jack pot 

Assume one is riding along and for whatever reason loses control of the bike. As the bike begins to go down does the rider's keeping hands on the bars HELP , if it does HOW and WHY does keeping hands on the bars during a crash protect you.

mcours2006

The most common injury with crashing on a bike, save for going over the bar, is probably hand/wrist/arm fracture. Keeping the hands on the bar likely helps prevent this. You'll land on your hip/shoulder/thigh. Your instinct is to stick your hands out to brace the fall, which likely results in a broken wrist/ulna/radius.

tyrion

Who recommends keeping your hands on the bars during a crash? Maybe in certain kinds of crashes it's the safest response, but it definitely shouldn't be general rule.

Rick

Some kids with there daddies construction truck struck me with a board hat they hung out into the road while they were passing me. I had broken cartilage in several fingers' of my left hand and a cracked helmet. The next time I went down it was from a pickup truck deliberately pushing me over and I was able to twist my body and tuck my head so no damage to hands or helmet. I landed mostly on my butt. I did tear the meniscus in my left nee because the frogs have a built up stop to keep your foot from releasing toward the bicycle.

79pmooney

I'm not a gymnast and couldn't have been one when I was young. I'm clumsy. I raced in my 20s. I kept a simple mantra. Don't let go of the bars until after you hit the road. Means that you are going for a skin losing slide but the odds are improved that won't break bones and will probably be able to remount and get home. (And not lose training time and condition.)

This has had long term consequences. I rode in the toestrap days. If you wore good cleats and pulled good straps tight, your feet weren't coming off the pedals. (My first post crash thought and move was to reach down and release the buckles so I could get off the road as fast as possible. Bystanders always told me to be still. No thanks! I know what road kill looks like.) So my spills were mostly slides. Being thin and bony, the same corners took the abuse many times. Now I have to sleep on padding with holes for those corners. And I ride much more carefully because I really don't want to do those corners again.

The two times I crashed and broke arm/hand bones I put that arm down. As a teen, then the winter after my last race when I left my mantra at home. Now I have gone over the handlebars and had bikes knocked out from under me by cars. Like I said, I'm clumsy. I've broken collarbones and ribs. Hit my helmet. (That one happened so suddenly that I doubt letting go of the handlebars would have made any difference at all other than perhaps adding another broken bone. Given the severity of the head injury and the seizure that resulted, a clean set would have been highly unlikely if it was on my right arm/hand.)

ropetwitch

One of the reasons why cycling accident happens is lack of road awareness. As to body part, knee is the most common prone to injuries.
I haven't tried being in an accident and reading this thread, most recommended to stay the hands in the bar. Is this applicable at all times?

Bearhawker

My most spectacular (bicycle) crash so far involved me riding at 40km/h and a dog running parallel to me in a field across the road that not only kept pace but was able to get ahead of me, take a driveway from the field onto the road, cross the road and impact me around the bottom bracket.

15 rib fractures of 9 ribs and a collapsed lung. Apparently most rib fractures happen at the side, at the apex of their curve.

Mine? All at the very back on the right side. the bottom 4 ribs broke right at the spine, which I'm told is not common and takes some doing.

During my recovery I tried to figure out how that happened and the only thing that makes sense is that the impact caused me to snap-roll into the pavement with the front wheel knocked to the left, the direction the dog came from. If I hit the ground with my right arm still bent and me still hunched over the bars, my right arm would be along the apex of my ribs causing them to "blow out" somewhere... in my case it was at the spine rather than the sternum.

Had it happened more slowly I probably would have instinctively put my arms out and would have had much more serious injuries.

I need my hands and arms to do my job... hard to type and move the mouse in a productive way when confined by immobilizing contraptions like external fixators (trust me) or casts (never had one!). I did take 12 days off work, but was able to get back to work quickly as broken ribs didn't affect what I do for a living beyond that.

Tuck and roll (even if involuntarily!) in my case very likely resulted in less overall injury in my specific case and absolutely resulted in a faster recovery** so I would recommend that if possible. I think I'm also lucky that I didn't have more than superficial leg issues - when I came-to on the road, one foot was still clipped-in and I struggled to get free of the bike to get off the road as it was the morning commuting hour. It's REALLY hard to unclip and wiggle off the road when you're lying on 15 rib fractures. lol

** I was riding back to work within 4 weeks and multiday endurance rides in 2.5 months. I'm still suffering impacts of the crash, but I would be even having had broken arms. I doubt I would have been riding again so quickly though.

AlmostTrick

Using your arms for protection when falling is a valid method for reducing or avoiding other serious injuries. It all depends on how you use them. See martial arts breakfalls for proper technique.

Iride01 

Are the martial arts people traveling 20 mph when the do these back falls and stuff?

I keep my hands and feet attached to the bike. I think it's helped for all the high speed crashes I've had. I can only suppose why, so I won't do that here. The one wreck at over 20 mph I had that I have no recollection or memory of, I apparently came off the bike from all the evidence I can tell. And I was badly damaged. But only my skull cracked, not arms, wrists or hands. Though skin was missing from parts.

I sort of have the belief that one of the many deer that are on the trail that time of year simply jumped over me and knocked me off. But there is no proof of that. However last year on the anniversary of my crash, there were five deer at my crash site. And a total of ten on the entire 11 mile stretch of MUP.

caloso

I've never had any martial arts training, so I wouldn't trust myself sticking my hands out. I'll keep my hands on the bars, as I've done in previous crashes. I've broken bikes, I've broken helmets, I've torn the backs of my gloves, but thankfully I've never broken myself.

work4bike

I don't know, I don't fall down that much to know...that's funny because it's true