Detention Lines: I will wear a helmet.

[Flying_Monkey]

But, really, my entire momentum hitting the kerb head first? Really? I don't know how many times I've come off bikes over the years, but I've never experienced that.

I have so your disbelief is unjustified - it happens. When mountain biking, head plants are not uncommon. All the bleating about what helmets do and do not do stop in situations like this. I saved myself a nasty bang on the head - what the effects of that would have been without a helmet I do not know, but I am happy I did not have to find out. On the road though, my few crashes have never involved me hitting my head, but then I have, like Magnatom, martial arts reflexes (or what's left of them) - I still wouldn't bank on them however.

A few people have mentioned risk compensation - I have yet to see a good study on the long-term effects of helmet-wearing on risky behaviour that studied such things over the long term and was actually able to differentiate between risk-compensatory behaviour from the wearing of helmet and the same resulting from perceived experience. Many people are more blase about safety than they claim in discussions like this whether they wear helmets or not. I do not doubt that especially for inexperienced cyclists there might be a small and temporary risk compensation effect from the wearing of helmets, but one would expect this to reduce over time to the point where it was not a factor. I certianly do not behave as if I am invincible when I wear a helmet, in fact I don't think I behave any differently at all.

 

[yello]

I certianly do not behave as if I am invincible when I wear a helmet, in fact I don't think I behave any differently at all.

Same here. Though you would perhaps acknowledge that it's difficult to be objective about that.

Your own perception of your behaviour might also be altered! More realistically though the likelihood of you being able to compare you behaviour with and without helmet in exactly the same situations is remote.

 

[Flying_Monkey]

Same here. Though you would perhaps acknowledge that it's difficult to be objective about that.

Your own perception of your behaviour might also be altered! More realistically though the likelihood of you being able to compare you behaviour with and without helmet in exactly the same situations is remote.

That's very true - but then many other changes I have made to my riding have the opposite effect - notably clipless pedals, which make you very careful for a while...

 

[Crackle]

But, really, my entire momentum hitting the kerb head first? Really? I don't know how many times I've come off bikes over the years, but I've never experienced that. I've broken a tooth, I've hit my chin, I've broken ribs, taken scrapes on the arms, legs, shoulders... I dunno, through off-road and on-road biking I've bounced around all over the place, and you're telling me now that I'm going to encounter a new form of accident where instad of laterally scraping along an obstacle I'll be hitting it straight on with my head like its a metal bar being swung at it? Sorry, but none of that sounds very realistic to me.

I didn't hit the kerb. I hit the flat of the road with the side of my head at about 15-25mph. I didn't bounce, I didn't scrape, my head roughly stayed where it landed and my bottom half rotated in the direction of travel.

It happened fast and I mean really fast. I don't have slow reactions and up until then I'd never not reacted to a fall but I did then, went down like a dead thing: Result one fractured skull, followed by 18 months of dizzy spells and low blood pressure incidents.

I make no assumption about whether a helmet would have helped, I'm merely stating what happened and that it contradicts what you've posted and the other theory that shoulder would hit first.

 

[yello]

Reckon you're right there FM. Riding fixed also changes the way I ride!

I've recently started wearing a helmet but it's only because I often ride with a group and they're helmet wearers. Peer group pressure I guess. If I go out on my own, I don't bother.

 

[mickle]

I saw an ANSI helmet testing rig up close during a visit to Specialized in Morgan Hill. Helmet is attached (upside down) to (upside down) head shaped buck which is then dropped a couple of feet on to a hard surface.

ANSI is widely considered to be the worlds best helmet testing authority yet its rigs can only test the very top of a helmet and so are only really valid when considering a head first kind of impact. Such as being shot out of a cannon.

 

[ufkacbln]

I saw an ANSI helmet testing rig up close during a visit to Specialized in Morgan Hill. Helmet is attached (upside down) to (upside down) head shaped buck which is then dropped a couple of feet on to a hard surface.

ANSI is widely considered to be the worlds best helmet testing authority yet its rigs can only test the very top of a helmet and so are only really valid when considering a head first kind of impact. Such as being shot out of a cannon.

There is an excellent coverage of testing here

If you follow the links you get to details of the requirements for various standards

 

[ufkacbln]

Aditional to the helmet design "dumbing down" that has been allowed, resulting in helmets that offer less and less protection to be marketed, there is also an increase in the danger of neck injuries by poor drsign.

If you are involved in an impact, then the best surface is a smooth dome that will slide.

Modern helmets with large vents offer points where this motion will be arrested na transfer into rotational forces. Now add all those nice little raised areas and flat aras and you heve designed in "snag pioints" which will also increase both the likelihood and extent of rotational injury!

Have a look at the number of points on this helmet that could arrest movement!

 

[yello]

I have that helmet.... a Giro Atmos

 

[BentMikey]

And me. There is some rumour that helmets just like this have to be duct-taped to the head form, as well as the straps, else they won't stay on for the hit the back of the head tests. Not very encouraging!!

Most of the head injuries I've seen from skating falls resulted in cut chins, broken teeth, all stuff below the helmet line.

 

[Wolf04]

There is an excellent coverage of testing here

If you follow the links you get to details of the requirements for various standards

Thanks Thought provoking stuff. I'm off to buy (depending on fit) a Specialised Airforce 3 at the weekend, interesting that here it is only marked as EN1078 but is identical to the Snell rated model in U.S.

 

[Crackle]

There is an excellent coverage of testing here

If you follow the links you get to details of the requirements for various standards

That's an excellent site. Did anyone follow the study link (Edit: Study discredited see posts below this):-

Bicycling accidents cause many serious injuries and, in the United States, about 1300 deaths per year, mainly from head injuries. Safety helmets are widely recommended for cyclists, but convincing evidence of their effectiveness is lacking. Over one year we conducted a case-control study in which the case patients were 235 persons with head injuries received while bicycling, who sought emergency care at one of five hospitals. One control group consisted of 433 persons who received emergency care at the same hospitals for bicycling injuries not involving the head. A second control group consisted of 558 members of a large health maintenance organization who had had bicycling accidents during the previous year. Seven percent of the case patients were wearing helmets at the time of their head injuries, as compared with 24 percent of the emergency room controls and 23 percent of the second control group. Of the 99 cyclists with serious brain injury only 4 percent wore helmets. In regression analyses to control for age, sex, income, education, cycling experience, and the severity of the accident, we found that riders with helmets had an 85 percent reduction in their risk of head injury (odds ratio, 0.15; 95 percent confidence interval, 0.07 to 0.29) and an 88 percent reduction in their risk of brain injury (odds ratio, 0.12; 95 percent confidence interval, 0.04 to 0.40). We conclude that bicycle safety helmets are highly effective in preventing head injury. Helmets are particularly important for children, since they suffer the majority of serious head injuries from bicycling accidents.

 

[Nigeyy]

It's obvious then; you are safer wearing a helmet in the States compared to other parts of the world, notably Australia. Or, if you are in an accident wearing a helmet come over here to have it (though you'll have to have health insurance mind you).

That's an excellent site. Did anyone follow the study link:-

Bicycling accidents cause many serious injuries and, in the United States.... We conclude that bicycle safety helmets are highly effective in preventing head injury.

 

[BentMikey]

Ah yes, Thompson Rivara Thompson. That is a widely discredited study, IIRC.

 

[jonesy]

Ah yes, Thompson Rivara Thompson. That is a widely discredited study, IIRC.

There is a critique of that paper here:
http://www.cyclehelmets.org/1068.html