Originally Posted by
CliffordK
Likely one should look at double impact. Say hitting a vehicle grill, then hitting the ground. But, the first impact may be the hardest.
What has worried me the most, and I haven't gotten a clear explanation is helmets + accessories. A couple of manufacturers build accessory mounts right into the helmets, but it is not clear if the helmets are tested with the accessories installed.
I have a helmet with built in lights on order (which I think is a good idea), but again, did they test the worst case scenario of an impact right into the light?
Yeah, valid concern. I wondered about that as well.
For example, a friend who seems to have a knack for shoulder injuries suffered a broken clavicle, worsened in part by the Bluetooth speaker she was wearing on her shoulder. Freak injury, but still possible if not probable.
I've Googled around for comments from helmet manufacturers on mounting cameras, lights, etc., on helmets, and haven't found any definitive statement from manufacturers, other than a generic blanket statement in the warranty about "modifying" helmets.
My hunch is that top-mounting accessories is probably the least risky. Between my own bike crashes, watching many other bike crashes, and working in health care taking care of patients with head injuries, the vast majority of head injuries were due to impacts to the sides, front and back of the head, seldom to the top. The double impact I described above was one of those exceptions, with the top impact being secondary to the initial side impact.
So while I'll mount small blinkies to the back and front of my helmets -- toward the top whenever possible -- and cameras to the tops, I avoid mounting anything on the sides, or low on the back/occipital region, or in line with the forehead.
That includes my Drift Ghost X video cameras. Those were made primarily for the motorcycle/scooter market, with simple but effective mounts intended to affix to one side or the other of the helmet, using heavy duty 3M tape. That's fine with motorcycle helmets, which are generally solid, smooth surfaces without vents. But besides being difficult to mount to vented bicycle helmets, I'd still hesitate to mount a camera or anything to the sides. In addition to making a lightweight bicycle helmet unbalanced, I wonder whether side mounting a camera might increase the risk of a neck injury, in addition to possibly weakening the EPS foam upon impact.