Reasons not to wear helmets

[John90]

Thanks for the feedback and site reference. I will now retreat back to the commuting forum from whence I came.

 

[John90]

Sorry - back again for one last comment. I just joined the Institute of Advanced Motoring (I know, but they cover cycling too). Their advice, specifically from John Franklin the Cyclecraft guy, is:

"Helmets may absorb minor impacts, but are not proven to offer effective protection in more serious crashes ..... IAM does not discourage any cyclist from wearing one (however) cyclists are not at special risk of any life-threatening injury. Helmets protect well against low-impact knocks and scratches but are much less effective in high-impact crashes. Your best defence .... is by riding diligently and skilfully".

For what it's worth.

 

[mickle]

Sorry - back again for one last comment. I just joined the Institute of Advanced Motoring (I know, but they cover cycling too). Their advice, specifically from John Franklin the Cyclecraft guy, is:

"Helmets may absorb minor impacts, but are not proven to offer effective protection in more serious crashes ..... IAM does not discourage any cyclist from wearing one (however) cyclists are not at special risk of any life-threatening injury. Helmets protect well against low-impact knocks and scratches but are much less effective in high-impact crashes. Your best defence .... is by riding diligently and skilfully".

For what it's worth.

Wow. I'm impressed.

 

[david k]

Sorry - back again for one last comment. I just joined the Institute of Advanced Motoring (I know, but they cover cycling too). Their advice, specifically from John Franklin the Cyclecraft guy, is:

"Helmets may absorb minor impacts, but are not proven to offer effective protection in more serious crashes ..... IAM does not discourage any cyclist from wearing one (however) cyclists are not at special risk of any life-threatening injury. Helmets protect well against low-impact knocks and scratches but are much less effective in high-impact crashes. Your best defence .... is by riding diligently and skilfully".

For what it's worth.

which is what we have been saying

 

[Angelfishsolo]

which is what we have been saying

But interesting to see these comments from the IAM. One motoring organisation I still have respect for.

 

[benb]

Sorry - back again for one last comment. I just joined the Institute of Advanced Motoring (I know, but they cover cycling too). Their advice, specifically from John Franklin the Cyclecraft guy, is:

"Helmets may absorb minor impacts, but are not proven to offer effective protection in more serious crashes ..... IAM does not discourage any cyclist from wearing one (however) cyclists are not at special risk of any life-threatening injury. Helmets protect well against low-impact knocks and scratches but are much less effective in high-impact crashes. Your best defence .... is by riding diligently and skilfully".

For what it's worth.

Lovely. Got a link to that so I can share it from source?

 

[John90]

Lovely. Got a link to that so I can share it from source?

It isn't online but it is from their publication "How To Be A Better Cyclist. Advanced Cycling - The Essential Guide" pages 20 & 23. Author John Franklin. A free copy comes with membership of IAM but it is also for sale (£9.99).

There is a video about the book on their website here:

IAM


But I didn't notice a purchase option.

 

[ufkacbln]

Interestingly the IAM also point out that helmet compulsion has been detrimental in reducing the number of people attending training courses.

They are also on record as saying that training is a more important factor than wearing helmets in improving cyclist safety.

 

[crunch61]

Oh FFS.

Dear Mr David K, Tigger and any and all others querying why there are interminable threads about helmets -- so many, indeed that we need an entire sub-forum to deal with them.

WE, THE MEMBERS OF THIS FORUM WHO DO NOT WEAR HELMETS, DO NOT CARE WHAT YOU DO OR DO NOT PUT ON YOUR HEAD. YOU CAN KEEP YOUR HELMET. WE WILL NOT TAKE IT AWAY FROM YOU. WE WILL NOT TELL YOU THAT YOU SHOULD NOT WEAR ONE.

Please pay careful attention to that last part. We will not say you are stupid for choosing to don a plastic hat. We will not tell you to take it off you plonker. There are many, many things we will not do, all of which are designed to let you exercise your freedom of choice to cycle in your headgear of choice, whether that be a buff, a lid, a sedated cat or half a watermelon.

However. If you should feel the need or urge to tell us that we should wear one, that we would be better off wearing one, that we are morons for not wearing one, that our decision not to wear one results from having been dropped on the head as a baby or having already suffered brain damage through cycle-related head-injury; if you tell us that any accident resulting in persistent vegetative state when no helmet was worn will be our own damn fault; if you tell us that we owe it to ourselves and our loved ones to protect ourselves by taking any and all precautions possible because cycling is dangerous; should you inform us that only people who wear helmets should be taken seriously or that helmets are the BEST THINGS EVER ZOMGFFSSBBQ!!!eleventy!!!...

Then, oh then. Then we shall turn around and say, in rather more words than this: prove it. And yes, it is up to you to do so. You are the ones informing us that we are wrong in our decision. All we are doing is asking you to justify that assertion.

In the rational world it is a case of disproving the null hypothesis. The null hypothesis is that helmets are of little to no benefit at all. This hypothesis has not been disproven. If you decide to wear one anyway, then good for you. Yay and rah and waving of the little congratulatory flag. Do not, however, by outright statement or implication, suggest that we who decide differently are wrong, idiotic or asking for it.

Because we're not. We have simply come to a different result in our calculation of the risk:benefit ratio and, oddly enough, the population-level studies largely indicate that we're in the right ballpark. If you wish to justify your decision to wear a helmet, then we'd expect a similar level of evidence, not, as has been provided so far because I feel I'm right and I trust my feelings more than some poncy scientist who just does sums, innit.

Sam

I couldn't have put it any better myself!
No, I made a choice that I wouldn't wear a helmet when I got back into cycling, and I still won't, even if the powers that be make it law.

 

[User16625]

Now that I've become aware that many people are against wearing helmets and also the idea/threat of compulsion, I've been reading over the many threads covering these topics.

For me, I wear a helmet and a recent accident has given me reasons to justify to myself doing so. However, I didn't always feel that way, certainly not when I started cycling. Can we please park the whole compulsion thing completely for now and focus on what makes people CHOOSE NOT TO wear helmets?

The reasons I see frequently cited are:
1) Statistics can show that death/injury is not that much higher than other everyday activities where people don't wear helmets
2) A belief that the construction of current cycling helmets will not prevent serious injury or death anyway
3) A belief that in certain instances helmets could actutally increase risk upon impact, i.e. increased dissipation of force to the neck

Please don't comment on the whys and wherefores of this - this has already been done to death - although by all means if you have something to add please do so.

What I'd really like to know is whether there are any other common objections / reasons why we don't wear helmets?

Thanks,

Tim

This is a text book example of someone contradicting themselves. Anyway......

The reason I dont wear a helmet when cycling is simply because I dont want to.

 

[asterix]

Indeed GrasB does make a good point:

Some years ago (pre-helmets) in a narrow Sufflok high street I heard a car behind going too fast and saw an oncoming vehicle hidden by a bend from the the other driver. The street was too narrow for the 3 of us and I literally leapt off onto the pavement, just in time! On that occasion a helment could well have cost me my life.

 

[tigger]

This is a text book example of someone contradicting themselves. Anyway......

The reason I dont wear a helmet when cycling is simply because I dont want to.

Not really...

Please don't comment on the whys and wherefores of this... was in relation to points 1, 2 and 3 in the post

 

[Red Light]

Not really...

Please don't comment on the whys and wherefores of this... was in relation to points 1, 2 and 3 in the post

But I don't need an objection to not wear one, just like I don't need an objection to not carry a lucky rabbits foot or St Christopher's medal around with me. What I need is a sound reason to wear one and I haven't found one yet. But it is quite standard for the pro-helmet lobby to reverse the burden of proof in this way.

 

[david k]

But I don't need an objection to not wear one, just like I don't need an objection to not carry a lucky rabbits foot or St Christopher's medal around with me. What I need is a sound reason to wear one and I haven't found one yet. But it is quite standard for the pro-helmet lobby to reverse the burden of proof in this way.

why

 

[twobiker]

Possibly the argument is that any protection is better than no protection,I have a cycle helmet,I wear it sometimes,such as fast descents and major roads ,yet twice I have had accidents,both at low speed, not wearing a helmet,and my head was the only part of me to escape unscathed, to fully protect your head in a crash,you would need a helmet of such proportions and structural form as to make it hugely expensive,and ridiculously restrictive,with neck support etc. I was first on the scene at a motorcycle crash, the guy hit a JCB at speed, his head ended up hooked on the bucket of it supported by his motor bike helmet, he died instantly. he also wore all the leathers etc, it did'nt save him. Helmets are for the individul to choose, Dont wear one, crash, walk away with a headache or never walk again. Wear one, crash,walk away with a headache,or, hit something big and never walk again,your choice.