chipcom 

no thanks, I already have a gun

chasm54

According to the UK Department of Transport, per mile travelled pedestrians are as likely as cyclists to suffer head injuries. All those of you who are adopting the "better safe than sorry" argument need to ask yourselves why you don't wear one when crossing the street.

Intuition is often mistaken. Cycling isn't really dangerous relative to walking around, walking downstairs and so on. Don't be brainwashed into thinking otherwise.

Machka 

Yes, the helmet can shift.

When I had my accident (see middle of page 1 of this thread), I did end up with a bruise on the side of my head. The helmet would have hit the ground first, then it would have likely bounced back toward my head (ever-so-slightly) while my head continued to descend toward the pavement. The helmet and my head would have collided, and then both would have crashed into the road. And that's probably when the helmet cracked. I'm guessing that's what I would have seen if I had watched the accident in slow motion.

As for the comment "you can naturally prevent your head from making contact with the ground" ... that couldn't be further from the truth.

As I say in my story, I realised that my head was on a collision course with the road when I was still in a relatively upright sitting position, and had enough time to think that I needed to do something. I tried desparately to tense up, or to shift into another position, or something, to prevent my head from hitting the ground. It was a really weird feeling, I felt like my body, and everything except my head, was moving in slow motion, but I felt like my head was flying through the scene way too fast to "catch".

And then it was too late. I was knocked unconscious ... only briefly ... fortunately.

cleon

https://www.bhsi.org/stats.htm

and key quote, "Less than two percent of motor vehicle crash deaths are bicyclists. The most serious injuries among a majority of those killed are to the head, highlighting the importance of wearing a bicycle helmet. Helmet use has been estimated to reduce head injury risk by 85 percent. Ninety-one percent of bicyclists killed in 2009 reportedly weren't wearing helmets, the same percentage as 2008."

Just weigh the pros and cons and decide what's right for you.

tagaproject6

Well...it's about time we had a helmet discussion!

chasm54

I will. But when I weigh them I will be aware that the quoted study has been widely discredited and based it's conclusion (an 85%reduction in risk) on the researchers estimates of the effectiveness of helmets, not on a real-world analysis of their effectiveness.

thump55

You know that's not true. (either one)

ColinL

This sharply contrasts with my own dirtbike, BMX and mountainbike experiences. I have never destroyed a helmet of any type, but I've definitely had major impacts with them that left a lasting cosmetic flaw. I've had my head run over, tire marks to prove it.

However, I never broke any bones other than cracking my ribs a few times. Through all that, I never sustained any serious head injuries. I had a minor concussion a few times, and felt fine within a few days.


Anyway, I firmly believe that bicycle helmets are a pragmatic design. If they were as safe as a full-face motorcycle helmet, they would be as bulky and heavy as a motorcycle helmet and hardly anyone would be willing to wear them. They seem to be intentionally designed to be light enough not to be a nuisance or significant performance degradation, and offer enough protection to be worthwhile.

If I'm descending at 40mph on a bicycle and crash, is my Specialized road helmet what I would choose to be wearing? Hell no, I'd rather have a full-face motorcycle helmet, shoulder pads, back protector, elbow/knee/shinguards and a cup. But wearing all that crap isn't feasible. (DH MTB excluded.)

So, anyway, knowing that it is a 'better than nothing' design rather than ultimate head protection, you make the choice as to whether you want to bother or not. The choice is easy for me.

merlinextraligh

I think your reasoning skills need some work. It is clear beyond cavil that seatbelts save thousands of lives each year. While there may be examples of freak occurences where people ejected from vehicles live, the vast majority of people ejected from moving vehicles die, or suffer catastrophic injury.

The argument that the bulk of a bike helmet (which is a bout 7 ounces) causes people to hit their heads has about the same validity as your seat belt argument.

chipcom 

incorrect on both counts

perhaps if you modified your statement to say "if I knew I was going to crash AND hit my head" I might agree with that part.

sleepysurf

Must be an Orthopod <g>.

JoelS

And how many miles a week do you ride vs. walk? For me, I generally ride 150 or more mi a week than I walk. That significantly ups the odds.

chasm54

Sure. It means that you ride more than you walk. But it doesn't mean that cycling is more dangerous than walking. If you walked more miles than you rode, would you wear a helmet while walking? If not, why not?

gsteinb

For the sake of humanity please don't wear a helmet.

chasm54

This is rubbish, actually. There is good statistical evidence that seat belts reduce the incidence of injury among the driving population. That evidence is much more equivocal, and often altogether absent, with regard to cyclists and helmets. There is no equivalence between the two.

chasm54

Routine abuse from those who are unable to sustain a rational argument. The stupid are at a much greater evolutionary disadvantage than the analytical.

Ratzinger

It depends where you are. The provinces make the rules.
I like having the choice. If I do a 100km ride through the city and out to the country, I wear a helmet. If I do a 5-minute ride to the LCBO, I forgo. (note: not yet drunk). I like feeling the wind in my hair. I'm not convinced that a helmet is a significant part of my safe cycling.

I used to live in a province with a mandatory helmet law and it was a bother than I couldn't even test ride my bike on an empty street without risking a big fine.

Amazing that there has been something of a real discussion in this thread! Bravo!

cleon

Fair enough. That's what happens when you (meaning me) do a cursory Google search. Here's a more balanced article, https://www.cyclehelmets.org/1052.html.

My personal experience is in two separate mountain biking incidents I am very glad to have had my helmet on. One was over a patch of ice where I went over backwards somehow, landing hard on the back of my head, and the helmet took the full impact. Doubt it would have been fatal but probably would have knocked me out and created a bloody mess. Instead I was fine. The second was a forward pitch off the trail into a tree. Same basic outcome. Helmet took the brunt and glad I had it. Never crossed my mine to not wear it. Not sure what the benefit would be. But it is a random opinion in Internetland.

laserfj

Yes.

chasm54

Thanks for taking the trouble to look more deeply. Most people don't bother.

For the record, were I a mountain biker I'd wear a helmet. The risk of a low-speed collision in which you hit your head, at a speed at which a helmet may make a significant difference, is much higher. But what kills cyclists on roads is being hit by cars, and in those situations helmets are pretty much useless. When I'm just riding around the chances of my sustaining a head injury are tiny and I'm more than prepared to take the risk.

I have no objection to people wearing helmets, it's a personal choice. I just object ot the "if you don't wear a helmet you must be stupid" argument. I don't, and I'm not.

Commodus

I have a hard time believing that 300g of styrofoam can provide meaningful protection against a car.

I wear a helmet, because races and events of all kinds require me to. Also it puts my sweetie's mind at ease.

But, to be really honest, the extent of the protection provided beyond the laceration level is probably pretty minor. Nor is it very likely that I'm going to hit my head in the first place.

But, not getting cut is still a good thing, so helmets are, in an absolute sense, still a good idea. What I really don't like are helmets laws. I'm really friggin tired of hearing cagers ***** about cyclists not wearing their helmets, and somehow using this as proof we all need to be insured/registered/in jail/off the roads. I'm pretty sure that car accidents are a far more common source of head injury than cycling, and I don't see those ******s wearing helmets.

dolanp

Just because helmets don't *always* save your life doesn't mean helmets *never* save lives. If there's a chance it could soften the blow enough to save your life or prevent you from being in a coma, it's worth it IMO. It's not even an inconvenience either, people just choose not to for some idiotic fashion reason.

gsteinb

There's nothing you posted there that's remotely based in reality.

I would be dead or brain damaged from my crash last May. No question. I damn nearly died as it was. In two other and very routine crashes the back of my head made impact with the ground and crascked the back of the helmet. Were that my head I could have sustained a very serious injury. I wasn't riding aggressively in those cases. I didn't plan on crashing. Nothing out of the ordinary happened. it was just the touch of a wheel and I was on the ground.

dmcdam

Falling down walking seems a lot less dangerous to me than wiping out on a bike traveling at speed. Stats or not, I've been way more injured falling off bikes than tripping over my feet.

bianchi10

Thy summer I waw involved in a crash and landed staright square on the bad if my head. The helmet cracked and took the hit. It still hurt but I'm glad I was wearing a helmet or else my head would have cracked instead