd rather have a bit of polystyrene hit the ground before my head does.

By that logic; why take it off when you get off your bike?

Seriously?

[Mr Will]

S10GTA said:

Mr Will said:

By that logic; why take it off when you get off your bike?

Because the chances of me crashing at 10-25mph on the bike are significantly higher than they are when I'm stood still off the bike

But there is still a chance of head injury which would be reduced if you were wearing a helmet, surely? Safer is always better, isn't it?

[S10GTA]

Mr Will said:

S10GTA said:

Mr Will said:

By that logic; why take it off when you get off your bike?

Because the chances of me crashing at 10-25mph on the bike are significantly higher than they are when I'm stood still off the bike

But there is still a chance of head injury which would be reduced if you were wearing a helmet, surely? Safer is always better, isn't it?

Indeed there is still a chance, but you don't need to be that clever to realise the chances of hitting your head at speed are far higher when cycling.

[EggsBenedict]

Had an 'off' during L2B off-road on Sat. Would like to have had a helmet. Because I was clipped in, the bike followed me over the top and hit me on the head. Sure, I'm OK, but it would have been less painful with a lid on.

[Birdthom]

• yawn*

[ohHello]

S10GTA said:

Indeed there is still a chance, but you don't need to be that clever to realise the chances of hitting your head at speed are far higher when cycling.

And yet the evidence does not show any such thing.

[Vipers]

Each to their own, but here is my 2p worth.

Couple of years ago, riding in the winter, the sun hadn't thawed the wet road on a corner, as I made a right turn, front wheel slid away to the left, couldn't disengage the pedals and fell straight over hitting my right side of my helmet on the road.

Bearing in mind I am just 6 ft tall, that is a fall for just over 6 ft.

Helmet broke in a number of places around the rim, damage to head, zilch.

No it won't save me if I am run over by a truck, but it certainly saved me from injury that day.

[Mr Will]

S10GTA said:

Mr Will said:

S10GTA said:

Mr Will said:

By that logic; why take it off when you get off your bike?

Because the chances of me crashing at 10-25mph on the bike are significantly higher than they are when I'm stood still off the bike

But there is still a chance of head injury which would be reduced if you were wearing a helmet, surely? Safer is always better, isn't it?

Indeed there is still a chance, but you don't need to be that clever to realise the chances of hitting your head at speed are far higher when cycling.

So there is such a thing as safe enough then? Following on from that; if the risk of head injury is the same or less than that of a pedestrian (which you judge to be safe enough) then a helmet is not required - is that fair?