Has your helmet saved your life poll

[Poacher]

Dan B asks - Have you ever tried this?
yes - but I had a helmet on, - my front wheel bent in half and I was thrown head long over the bars, no tuck and roll , just bang head into the ground , I somersaulted over and landed sitting just as the bike followed me and cracked me on the collar bone.

If you want to know what its like without a helmet , be my guest and report back.

Just over two years ago, I was riding along a segregated cycle track at about 17mph (beside Daleside Road, a.k.a. Colwick Loop Road in Nottingham - I'd usually be riding on the road at 20 to 22mph, but was taking it easy on this occasion), when a pedestrian who'd been standing at the side of the cycle track, staring in the opposite direction, lurched out about 15 feet in front of me, still staring in the opposite direction. I shouted "look out!", grabbed the brakes and tried to steer round him, but he showed no sign of hearing me and took another step forward. I couldn't avoid him completely - I'm fairly sure he was in the process of taking yet another step - and caught him a glancing blow which was enough to spin him round and dump him on the floor, and whip my handlebars to the left. My front wheel folded and I went over the bars, pivoted on my right forearm, and ended up on my back with my feet pointing in the direction of travel. The bike, complete with heavy panniers at this point (one detached on impact) cartwheeled over me. I ended up with bleeding knuckles on both hands, grazes on my right hand, forearm and elbow, my right arm was spectacularly coloured all the way to the shoulder for the next fortnight, and bl**dy painful.
Very similar to your accident, I'd suggest, but my head didn't contact the ground, very probably, in my opinion, because I wasn't wearing a helmet. If had been, there probably would have been contact, and I'd swear blind that "wearing a helmet saved my life"**. But I wasn't, and it didn't.

** Assuming that it wouldn't have whipped my head round and broken my neck or caused a subdural haemorrhage, in which case I probably wouldn't be posting on here at all.

 

[Dan B]

Dan B asks - Have you ever tried this?
yes - but I had a helmet on, - my front wheel bent in half and I was thrown head long over the bars, no tuck and roll , just bang head into the ground , I somersaulted over and landed sitting just as the bike followed me and cracked me on the collar bone.

If you want to know what its like without a helmet , be my guest and report back.

Oh well, I've done that already. Bag stuck in spokes, straight over bars, landed on head, bike landed on me. I can't say it was pleasant, but nor was it life-changing

 

[theclaud]

Paging Greg Collins....

(30 mph downhill on a fixie, hit a rough bit of road and came unclipped. Hit his forehead hard.)

You rang Sir?

srw will explain what I did a few weeks later. Tell 'em srw....

Plummetted down Berriedale Braes (twisty, turny, steep) at speeds approaching 50mph. Towards the end of a week-long tour from London to John O'Groats.

May I say how much I'm enjoying the double-act?

 

[threebikesmcginty]

May I say how much I'm enjoying the double-act?

It's like having Mike and Bernie Winters on the forum.

 

[Licramite]

its luck. - dead people don,t go on websites. - I know a guy parachuted for 10years - out running stepped off a curb - bust his ankle.
I've bounced off my head loads of times - first recorded indecent age 5 - its just luck, I could slip going down the stairs (its really dangerous statistically ) and be killed tomorrow
Helmet won,t save you from the reaper. - but it may save you some skin and bone. - it comes down to - do you feel lucky punk? I figure anything that lengthens the odds

oh I finally got the spell checker to work - sorry my writing will be less idiosyncratic now.

 

[ufkacbln]

its luck. - dead people don,t go on websites. - I know a guy parachuted for 10years - out running stepped off a curb - bust his ankle.
I've bounced off my head loads of times - first recorded indecent age 5 - its just luck, I could slip going down the stairs (its really dangerous statistically ) and be killed tomorrow
Helmet won,t save you from the reaper. - but it may save you some skin and bone. - it comes down to - do you feel lucky punk? I figure anything that lengthens the odds

oh I finally got the spell checker to work - sorry my writing will be less idiosyncratic now.

You are absolutely right!

.. and I am so glad that your post is so open minded and hasn't restricted this just to cyclists. The example you give of a runner is a classic example of someone who may be saved by a helmet

 

[mcshroom]

You are absolutely right!

.. and I am so glad that your post is so open minded and hasn't restricted this just to cyclists. The example you give of a runner is a classic example of someone who may be saved by a helmet

Don't forget those riding in cars when caravans jump on top of them

http://www.cyclechat.net/threads/serious-crash-on-a55.117478/#post-2147200

 

[Licramite]

You are absolutely right!

.. and I am so glad that your post is so open minded and hasn't restricted this just to cyclists. The example you give of a runner is a classic example of someone who may been saved by a helmet

I know , his helmet had saved him in numerous jumps, he should have worn it on his foot , silly man.

 

[Drago]

It's saved me from the pain of a punch in the head, but I've yet to personally fall off and have noggin come into contact with the Earths crust.

 

[ufkacbln]

I know , his helmet had saved him in numerous jumps, he should have worn it on his foot , silly man.

Nowt to do with his feet.

The first question he would have been asked as a cyclists was "were you wearing a helmet"!

The point is that the likelihood of a helmet helping with this case is probaly as low as if it were a cyclist with a leg injury

 

[Arfcollins]

There are already a number of safety measures that have been imposed on cyclists. Lights, bells (all bike must be sold with one, although that is to be repealed), reflectors on pedals...

Excuse the late reply but I've just popped over from Commuting as its a bit dull at the moment. I've just had a new bike to replace the stolen one and I've kept the bell as I find it is a much politer way to get pedestrians out of my way than the airzound when I'm on the pavement.

 

[snorri]

 

[Bill-H]

as a teenager i didnt wear a helmet came off bike and smashed face on kerb broke teeth helmet wouldnt have helped as i continued rolling down the kerb i banged top of head requiring stiches and huge bruise helmet would have helped,
i do wear one now but in all honesty i do it to ease that nagging doubt of what if so a mushroom head is my usual style( plus keeps girlfriend happy)

 

[ufkacbln]

( plus keeps girlfriend happy)

At last - a proven benefit for helmets ....... you can dispense with expensive chocolates, flowers, shoes and handbags!

 

[Pedrosanchezo]

I try ever so hard to stay out of these debates but will post this just for those who say there is no evidence pro helmet. I must point out at this time that i don't give two hoots if you are against lids, i do however think it would be misleading for someone to stop wearing a helmet because they believe some of the arguments against posted above. Anyway......

"The results are consistent with an approximate 3-fold increase in the risk of death from head injuries for people who do not wear helmets compared with those who do".

http://www.cmaj.ca/content/early/2012/10/15/cmaj.120988.full.pdf (the geeky version with more info)

http://www.cyclehelmets.org/1106.html

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_130283.html