PatrickGSR94

Went on the monthly evening group ride tonight. Excellent weather, great turnout, great route. It was a blast until we neared the end and this one girl went down. Not sure what caused it at this point, but she was not wearing a helmet. It was no more than 8-10 mph, but she was lying on the side of the road with her head bleed, and blood running down the street gutter. Had to call 911, ambulance, police showed up.

I think it probably looked worse than it actually was. She'll probably just have a concussion. But still, it just goes to show how important helmets are. ALWAYS have it on when riding.

Monster Pete

I think I'll be alright without, thanks. In any case, please see 'the helmet thread' for more endless debate going nowhere than you can shake a stick at. Also see www.cyclehelmets.org for information on the capabilities and limitations of cycle helmets.

I hope you're wearing your drinking helmet as well, and your ladder helmet, shower helmet....

Mos6502

Well in that kind of accident a helmet is probably very useful. I think everybody here would have to admit reasonably.

Essex

It never hurts to have insurance on the head of a young child. Additionally, the helmet has saved my life once + a helmet would have helped in the case of a university cyclist when her head hit a curb in one of UC Davis' silly roundabouts. So, I am all for helmets.

I hope you can update us on her condition.

Cheers,

Essex

mprelaw

That's a false assumption as evidenced by the very first follow up.

mconlonx

Might have helped with whatever caused the bleeding, but helmets are not proof against concussion.

There's a dedicated, stickied helmet thread for stuff like this...

hagen2456

Probably true.

Probably not. But there's a thread where it's discussed.

Mos6502

I did qualify my statement with reasonably. There will always be unreasonable people out there.

I think any reasonable person if given the choice between having their skull abraded by concrete, and not having it abraded by concrete - would choose the latter. It's only reasonable.

As to whether or not a helmet is "life saving" or even necessary - that is an entirely different matter.

rydabent

patrick

Be prepared to be dumped on. There is a small very vocal clik that seems to think it is their duty to tell people that helmets are worthless. BTW I am on your side.

Essex

The female cyclist's head hit the edge of a curb at the upper portion of the skull. If she had been wearing helmet the impact would have been deflected, or absorbed by the helmet material.

mconlonx

Maybe, maybe not...

Dan The Man

I hit my funnybone yesterday, does that mean you should always wear elbow pads? I mean if you have the choice of being hit in the elbow with an elbow pad or without an elbow pad, which would you choose?

Please always wear elbow pads.

wphamilton

Patrick, I do appreciate the concern and your intention but it's really none of your business if I wear a helmet or don't.

Mos6502

Are you suggesting that elbow pads would not be useful in an instance where one's elbow might need padding?

RolandArthur

Patrick,

I would like to make an addition to your suggested safety precaution. The bicycle helmet adds a disputed small amount to your safety, without a doubt it does nothing to protect the rest of your body. Please Patrick, ALWAYS wear this when you´re riding:



The colour scheme from the picture is a bit off, obviously it should be bright orange with high viz bands. Being a cyclists it´s really important to be visible for other road users! Add a helmet mounted flashing light for good measure. Audio signals can also benefit here, a 100 Db installation with for example a tape from a merry go round is sure to get you noticed.

Most important: Besides cycling there are many dangerous activities you might be doing, like walking, climbing a ladder or taking a shower. ALWAYS wear this protection!

I hope this information makes your cycling experience, and overall living experience, more pleasant.

Cheers!

Essex

I find there are a lot of arm chair scientists making posts already. As per helmets - I have direct evidence as the friend hitting the curbside would have not been injured (coma) to the same extent had she been wearing a helmet. The other was me taking a massive spill. The Bell helmet (Snell rating) I wore was cracked near the centerline. If I hadn't worn it the primary impact would have been at the top of my skull.

RobertHurst

Or the helmet may have caught on the curb and twisted her neck very badly. Which would have been worse than a concussion or bleeding head. There is a lot of woulda coulda in these helmet threads. Most reasonable people would agree.

Dan The Man

I will try to sum up the arguments from the very long helmet thread. There are two main sticking points really. First how dangerous is cycling? Second, how much protection do helmets provide?

The other less important arguments are whether or not there is any disadvantage to wearing a helmet while not crashing, whether individuals should be making choices about their own safety vs peer pressure vs government legislation, where helmet wearing fits in the spectrum of all bicycle safety choices, and whether the opposite side of the debate is full of idiots, trolls, or a$$holes.

Essex

Arm chair scientist #3 - Most reasonable people - quantify "reasonable" other than it is your opinion without direct evidence. I have to say this is becoming a fun thread for me and probably worthless as I can't reason with something that is based on hearsay, or flat out opinion.

RolandArthur

The arm chair scientist would be you? Your anecdotal evidence contradicts my anecdotal evidence. I crashed plenty of times, including hitting my head, but the only real damage I got was on my torso. Since you´re really concerned about your safety I presume you will be wearing the safety precautions I made in my previous post?

Mithrandir

Heh, you obviously haven't spent much time around these nutbags.

Mithrandir

Actually, in a country where all of us have to pay taxes to support emergency medical care for those people shortsighted enough to not wear helmets when they crash and hurt their heads, I would say that it is our business.

RolandArthur

If you want to safe money on medical care you should kick Obama out of his office and get rid of all the Mc D eating couch hanging people.

Cycling with or without head bucket is healthy and lowers medical costs.

curbtender

A riding partner on a test ride went down hard on the side of his head, no helmet, 25mph. I'm wondering if a helmet would have saved his ear.

wphamilton

Nope. Even if it were true that requiring helmets saves money overall (it isn't), it still would be none of your business. Sorry, but that's the facts.