Helmet or no helmet??

[4F]

Unless you believe in God

Which one ?

 

[battered]

Radio 4 NOW, 13.30 pm Fri, More or Less, the maths and stats programme, a review of the stats surrounding bike helmet wearing. I'm tuned in and listening. There's some other stuff forst.

 

[battered]

If you mised this I wouldn't rush to get it on iPlayer. It's pretty short.

Key points
- an academic study showed drivers pass closer to helmeted riders
- drivers give women more room
- evidence that helmeted riders behave differently to non helmeted riders is mixed, not supported by the academic they interviewed.
- No records are available as to whether or not fatally injured riders brought to hospital were helmeted
- Of 100 dead cyclists the info that 10 to 16 would have survived had they been wearing a helmet is based on assumptions about helmet effectivemess.

 

[StuartG]

Yes, caught the end of it. I had presumed there had been much more, but obviously not.
The conclusion is surely no one has a clue. I don't!!!

I only criticise those who think they do .... and don't

 

[sandman77]

I only criticise those who think they do .... and, I assume, don't

Fixed that for you

 

[StuartG]

Fixed that for you

Thank you kind sir. It is indeed a little rash assuming people who do not justify their claims when challenged cannot. But you have to admit it is a decent working assumption ...

Have a great weekend!

 

[ufkacbln]

 

[Midnight]

#6 makes interesting reading...

 

[Sam Kennedy]

Yet another helmet thread...
How many pages will it have to go on this time before it is locked?

 

[tyred]

My cycle helmet saved my life once. I was being attacked by a raging lion and I hit it over the head with my helmet.

 

[vorsprung]

My cycle helmet saved my life once. I was being attacked by a raging lion and I hit it over the head with my helmet.

I was attacked by the buzzard on the Hatherleigh/ Holdsworthy road a few times. Cycle helmets are fairly effective against birds of prey. The first time it happened (3 moors 300km audax 2004) about a dozen people were attacked. A lot of the non helmet wearers were injured and at least one person went to hospital. One helmet wearer was also injured, they got hit on the neck.

In 2005 on another event I was attacked again, that time a guy ahead of me was attacked. The buzzard took his buff, with no harm done to the rider. The buzzard must have found the buff inedible as it dropped it in the road. A later rider recovered the buff and returned it to the guy, complete with buzzard shoot

 

[jayonabike]

I don't wear a helmet, but my boy who's 10 does. The Mrs says he has to, i say he shouldn't. I've even got her to read the threads on here about helmets and some of the links that crop up but she still says he has to wear one, she'd rather he did so for a quiet life i agreed under protest.

Less than 30 minutes ago we was out for a ride when my boy came off his bike, totally his fault, he took his eye off the road to look at a guy on a bike coming the other way. He hit the kerb,come flying off the bike landed on his shoulder, and rolled over to an undignified stop. Grazed shoulder and a cut knee was the damage and most importantly the bike was fine!

I dusted him off and checked his helmet over, the helmet was fine, perfect like the day he bought it, which tells me it didn't even come into contact with the ground. Not even a scuff mark. As he fell off i watched him and his head was not in contact with the floor at any time. This bolsters my case that he doesn't need to wear the bloody thing and i'll be pointing that out to the Mrs later.

 

[KennyGray]

I know this goes round in circles but with my crash the other day if i hadnt been wearing my helmet i would have had a nasty head injury as my lid had a large chunk missing from where it sat just behind my ear.
Just a personal choice from me, i always wear one but each to their own.
Its a free country (of sorts).
Kenny.

 

[adscrim]

This bolsters my case that he doesn't need to wear the bloody thing and i'll be pointing that out to the Mrs later.

How does one incident where the helmet was not a factor, bolster the argument one way or the other? I'm with your wife on this one. Low speed impacts against a solid surface, such as secondary impacts on pavements or road from a small tumble, are the type where wearing a helmet can actually help. As such, I make my kids wear a helmet and because of that, I have to wear one too.

 

[ufkacbln]

The buzzard took his buff, with no harm done to the rider. The buzzard must have found the buff inedible as it dropped it in the road. A later rider recovered the buff and returned it to the guy, complete with buzzard shoot

Obviously the wrong pattern!