"Helmets would prevent about 85 percent of head injuries", he says

[The One That Got Away]

I didn't say it was part of passing the course or on the curriculum. It was something that was never mentioned because a) they didn't exist (apart from for professional cycling no doubt) and b) it wasn't considered life threatening to fall off your bike. Unless you happened to fall in front of a lorry or whatever, obviously. Mind you neither were all geographical features containing water roped off with numerous warning signs that drowning could be possible, elbow and knee pads weren't a necessity & sticking your finger in a socket would have been generally considered unwise and items containing nuts like peanut brittle didn't tend to need a warning that the product 'may contain nuts'.

Ahh okay I wasn't sure if that's what you were getting at!! Yeah its really got completely out of control. I'm just waiting until its compulsory to walk around in a Michelin man suit!

 

[machew]

Whoops Feds Withdraw Claim That Bike Helmets Are 85 Percent Effective

 

[ufkacbln]

That article also highlights one ofthe other issues

So many helmet advocates who are happy wit a standard of helmet that is laughably inadequate.

Helmets if they are going to be effective need a far tougher test han the EN1078. We shoul also be looking at the medical evidence about facial injuries and the areas of the skull at present unprotected.

 

[Recycle]

This isn't just about the efficacy of helmets though, it's also about the social complexity of the problem.
From Ben Goldacre and David Spiegelhalter:

If the controls are cyclists presenting with other injuries in the emergency department, then analyses are conditional on having an accident and therefore assume that wearing a helmet does not change the overall accident risk.

Therein lies the problem with case controlled studies, they don't measure all cyclists, only those who get injured. By definition then it's wrong to call them controlled studies because they don't control for all the variables.

 

[Rob3rt]

@The One That Got Away : Try the multiquote feature (i.e. click reply on every post you wish to comment on, this will construct one post with all of the quotes in it)

 

[MontyVeda]

can this smiley have a helmet please?