Having to wear a helmet to do a sportive

[Bill Gates]

I was watching a television programme the other day about Rolf Harris retracing the steps his father took during the first world war in France. He had with him the helmet his father wore on the day he was hit on the head by a piece of shrapnel. It turned out that his assumption of what was the front of the helmet turned out to be the back. Evidently the strap of the helmet was not placed under the chin but at the back of the neck. Everyone wore it like that.

If you had the misfortune to be struck by a piece of shrapnel and you had the strap under the chin then it could take your head off. I alsowatched the Battle of Britain the other night and noticed that Kenneth More in the film jumped into a bomb shelter having placed a helmet on his head with the strap at the back of the neck.

The protection provided by a cycling helmet is limited due to the requirement for lightness. On the other hand it made me think that with the strap fastened tightly under the chin any glancing blow is going to jerk the head and could cause brain damage.

 

[ufkacbln]

I was watching a television programme the other day about Rolf Harris retracing the steps his father took during the first world war in France. He had with him the helmet his father wore on the day he was hit on the head by a piece of shrapnel. It turned out that his assumption of what was the front of the helmet turned out to be the back. Evidently the strap of the helmet was not placed under the chin but at the back of the neck. Everyone wore it like that.

If you had the misfortune to be struck by a piece of shrapnel and you had the strap under the chin then it could take your head off. I alsowatched the Battle of Britain the other night and noticed that Kenneth More in the film jumped into a bomb shelter having placed a helmet on his head with the strap at the back of the neck.

The protection provided by a cycling helmet is limited due to the requirement for lightness. On the other hand it made me think that with the strap fastened tightly under the chin any glancing blow is going to jerk the head and could cause brain damage.

The problem is worse than that... many helmets nw are so poorly designed that they need to be held in place by masking tape when tested!

The common vents and flat rear portions are also causingthse helmets to be ejected and fail in use.

This is summed up in the following email to the body regulating helmet standards in the US:

Subject: streamlined helmet ejection To: ASTM F08.53 Chairman: P. David Halstead

From: Hugh H. Hurt, Jr, Head Protection Research Laboratory


During the last couple of years, the technical staff at HPRL has encountered an interesting-and possibly dangerous-problem with the aerodynamic-shaped or streamlined bicycle helmets. These popular helmets have a teardrop design which tapers to a wedge at the rear of the helmet, supposedly reducing aerodynamic drag along with increased ventilation through the many openings in the shell.

The adverse effect of this aerodynamic shape is that the wedge at the back of the helmet tends to deflect and rotate the helmet on the head when impact occurs there. Any impact at the front or sides of the streamlined helmet is no different from other helmet shapes, but any impact on the rear wedge tends to rotate the helmet on the head, probably deflecting the helmet to expose the bare head to impact, and at worst ejecting the helmet completely from the head. Actually, everybody who has tested these streamlined helmets over the past years has encountered the problem of these helmets being displaced during impact testing at the rear wedge. Usually additional tape was required to maintain the helmet in place during rear impact tests; usually the basic retention system alone could not keep the helmet in place during impact testing on the rear of the helmet.

Unfortunately, the implication of helmet displacement and possible ejection in an actual accident impact did not register as a real hazard in previous years of testing, but now there are accident cases appearing that show this to be a genuine hazard for bicycle riders wearing these streamlined helmets. Accident impacts at the rear of these streamlined helmets can cause the helmet to rotate away and expose the head to injury, or eject the helmet completely. The forces generated from the wedge effect can stretch the chinstraps very easily, and even break the [occipital--Prof. Hurt used a trademarked name] retention devices.

We request that F08.53 committee study this problem and develop advisory information for both manufacturers of these streamlined helmets and consumer bicyclists who now own and wear such helmets. There is a definite hazard for displacement or ejection from impact on the rear wedge of these helmets, and bicyclists should be warned of this danger by an authority such as ASTM.

s/Hugh H. Hurt, Jr
Professor Emeritus-USC
President, Head Protection Research Laboratory

s/Christopher B. Swanson
Laboratory Manager, Head Protection Research Laboratory

 

[Keith M]

There was a case here recently in Bournemouth where a cyclist fractured his cheekbone in an accident as a result of his helmet lip smashing into it.

 

[jayonabike]

I have given this some serious thought, i really have. The thought of cycling on a long ride with fellow cyclists is an appealing one, but also, the thought of having to wear a helmet through no choice of my own is something i don't like. I don't wear a helmet for various reasons and personal choice. And that's exactly it, personal choice. I should be able to have that choice and if that means waiving my rights to any claims by way of a disclaimer then i'll take my chances. So i shan't be buying a helmet and i will still keep looking at various sportives and enquiring whether i can take part without wearing one.


Cutting my nose off to spite my face? No it's my personal choice.

jay

 

[PpPete]

Precisely..... personal choice. I choose to wear one. I don't wish to impose my choice on anyone else. But I do find it sad that certain events impose helmet wearing when UK law does not require it and where there is so much contradictory evidence.

 

[steve52]

no helmet fine by me as long as if u get a head injury we dont have to finance treatment, fair?

 

[snorri]

, fair?

No.

 

[Smokin Joe]

no helmet fine by me as long as if u get a head injury we dont have to finance treatment, fair?

And if you fall on the pavement and get a head injury or bang your head on a cupboard door you don't expect us to finance your treatment because you wern't wearing a helmet either, equally fair?

 

[Alien8]

But I do find it sad that certain events impose helmet wearing when UK law does not require it and where there is so much contradictory evidence.

Yeah, but as (probably) said already, its likely to be a stipulation of their insurers or maybe reduces the insurance cost.

I'd be surprised if any event organiser made it mandatory just because they were pro-helmet, after-all, it would only reduce their customer numbers.

 

[Fiona N]

The problem is worse than that... many helmets nw are so poorly designed that they need to be held in place by masking tape when tested!

The common vents and flat rear portions are also causingthse helmets to be ejected and fail in use.

This is summed up in the following email to the body regulating helmet standards in the US:

That's really interesting Cunobelin. My only head injury from cycling was when I was attempting to pass pedestrians on a country lane - I was down to barely walking pace as the woman turned throwing her rucksac into my handlebars, pulling them suddenly to the side. The bike fell slowly in the opposite direction and I plopped down onto my coccyx then fell backwards hitting the back of my head on the ground. This resulted in a bit of abrasion but nothing worse. I was taken to task by the doctor who checked the wound about why I wasn't wearing a helmet. When I suggested that the injury might have been a good deal more serious if I'd been wearing my usual helmet which is a distinctly pointy one - would this have caused a neck injury rather than a superficial wound? He, of course, pooh-poohed such an idea - but then he was the usual motorist who has a mysterious faith in the ability of helmets to 'save lives' but wouldn't, naturally, countenance their wearing by car occupants - which as many people have pointed out, would save many more lives as substantial helmets could be worn.

 

[PpPete]

Yeah, but as (probably) said already, its likely to be a stipulation of their insurers or maybe reduces the insurance cost.

I'd be surprised if any event organiser made it mandatory just because they were pro-helmet, after-all, it would only reduce their customer numbers.

Is it the insurers though? Any sportive organisers on here confirm or deny ?
IME insurers are very very good at cutting through the BS and using statistics properly.
I have a (totally unfounded) suspicion that it is fear of litigation rather than insurance.

 

[MacB]

no helmet fine by me as long as if u get a head injury we dont have to finance treatment, fair?

care to flesh this out at all or is it just a nasty little post?

 

[Chuffy]

Some do and some don't make you wear a juju hat. Personally, it really puts me off entering sportives and I will never pay to enter an event that makes it compulsory.

I paid to enter the Dartmoor Classic last year. Checked regs beforehand, there was no indication that magic hats were compulsory, so I signed up. Received bumf for ride, noted in small print that everyone must wear a magic hat. This vexed me as I don't own a magic hat. I pondered pulling out but decided to turn up for the day regardless. Braced myself for an Unpleasant Scene and rehearsed pulling off my race number in dramatic fashion before hurling it at the feet of some prissy jobsworth in a reflective vest. In the end nothing was said by anyone and I rode the event quite happily. However, had I known up front that they were de-riguer then I wouldn't have entered. I have some sympathy for the OP.

And if no-one else has mentioned it - try audaxes. Long distance, cake, no insistence on magic hats and they're a damn sight cheaper than sportives!

 

[ferret fur]

These popular helmets have a teardrop design which tapers to a wedge at the rear of the helmet,

So, let's be clear. We are talking about TT helmets here?

 

[ufkacbln]

I'm assuming that the non-helmet wearers also ride wearing earphones and listening to music too?

BTW, I organise a sportive and helmets are compulsory, and earphones banned. It has over 400 entrants this year, and entries are still coming in ... nuff said.

Rob

Do you scrutinise helmets?

Do you ensure that they are well fitted, properly adjusted and of a suitable standard?

In particular do you accept EN1078 helmets?

( I am sure that you are aware that these are banned from competition in the US as they offer so little protection)

All sounds a bit like posturing with no real effect on safety