At the risk of whipping up some silly responses, I came across a page this morning while reading up on some points. A particular page from a site that had been recommended for searching by John C. Ratliff.
The page speaks to what I believe is a common worry for cyclists, and a prime reason for wearing a helmet.
About 3 + 1/2 years ago, John makes a website recommendation for research,
Originally Posted by
John C. Ratliff
... If any of you are really interested, you can go to PubMed and make searches of the medical literature yourselves. PubMed is now (and has been since about the last two years of the Clinton Administration) open to the public. You simply type in:
http://www.pubmed.gov
Now I have no doubt in John's faith in the protective qualities of the bicycle helmet, based partly on the information from PubMed
he's posted,
Originally Posted by
John C. Ratliff
... But why use a bicycle helmet? That is the question here...
to which I've noted,
Originally Posted by
closetbiker
John feels helmets save lives in collisions with motor vehicles...
to which came the reply,
Originally Posted by
John C. Ratliff
... if the car brushes the bicyclist, knocks him/her off the bike and ground contact is made, then the helmet will help a lot... the bicycle helmet can save a life in some of these circumstances.
John's also posted,
Originally Posted by
John C. Ratliff
... without cars around, I would be willing to forgo the helmets on regular rides...
I've worn a helmet for 20 years believing it would help in simple falls but for the first 10 years I thought it would help in collisions with motor vehicles too. The last 10 years, I've learned that it's unlikely that they will provide protection in collisions/falls with motor vehicles
This prelude leads to the page I came upon this morning. A page from PubMed (
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1...?dopt=Abstract) that says,
Originally Posted by PubMed
The large majority of pedal cyclist deaths are due to head injuries after collision with a motor vehicle. It is therefore commonly proposed that cyclists should wear crash helmets for their own 'safety'. Helmets may protect against fall injuries, but current models are not designed to withstand the impact of collisions with motor vehicles. Evidence for the benefit of pedal cyclists wearing helmets is limited... A public health policy towards reducing pedal cyclist deaths should seek prevention of accidents, rather than protection from their consequences.
I know John and I agree on,
Helmets may protect against fall injuries, and,
reducing pedal cyclist deaths should seek prevention of accidents, but disagree on,
reducing pedal cyclist deaths based on protection from accident consequences and,
Evidence for the benefit of pedal cyclists wearing helmets is limited.
It's good to see PubMed has published information that shows bicycle helmets are not designed to withstand the impact of collisions with motor vehicles. Something I've posted on for some time.