Helmets
 

Just a note.

I was in a bike accident this Sunday.
MUP. I moved to accommodate a walker with a dog, I give dogs on leash and kids a wide berth. My wheel got caught in the expansion joint in the concrete. Shredded tire and tube, me over the handlebars, and the first thing that hit was my head.

(Clip ins give you no shot at fall control)

I have the imprint of the inside of my helmet bruised on my left temple. But I never lost consciousness.

Thank God!!

I'm a helmet supporter.

We live in so much danger. I verified gravity about three weeks ago, lady in a Jag jumped in front of me from a biz district driveway...
Just enough time to roll my shoulder to help save the clavicle.
I got up, she saw me standing and scrammed.

BTW, even if you did not lose consciousness it does not mean you did not endure a concussion. Test, don't guess I suggest.

Glad you had one on. I just bought my first MIPS, having broken two helmets in the last five years. The most recent, concussion, took me six months to a year to fully recover. Physically. A lot of memory loss.

I have worn and advocated bicycle helmets since circa 1970, before they were fashionable. The only logical objection to them is "risk compensation," the idea that some people will ride less cautiously because they think the helmet makes them invincible. I always ride with a helmet, but I ride as though I just realized I forgot to put it on.

I lost a valued friend, mentor, and cycling companion in the 1972 Los Angeles Wheelmen Double Century (Grand Tour), partly because he wasn't wearing a helmet and partly because he kept going after taking a fall resulting in a bump to the head. I begged him to call it a day with me at the 200-mile mark, but he headed out with one of my college buddies to make it a triple century. Twenty miles later he hit Lee's rear wheel, just as he had hit mine sixty miles before, hit his head a second time, and went into a coma from which he never awoke. This is why I don't draft and why I always wear a helmet.

OP, glad you are "OK", but...

+1 on that.

A sad day for me when my wife finally got me to hang up the vintage strap helmet for a modern one, albeit the most vintage-looking I could find. But I've "gone down" couple of times since then, I "roll" well but am more confident with a decent brain-bucket.

Hope you are back up on two wheels ASAP.

Me too .

I always wear a helmet but I found they're not as effective when you land on your face at 20mph. I woke up to an EMT asking how many fingers (had to struggle to resist my sense of humor, it was still there...) That was a trip to the trauma center, concussion, broken tooth and loads of cuts and abrasions. But apparently after the face plant I flipped, cracking the back of the head - the helmet did its job there, it was deformed in the rear. And my forehead was undamaged. It was a bad experience but could have been worse and I recovered quickly.

A helmet saved me. Fourteen years ago I went head over heels onto the asphalt at 20mph. The head hit first and trashed the helmet. The head fared much better that the back... two fractured vertebrae. The back muscles no longer work properly. As for the head, well.. it never worked properly anyway. Still I wear a helmet.

I hate 'em.
I wear 'em.

Organ donors er, motorcyclists here don't often wear them.

I strongly believe in helmets, but sadly, I'm just brain-dead enough to often forget to put mine on. 🙄 And that usually happens when I'm in a town or city, where you need one the most. Good thing for me, someone upstairs looks out for me, when I need it. 😁

As a motorcyclist, I find that absolutely insane, legally required or not.

When does a helmet that has never had an impact need to be replaced? I've been wearing the same one for years.

In the past few years two things could potentially have happened:

1. The materials in my helmet could have degraded due to age, consequently providing less protection.
2. The state of the art of new helmets could have improved.

If #2 has happened, I'm at no greater risk today than I was a few years ago. But if #1 has happened, I probably should replace it. Given that it hasn't had any impacts, and still fits well, and has no obvious signs of damage, how would I know it's time?

I hate wearing on. But I wear one. If we had better infra, I wouldn't wear one on my commute. I would wear one on long road rides though - both because of riding location among traffic, and also the speed.

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...8cb2af866b.jpg
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...0c0ca5c9d4.jpg
From my walk a few days ago.

I've only had one motorcycle accident and one bicycle accident.

In the motorcycle accident, a following car saw my helmet fly across the road, at least the front half if it. Collarbone and bruises. Got a new helmet.

In the bicycle accident, the helmet cracked and some foam was smashed. Collarbone, wrist, spokes through a calf. Got a new helmet.

My hair was slightly messed up.

Low speed errand runs on my Klunker, I don't. But on the road bikes, I do for sure. When I rode a motorcycle - always!
Glad to hear the OP is ok.

Aside from the common sense that is debatable and maybe not so much for many of us anyway, there are states, companies, courts and insurers that will deny or diminish and fight coverage and damages if you weren't wearing one, all while you are struggling, dying, stressing, bleeding and trying to recuperate with impunity and the money as well as resources to bury you.

I wear mine, always, GPS and cameras front and rear for recorded proof with lights all around 24/7

Yup. I make my daughter wear one. Therefore so do I. Removes the temptation to be stupid.

The best place to discuss helmet effectiveness is here:

https://www.bikeforums.net/advocacy-...hread-2-a.html