Benefits of wearing a helmet

[dondare]

[QUOTE 1152847"]
Dondare the above is an assumption, you have not factored in other conditions such time of the day, weather, speed of the impact, where the ped was hit etc. Trying to compare to what other people are doing is lunacy when comparing this to out on a bike.

If you come off and bang your head then there is a chance (as described in the OP) that wearing a helmet will help protect you. It's up to whether you want to or not, but remember this - HELMETS SAVE LIVES.
[/quote]

A direct comparison is not valid but nevertheless it shows that the risks are in the same ball-park, as it were.

Helmets might save individual lives ( perhaps a dozen a year or so?) but do not make the roads safer; rather they deflect attention away from better solutions.
By emphasizing the dangers they discourage cycling, and by being uncomfortable and inconvenient they discourage cycling. Exercise saves lives - cycling, with or without a lid, is more likely to save you from a heart attack than get you killed in a road accident.

 

[dondare]

Show me the stats and i'll agree...its probably right but between a car and a bike, the car will always have more protection than the cyclist or non-cyclist.

The accident figures, both in terms of absolute numbers as well as relative risk, are available from various sources that are accessible from your computer. I won't cherry pick the ones that suit my argument so I'll leave you to do a bit of research, if you want.

 

[dondare]

Why do bike motorists wear a helmet?

Don't answer by its compulsory, or because its speed, because a cyclist can exceed 40 mph plus and still fall off just like a motorist!

I choose to wear one because i am that minority that does cycle faster than the usual cyclist...and if i were to fall off at least i have a chance of surviving.

I just won't go that fast.

 

[dondare]

The answer is, yes

I thought it looked rather smart, and if did place my trust in helmets it wouldn't be in a £8 HSO from Lidl.

 

[cannondale boy]

I just won't go that fast.

You might not want to exceed 40mph going down a very steep hill, but lets say someone does...what then?

I am not saying some one would be any safer by wearing a helmet, but at least its protection!

 

[dondare]

It's up to anyone to wear as much or as little protection as they wish at the moment. Obviously I'm against compulsion but so are a lot of people who wear them. I refute arguments in favour of helmet use because they are the same arguments that the pro-compulsion lot use, not because I'm trying to dissuade you from wearing yours at 40 mph.
Looking at the bigger picture I think that the general belief that helmets should be worn for safety's sake reduces casual cycling and the acceptance of bikes as transport; and promotes the myth that roads are dangerous and there's nothing we can do about it rather than the recognition that bad driving makes roads dangerous and there's a lot that we can do about it.

 

[kevin_cambs_uk]

I wear one for one simple reason, if I get knocked off and end up brain dead or a cabbage because I was not wearing one, I would hate to think what this would do to my wife, it would be unfair, and as there is no euthanasia in this country yet, just down right selfish of me.

 

[Zippy]

The three times I have come off the bike - two side slides on corners on black ice and on purpose built anti-skid paving on a council cycle path and the third a side swipe by a driver who, "saw me signal right but did not think I was actually going to do it", - I have landed on my left knee and heel of my hand with my head nowhere near the ground. Perhaps we should wear BMX style knee pads as well? Might get a bit cumbersome on commutes though.

I wear a helmet as I fear that one time when I'll need one and i feel it makes (some) drivers take me more seriously and give me more room or hang back as i'm unlikely to be an obstruction for long. I may be wrong.

 

[dondare]

[QUOTE 1152856"]
I can't believe that you'd ask such a personal question on an open bike forum Dondare - hang your head in shame!

(nothing else)
[/quote]

PM me...

 

[ufkacbln]

I wear one for one simple reason, if I get knocked off and end up brain dead or a cabbage because I was not wearing one, I would hate to think what this would do to my wife, it would be unfair, and as there is no euthanasia in this country yet, just down right selfish of me.

If the same vehicle knocked you over as a pedestrian - would the injuries be any more palatable or acceptable?

Would it be any more fair on your wife simply because you chose not to wear a helmet whilst waking?

 

[dondare]

If the same vehicle knocked you over as a pedestrian - would the injuries be any more palatable or acceptable?

Would it be any more fair on your wife simply because you chose not to wear a helmet whilst walking?

Fixed.... I think.

But perhaps we should wear helmets in all our waking moments, after all most accidents happen in the home.

 

[kevin_cambs_uk]

If the same vehicle knocked you over as a pedestrian - would the injuries be any more palatable or acceptable?

Would it be any more fair on your wife simply because you chose not to wear a helmet whilst waking?

I tend not to walk at 20 mph while being passed by cars on a road, or navigate roundabouts by walking in the same lanes as cars.

 

[dondare]

I tend not to walk at 20 mph while being passed by cars on a road, or navigate roundabouts by walking in the same lanes as cars.

So just how do so many pedestrians get injured or killed by motor vehicles?

 

[slugonabike]

taken from Cyclehelmets.org


"Cycle helmets and rotational injuries
Minor head injuries are usually as a result of linear acceleration of the skull by impact with another object. Cycle helmets may produce benefit by reducing and spreading this force.

More serious injuries, on the other hand, are often as a result of angular or rotational acceleration, which leads to diffuse axonal injury (DAI) and subdural haematoma (SDH). These are the most common brain injuries sustained by road crash victims that result in death or chronic intellectual disablement.

Cycle helmets are not designed to mitigate rotational injuries, and research has not shown them to be effective in doing so.

To the contrary, some doctors have expressed concern that cycle helmets might make some injuries worse by converting direct (linear) forces to rotational ones. These injuries will normally form a very small proportion of the injuries suffered by cyclists, but they are likely to form a large proportion of the injuries with serious long-term consequences. In this way helmets may be harmful in a crash, but this harm may not be detected by small-scale research studies. "

Surely we should be paying more attention to ensuring that cycle helmets actually do protect us from disabling brain injuries (rather than increase the risks) before we starting agitiating for their general use?

 

[taxing]

I don't wear a helmet because I don't want to. Sorted.

However, I think it's very hypocritical for Lee to rattle on about a helmet saving lives in this post, yet praise the riding in this one. Sensible cycling will do a lot more for your survival rate than a helmet will.