Helmets

[ufkacbln]

The same argument is used to justify a belief in God.

At least one person has been converted..........

I have always worn a helmet but what truly made me a believer was when I did an endo going 20+ mph and landing on my head and shoulder

 

[Smokin Joe]

Is it worth the risk?

It has been for the last 45 years.

 

[ufkacbln]

Glad you're happy not wearing one.

I am happy wearing mine.

You don't know whether I wear one or not....

 

[snorri]

Is it worth the risk?

I always wear one in the winter months and haven't had a cold for years.

 

[Deleted member 1258]

Like the guy who started this thread I was riding in the days before helmets, first rode a bike in the mid nineteen fifties, and have never worn a helmet.

 

[sparty69]

My word there are some touchy people on here aren't there?!!. Obviously this is an argument that keeps going round and round and some people are fed up of it, hence the snotty replies. It's not the law, therefore it's personal choice. My only gripe would be with the people who have kids and let them use a bike without a helmet. You are responsible for them and until they reach an age where you are happy for them to make that decision themselves then I would say they must wear a lid.

I'm a motorcyclist and as such I'm used to wearing a helmet. When I started cycling last year I never gave it a thought, I bought a helmet and wear it every time I go out. I don't feel self conscious or silly, to me it's like wearing a helmet on the motorbike or wearing a seatbelt in the car. It's second nature to put my helmet on before I cycle.

I know people are sick of hearing the 'I know someone etc....', but..... my cousins husband is/was a very keen cyclist and he's been cycling since he was a kid. He took a vociferous anti helmet stance and laughed at people who wore them. One day he was out, hit a discarded bottle in the gutter and went head first off the bike. First thing he knew about it was when he came out of his coma two weeks later. I'm not saying a helmet would have prevented this, but the doctors certainly did!!

 

[ufkacbln]

My only gripe would be with the people who have kids and let them use a bike without a helmet. You are responsible for them and until they reach an age where you are happy for them to make that decision themselves then I would say they must wear a lid.

Do you also recommend the Thudguard then for exactly these reasons?

There are many child head injuries in this age range... and the evidence for their use (and compulsion?) is almost identical to that for cycle helmets in children.

"Over 318,575 baby & toddler head injuries are recorded each year!"(Department of Trade & Industry)

After all it is unequivocally endorsed by the Medical profession:

It is a pleasure to support the 'Thudguard' in my capacity as President of the British Association for Accident and Emergency Medicine. Any device which helps to reduce the number of head injuries sustained by young children each year is most welcome

John Heyworth
President
British Association for Accident and Emergency Medicine


It is about time that someone has addressed the diffuse head injuries that are so invisible but on the rise for toddlers learning to walk. Thudguard is a one of a kind invention. As a practicing neurophysiologist, I highly endorse this incredible product.

Dr. Kevin Fleming. Ph.D., P.C.
Neurophysiologist
Jackson Hole, Wyoming USA

I think the Thudguard will be welcomed by many parents as a piece of equipment that may provide protection for children from a head injury. This can only be a good thing as even one accidental head injury is one too many. Avoiding head injury means reducing potential visits to the A&E department, which in turn may potentially save the NHS resources.

Dr Diana Macgregor
Associate Specialist
Accident & Emergency, Royal Aberdeen Children's Hospital

It is endorsed by road safety organisations:

... should make a valuable contribution to risk reduction in a similar way to cycle helmets...

David W. Jenkins BA MPhil(Eng) PhD DCA FTSI
Product Safety Adviser to RoSPA

I could continue with test results, claims for head injury prevention, the emotive "THudguard saved my child's life" etc, but I thinkt the above makes the point.




The Thudguard mirrors exactly the argument for cycle helmets in children, yet apparently the medical recommendations can be ignored with impunity in this case, but must be taken as "Gospel" when the same people endorse cycle helmets.

I really fail to see how anyone who insists that cycle helmets should be compulsory for children can have any argument against the THudguards compulsion on exactly the same level of evidence. After all you are equally responsible for their care at this age and the argument that you somehow "fail" in this care if they do not wear a cycle helmet is surely hypocritical if you are failing to offer the protection of the Thudguard?

 

[Clandy]

One day he was out, hit a discarded bottle in the gutter and went head first off the bike. First thing he knew about it was when he came out of his coma two weeks later. I'm not saying a helmet would have prevented this, but the doctors certainly did!!

Firstly, why was he riding in the gutter and not further out?

Secondly, that could just as easily have happened to someone stepping off the kerb. Are you advocating all pedestrians wear helmets too?


I deplore what the last twenty years of the nanny state has done to people in the UK. It now appears the majority younger than thirty-five/forty have been raised to be afraid of everything. When those of us older than that were kids we were left to be kids. We weren't kept locked-up indoors wrapped in cotton wool.

 

[martynjc1977]

It's not the law, therefore it's personal choice. My only gripe would be with the people who have kids and let them use a bike without a helmet. You are responsible for them and until they reach an age where you are happy for them to make that decision themselves then I would say they must wear a lid.

Now my 6 year old son does not wear his helmet all the time when out on his bike, only on local off road and rough routes. Does this make me a bad father ? When doing the school run I noticed him falling off more when he was wearing the helmet then when he did not, and this was on smooth paths.

I will never force him to wear one. He rides far better without.

Martyn

 

[martynjc1977]

I know people are sick of hearing the 'I know someone etc....', but..... my cousins husband is/was a very keen cyclist and he's been cycling since he was a kid. He took a vociferous anti helmet stance and laughed at people who wore them. One day he was out, hit a discarded bottle in the gutter and went head first off the bike. First thing he knew about it was when he came out of his coma two weeks later. I'm not saying a helmet would have prevented this, but the doctors certainly did!!

Lesson should be, not to ride in the gutter and read the road ahead, not wear a helmet. Oh and a quick look at the BMA website will show not all doctors agree with helmets.

Martyn

 

[snorri]

My only gripe would be with the people who have kids and let them use a bike without a helmet.

A few years ago I assisted an experienced cycle trainer as we trained around 50 school children. On the first session basic safety checks were carried out on all of the bicycles. Only one bicycle failed the tests, it failed on several counts, and the owner was told she would have to have the bike repaired before her training could continue. She was the only child who had come along to the training with a helmet.

 

[4F]

My only gripe would be with the people who have kids and let them use a bike without a helmet.

As a parent I do not insist on my kids wearing a helmet when they go to the play park nor when they climb a tree. As a responsible parent when my kids go out on their bikes they are maintained to an excellent standard and fully functioning.

You would not believe the amount of friends kids have come round here on their bikes which don't have brakes that work or indeed on several occasions have any brakes.

My gripe is with parents who won't let kids be kids without wanting to wrap them up in cotton wool. !

 

[Dewi]

It might be old age but after years of refusing to even consider a helmet I am now wondering about starting. Not so much that I am worried about my actions, more the random muppets out there.

I've always thought helmets must cut down on the traffic noise and awareness of what's coming up behind - is this the case? Any models recommended? I've a big head so off to halfords tomorrow to see if any fit and what they feel like...

 

[Rebel Ian]

As a parent I do not insist on my kids wearing a helmet when they go to the play park nor when they climb a tree. As a responsible parent when my kids go out on their bikes they are maintained to an excellent standard and fully functioning.

You would not believe the amount of friends kids have come round here on their bikes which don't have brakes that work or indeed on several occasions have any brakes.

My gripe is with parents who won't let kids be kids without wanting to wrap them up in cotton wool. !

Precisely. How the hell will kids learn about risk and how to deal with it if they are constantly molly-coddled?

 

[sparty69]

I seemed to have stirred up a hornets nest. That's my opinion regarding kids wearing helmets based purely upon how I would feel if my son fell off and banged his head and I hadn't asked him to wear his helmet. I'm in agreement with people who say we shouldn't wrap kids in cotton wool, I just couldn't live with the guilt if my son sustained a head injury as a result of falling off his bike and this could have been avoided if I'd made him wear a lid.

I know this is slightly more serious but..... I'm also in the same dilemma regarding my daughter and motorbikes. She is going to want one when she's 16 (my fault, I got her into it). I've adopted the attitude of not doing anything to help her get one. If she wants one and gets one off her own back ie. she pays for it etc. then I will do everything in my power to ensure she is a good and safe rider. These are my personal feelings and not one that everyone will agree with I'm sure .