Stopped wearing a helmet?

[Bristolian]

I think judges have generally (but not always, granted) shown they prefer evidence to politicians' BS unsupported by evidence.

But for safety, the highway code should be made evidence-based. Unsurprisingly, the politicians ignored that argument in the last major revision consultation!

Regarding the highlighted part above; do you know for sure that the HC isn't evidence based?

 

[classic33]

Regarding the highlighted part above; do you know for sure that the HC isn't evidence based?

The Highway Code is a UK publication, Tyred is in the Republic of Ireland. Two separate countries.

 

[november4]

A cautionary tale, earlier this year one of our group fell off at near zero mph, front wheel slipped out on a corner, and she landed on her helmet side on onto concrete, would have had a fractured skull, came away with splitting headache instead.
That scared the bejesus out of me, as I was cycling behind her, and it was a split second.

Wear a helmet.

 

[mickle]

A cautionary tale, earlier this year one of our group fell off at near zero mph, front wheel slipped out on a corner, and she landed on her helmet side on onto concrete, would have had a fractured skull, came away with splitting headache instead.
That scared the bejesus out of me, as I was cycling behind her, and it was a split second.

Wear a helmet.

You cannot possibly know that she would have had a fractured skull.

 

[Vantage]

@november4 prove it. There's never been a single case of a helmet scientifically proven to save a head injury. Not once. Ever.

 

[Vantage]

Cautionary tale.
I fall off my bike on a regular basis. Long term side effects of a stroke. I've hit my head numerous times whilst wearing a baseball cap. Never been injured in any of those flower inspecting moments.
Wear a baseball cap. Your life depends on it.

 

[mjr]

A cautionary tale, earlier this year one of our group fell off at near zero mph, front wheel slipped out on a corner, and she landed on her helmet side on onto concrete, would have had a fractured skull, came away with splitting headache instead.
That scared the bejesus out of me, as I was cycling behind her, and it was a split second.

Wear a helmet.

Might not have hit her head at all without the size and weight of a helmet. Just can't know from that one incident.

We do know that hard helmets don't protect against concussion (that would need a very big soft cushioned hat) and that there is no significant "cycle helmet effect" on real-world casualty rates (note: rates, not numbers), which combines with the significant measureable impact protection of cycle helmets to imply something is negating the benefit.

I've slid down the road many times over the years. No head impact yet. Also, I've not gone sliding since addressing the cause of most crashes by using studded tyres in icy conditions.

Use studded tyres on ice and grippy treaded tyres otherwise. Deal with the cause rather than try to mop up the effects with a helmet: the only way to win is not to play.

 

[mjr]

Regarding the highlighted part above; do you know for sure that the HC isn't evidence based?

I made a freedom of information request for the evidence base for Rule 59 and was declined because it does not exist!

Didn't remember @tyred is elsewhere but I think Ireland's legal system is similar, not a code law like France. Sadly, Ireland's Rules of the Road contains some clothing "should" nonsense too, almost as bad as the UK.

 

[Moodyman]

I stopped wearing a helmet as it spoilt my “movie-star hairstyle” (someone else’s words). 😁

 

[MontyVeda]

Cautionary tale.
I fall off my bike on a regular basis. Long term side effects of a stroke. I've hit my head numerous times whilst wearing a baseball cap. Never been injured in any of those flower inspecting moments.
Wear a baseball cap. Your life depends on it.

I do wear baseball cap, although my reasoning is more to keep the sun out of my eyes rather than its protective qualities, which i reckon are about the same as a polystyrene hat.

 

[Rusty Nails]

We do know that hard helmets don't protect against concussion

I can vouch for that. Two heavy falls in recent years both on hard surfaces have resulted in losing consciousness twice and two concussions. The first, off my bike on a road, wearing a helmet had no cuts or bruises. The second on a tile floor indoors, no helmet, also resulted in the loss of a lot of blood and several stitches.

I don't wear a helmet to save my life but to minimise other possible damage such as cuts and bruises...the same reason as why I wear gloves when cycling. I suppose I could wear a woolly hat for that reason but tbh I hate looking like Benny from Crossroads (now that dates me ).

 

[roubaixtuesday]

A cautionary tale, earlier this year one of our group fell off at near zero mph, front wheel slipped out on a corner, and she landed on her helmet side on onto concrete, would have had a fractured skull, came away with splitting headache instead.
That scared the bejesus out of me, as I was cycling behind her, and it was a split second.

Wear a helmet.

It is strange that the number of people who believe that a helmet has saved their life is much greater than the number of cyclists killed before helmets were a thing.

Wear a thinking cap

 

[Drago]

A cautionary tale, earlier this year one of our group fell off at near zero mph, front wheel slipped out on a corner, and she landed on her helmet side on onto concrete, would have had a fractured skull, came away with splitting headache instead.
That scared the bejesus out of me, as I was cycling behind her, and it was a split second.

Wear a helmet.

That raises a pertinent point onpf its own.

Helmets are designed to withstand a 12mph impact, supposedly. A person of average height collapsing while standing and falling straight down will suffer a head impact with the ground of about...yep, you guessed it, 12mph.

Throw in any forward velocity and the numbers immediately exceed the parameters set out in BS EN1078.

 

[neilrichardson55]

must admit i did ware one for a while, im not the fittest person and i do sweat a lot. this makes it very yucky when riding. also i look at my motorbike helmet and the the bike crash hat and think a bump cap offers the same protection really. anything more than a 5mph crash feel like it will just smash. so short rides and bit no. long distance no different so no. if off roading i ware a cap just to stop branches.

as people have said i don't see the point really just for the discomfort and the bad protection levels

 

[tyred]

My conclusion from watching Laurel and Hardy films when I was growing up is that a Bowler hat protects you from bangs on the head.

Wear a Bowler when cycling