Helmets why doesn't everyone wear them?

[Licramite]

I absolutely agree with Mushroom - in that yes we should make cycling safer by changing the environment/roads ect. - a much better solution.

now back to the real immediate world of serious head injurys. - in a way we should ban helmets -
In the first world world war head injuries increased enormously when they introduced helmets. - better dead cyclists than brain dead cyclists.

Helmets aren,t 100% going to save your head,neck,back - but not wearing a helmet is definately not going to save you either.

I,m happy for cyclist not to wear helmets , I,m not happy to have to pay for thier long term care when they brain damage themselves. (or contribute to the accident severity by not wear a helmet , thier fault or not)

Am I right in thinking all the people who object to helmets object to seat belts, air bags , crumple zones and all the other safety devices they have in thier cars? - all utter unproven nonesense which are just a sales gimmic anyway.

Its a safety device, its one of the few safety devices you can have on a bike, its cheep and its relatively effective - so can anyone give a sensible answer as why you Shouldn,t wear one.

 

[Peter Armstrong]

The helmet doing the braking for your head is indeed the plan. The helmet breaking however is not.

"Cycle helmets protect the head by reducing the rate at which the skull and brain are accelerated or decelerated by an impact. The helmet acts like a shock absorber. As it is impacted, the expanded polystyrene liner is intended to crush, dissipating the energy over a rapidly increasing area like a cone."

Thats the bit I call braking

 

[Peter Armstrong]

That's what I call furious backpedalling by a troll...

What you call furious backpedalling by a troll, what i call an explaination to the word braking.

Im not gonna say, the "Cycle helmets protect the head by reducing the rate at which the skull and brain are accelerated or decelerated by an impact. The helmet acts like a shock absorber. As it is impacted, the expanded polystyrene liner is intended to crush, dissipating the energy over a rapidly increasing area like a cone. instead of your head", simple

because then it would sound simple would it?

 

[Andrew_P]

A helmet encourages close passes - well acordng to this..

http://www.thepsychologist.org.uk/archive/archive_home.cfm?volumeID=25&editionID=217&ArticleID=2136

Does this social status have concrete effects?
Yes, the lack of understanding of the cyclist outgroup seems to produce measurable changes in other road users’ behaviour. A few years ago I did a study which showed that changing the appearance of a cyclist led to notable changes in how much space drivers left when passing the bicycle. The specific changes seen make sense given the small body of research on non-cyclists’ stereotypes of cyclists. The two extant studies – the Lynn Basford et al. one, and research by Birgitta Gatersleben and Hebba Haddad, in 2010 – both found that non-cyclists view bicycle helmets as an indicator of an experienced rider, and in my data we saw riskier behaviour from drivers when they passed a cyclist who was wearing a helmet, which fits the idea they saw the rider as more capable.

 

[Peter Armstrong]

I agree - you are sounding somewhat simple...

Not to sound simple, but to have a simple explanation as appose to the previous comment that I was replying to that over explained the helmet.
With my comments I am trying to explain and discuss the helmet, where yours are just, well lets see

"Perhaps you could go away, have a think about what you actually want to say and then come back and put it in comprehensible English?"
"That's what I call furious backpedalling by a troll..."
"I agree - you are sounding somewhat simple..."
"What an ignorant and misguided rant..."

Great contribution the discussion!

 

[Peter Armstrong]

You seem to understand how they are supposed to work perfectly well, so why the argument with McSchroom's post about a helmet breaking being a failure? You might confuse less well informed people.

I apolagise, was only joking

 

[snorri]

but after seeing Mark Cavendish split his helmet on a fall in the Tour de France this year .

I have great difficulty in seeing any parallel between me pootling in to the shops on my bike and a bunch of sportspeople who cycle at high speed in close formation and clearly have different priorities to myself when balancing performance and safety.

 

[Recycle]

I have great difficulty in seeing any parallel between me pootling in to the shops on my bike and a bunch of sportspeople who cycle at high speed in close formation and clearly have different priorities to myself when balancing performance and safety.

Exactly!

 

[Peter Armstrong]

If you'd bothered to read this thread and the others, you'll have seen my contributions to this debate and understand my exasperation with trolls, the ignorant, those who can't be arsed to write comprehensibly and those who jump in without reading preceding contributions.

All of them comments are from just a single page on this thread, and so you continue to call people trolls, and ignorant, your a credit to the website!

 

[srw]

Technically the motorists fault,

And therefore doesn't really support your assertion that 70%+ of cyclist injuries are the cyclist's fault.

Yes, that cyclist would have been well advised to do something else - but that doesn't mean that it's his fault. And the notion of "fault" is really quite important.

 

[mcshroom]

Can I invite you into a discussion sabian92 and I are having about who's to blame for having an unlocked bike nicked srw

 

[mcshroom]

So now then chaps, whats this thread about then?

Yeh, windmills, they look rubbish and do naff all.

I thought it was about Superstorm Sandy

 

[Recycle]

Yeh, windmills, they look rubbish and do naff all.

Now if you followed the Dutch windmill strategy and get the appropriate infrastructure in place...

 

[Peter Armstrong]

Comprehension clearly isn't your strongpoint...

And so you continue......

 

[ianrauk]

Helmet's do look rubbish.
That's why I don't wear one.