Has your helmet saved your life poll

[Davidc]

The fact that their helmets have a visor has nothing to do with preventing facial injuries and everything to do with aerodynamics.

Of course, but facial protection is also provided by it.

As Mickle suggests even the most ardent helmet advocate cannot, surely, claim that the bits of flimsy polystyrene sold to the general public as helmets provide any facial protection.

 

[Arsen Gere]

You have any evidence for this? Chances are if your killed in an accident on a bike a helmet would make absolutely no difference at all.

Agreed, dead is dead. But financially it may make a difference. See http://www.cyclistsdefencefund.org.uk/cycle-helmets-and-contributory-negligence/recent-cases

Which states " in common with many others, routinely proposed a discount for a failure to wear a cycle helmet".

 

[Davidc]

Agreed, dead is dead. But financially it may make a difference. See http://www.cyclistsdefencefund.org.uk/cycle-helmets-and-contributory-negligence/recent-cases

Which states " in common with many others, routinely proposed a discount for a failure to wear a cycle helmet".

As you would expect, and some accept the discount. Others don't.

I checked that link and what I found was: (my boldening)

"He quotes a neurosurgeon witness he has utilised who states ‘Most experienced trauma surgeons believe that cycle helmets give only very limited head protection’. Simon Holt also adds that it is his ‘experience that the defendant’s solicitors are abandoning allegations of contributory negligence for failure to wear cycle helmets........."

also (my boldening)

"Interestingly the scientific view seems to be paradoxical. For example, it is clear that the road users most at risk from head injury are pedestrians and young drivers, and not cyclists. In Great Britain, six times more pedestrians and eighteen times more motor vehicle occupants suffer lethal head injuries than cyclists. Children are 2.6 times more likely to suffer head injury through jumping and falling than by cycling, and more than 99 per cent of head injuries seen by UK hospitals do not involve road cyclists. It would therefore seem logical that helmets for motorists would be rather more effective than those for cyclists, and certainly more beneficial than seat belts, interior padding or air bags. The potential of car driver helmets for reducing injury is 17 times greater than that of cycle helmets"

Like you, Arsen Gere, I have been highly selective in my first quotation.

The second one is material quoted in many places, no need to be selective with that.

 

[Arsen Gere]

As you would expect, and some accept the discount. Others don't.

I checked that link and what I found was: (my boldening)
.....
Like you, Arsen Gere, I have been highly selective in my first quotation.

The second one is material quoted in many places, no need to be selective with that.

Yep, no problem with that, wear a helmet and no dispute. It makes life easy and protects your head.
Personnaly I believe we should have the right to do what ever does no one else harm e.g.not wearing a helmet, walking naked up the high street, whatever. I've no dispute over rights.
My point is that wearing one saves hasle, money (legal folks arguing the toss are not cheap) and has saved my head on more than one occaision as per the op.

 

[Arsen Gere]

Helmets prevent facial injuries now?

In my case that face plant may have not been so bad as I hit the ground with my forehead and left side, before dragging the rest of face up the road, so damage may have been less not eliminated. I might have remained concious. Just suposition though, but given the opportunity to repeat the experience, I'd prefer to do it in a helmet.

 

[SatNavSaysStraightOn]

the rock that was thrown at me did this to my helmet - certainly helped whilst i was cycling. had it hit my head, I doubt I would have stayed on the bike. But I have also been hit my a car knocking me into the pedestrain railing with my head hitting the hand rail - make your own deductions, I came around on the way to hospital and have a good 'war wound' and uneven skull as a result just where my head would have been.... anyhow piccie...

I was left with concussion, dizzieness and a regretably desire to go and throttle the teenager who threw the rock at me for saying I did not want sex with him! Also left me with a headache and wallet ache... it was a £80 helmet...

 

[Andy_R]

I think I need elaborate

I had an accident 3 years ago where a parked car pulled out in front of me launching me over it's bonnet causing me to slam head first into the road. I suffered concussion and smashed kneecaps. If I hadn't been wearing a helmet I would have no doubt sustained a serious head injury. Wearing a helmet doen't make it more or less likely for me to be involved in a collision like that, but it will minimise the effects of any impact my head has with the road/kerb/vehicle etc

I notice that you aren't ranting on about the need for kneepads though...........Just goes to show the preconditioned reaction people now have...must wear a helmet.....folks, newsflash:cycling is not dangerous! Walking along the footpath is more likely to result in injury, as is crossing the road, but I don't hear you screaming that peds must wear helmets. Get a grip.

 

[SatNavSaysStraightOn]

I notice that you aren't ranting on about the need for kneepads though...........Just goes to show the preconditioned reaction people now have...must wear a helmet.....folks, newsflash:cycling is not dangerous! Walking along the footpath is more likely to result in injury, as is crossing the road, but I don't hear you screaming that peds must wear helmets. Get a grip.

regretfully I have more dents in my head than I do in my knees, elbows, wrists or palms put togther - I am obviously excluding the obvious dog bite issues here!

 

[Hitchington]

I notice that you aren't ranting on about the need for kneepads though...........Just goes to show the preconditioned reaction people now have...must wear a helmet.....folks, newsflash:cycling is not dangerous! Walking along the footpath is more likely to result in injury, as is crossing the road, but I don't hear you screaming that peds must wear helmets. Get a grip.

I did consider getting kneepads when I got back on my bike after 3 months recovery. But my head contains my brain and I do value my brain's wellbeing enough to continue wearing (albeit a brand new one) a helmet. Not sure why I need to "get a grip", me wearing a helmet surely isn't causing some great injustice to the world of cycling. It's all about individual choice and I'm just recounting my experience of my one and only accident with another road vehicle which resulted in my helmet covered head smashing into the road. On reflection I'm glad I was wearing a helmet, but I understand it's not for everyone. "Rant" over

 

[vorsprung]

It's hard to say isn't it?

I've crashed out about half a dozen times and written off my helmet. On most of those occasions it probably made me not have a cut on my head. I feel this is a good thing

There was one crash however where the sunglasses I was wearing ended up mashed into my eyebrow. If I hadn't have been wearing a helmet I'd probably would not have to have stitches in my eyebrow. The sunglasses were entangled in the straps for the helmet

 

[jonny jeez]

Think about what you have just written. 34% of helmeted riders here thought they had had significant benefit from their helmet. That implies they think it protected them from a serious head injury. I would be very surprised if even a tiny proportion of the non-helmet wearers here have had a serious head injury. Can you work out what that might indicate?

Maybe, maybe not...start a poll and lets see.

I wish i could edit my own poll to include those types of questions but i didnt consider it enough to begin with.

either way, until we have the answers lets try not to speculate too much.

 

[Norm]

Where's the 'My helmet made my injuries worse' option?

There's an echo here.

Furthermore 34% (at time of typing) have had significant benefit, which suggests that they were some of the unfortunate ones that have had a fall and who's lids have helped (or have been perceived to have helped).

Now, now, Jonny, if you start pretending there's some serious conclusions from your poll, you'll start getting serious statisticians telling you why and in how many ways it fails to stand up to any level of scrutiny.

 

[jonny jeez]

There's an echo here.


Now, now, Jonny, if you start pretending there's some serious conclusions from your poll, you'll start getting serious statisticians telling you why and in how many ways it fails to stand up to any level of scrutiny.

Statistically, your probably correct.

 

[mcshroom]

You do realise you can vote for every option in the poll at the same time

 

[mcshroom]

Who said anything about logic?