The CycleChat Helmet Debate Thread

[Ming the Merciless]

Drivers pass helmeted cyclists more closely than unhelmeted cyclists (because unhelmeted cyclists seem more vulnerable), and so helmeted cyclists are more likely to get hit

 

[Shut Up Legs]

Talk about cycle helmets or not. I drove to the local shop before about half six driving back down the high street. Saw a cyclist dark clothes with no lights at all on bike. No helmet on. An when I drove past I noticed they had headphones in. You just can't help some people.

It's not illegal to cycle without wearing a bicycle helmet in the UK, so I don't see what the problem is there. Also, you saw the cyclist, so he/she was obviously visible enough.

 

[Brandane]

Yet another "a helmet saved my life" scaremongering post doing the rounds on FB, accompanied by this pic:

The message accompanying it is that "either your helmet takes the punishment or your head does".
Looks to me that it only proves that helmets are made of cheese. Apparently it's only smart arses who think it's ok to ride without a helmet. Charming.
Are these people sponsored by helmet manufacturers?

 

[I like Skol]

Yet another "a helmet saved my life" scaremongering post doing the rounds on FB, accompanied by this pic:

View attachment 400872

The message accompanying it is that "either your helmet takes the punishment or your head does".
Looks to me that it only proves that helmets are made of cheese. Apparently it's only smart arses who think it's ok to ride without a helmet. Charming.
Are these people sponsored by helmet manufacturers?

This was forwarded to my wife last week by a 'friend' after my recent serious RTC that resulted in me being hospitalised with a fractured skull and neck broken in two places. I don't wear a helmet and still have no inclination to do so when I get back on the bike. My none serious head injury on the R/H side and broken neck on the left side could actually have been an even less serious head injury and snapped spine resulting in me being paralysed from the neck down had I had a couple of inches of polystyrene strapped to my bonce at the time of the head impact (pure hypothesis and speculation on my part, just like most of the helmet wearing stats/debate/research I have managed to find and read since my injury!).
Me and my family are pretty shook up by my incident due to the feeling that we were within a gnats whisker of losing, or effectively losing me from the family. Why do these people think it is ok to send such unfounded tripe that calls me an idiot when I have been nearly killed by a driver not looking where they were going?

 

[mjr]

Why do these people think it is ok to send such unfounded tripe that calls me an idiot when I have been nearly killed by a driver not looking where they were going?

Ask them? I hope they're what's sometimes called "well-meaning sadists" rather than helmet seller stooges.

Does anyone know where the original picture is from? It looks like the back of the helmet, below the tested protected area (basically the top), has hit something and broken up without compressing much. It may well only have saved the wearer from some nasty road rash to the back of the head and possibly their neck muscles would have been enough to hold their head off the ground if it hadn't had a quarter-pound weight tied onto its furthest extreme.

 

[jefmcg]

Does anyone know where the original picture is from?

Taken by the guy who shared it, or a friend of his I'd guess. He is in Dunedin NZ, and a quick google shows there is a Dunedin fire & rescue uniform behind him


But I now see Simon is an expert on evidence driven medicine ....

(and cycling!)

(Screen shot attached if the FB embed doesn't work)

 

[benb]

I don't understand why people persist in thinking that an anecdote like this, with a photo of a damaged helmet, trumps all of the existing scientific evidence which shows no detectable beneficial effect of helmets.

It's possible, but not at all definite, that a helmet did prevent a more serious injury in this case above.
But even if that were the case, it doesn't follow that helmets are effective enough to justify promoting them as a head injury reduction intervention.

 

[mjr]

Taken by the guy who shared it, or a friend of his I'd guess. [...] But I now see Simon is an expert on evidence driven medicine ....

Good spot. Real "would you trust this man with your life?" stuff. Anti-healthcare but pro-helmet... says something about whether he's a reliable interpreter of evidence.

I really wouldn't make this shoot up.

 

[Milkfloat]

Looks like he fed the helmet to a lawnmower.

 

[Justinslow]

This was forwarded to my wife last week by a 'friend' after my recent serious RTC that resulted in me being hospitalised with a fractured skull and neck broken in two places. I don't wear a helmet and still have no inclination to do so when I get back on the bike. My none serious head injury on the R/H side and broken neck on the left side could actually have been an even less serious head injury and snapped spine resulting in me being paralysed from the neck down had I had a couple of inches of polystyrene strapped to my bonce at the time of the head impact (pure hypothesis and speculation on my part, just like most of the helmet wearing stats/debate/research I have managed to find and read since my injury!).
Me and my family are pretty shook up by my incident due to the feeling that we were within a gnats whisker of losing, or effectively losing me from the family. Why do these people think it is ok to send such unfounded tripe that calls me an idiot when I have been nearly killed by a driver not looking where they were going?

Sorry about your accident.
The flip side is however that a helmet may have helped in this instance, how would any of us know either way?
And riders not wearing helmets don’t always get a wider pass it seems (not knowing the circumstances of your accident)
Drivers not looking are drivers not looking whether you are wearing or not.
Hope you recover speedily.

 

[mjr]

Sorry about your accident.
The flip side is however that a helmet may have helped in this instance, how would any of us know either way?

As ever, we can't know, but mention of the injury being on the side suggests it would have been outside the protective zone on the top of a hat.

 

[hatler]

How does wearing a helmet mitigate the risk of one's having an accident on a bike ?
The argument is around whether the helmet mitigates the consequences of having an accident and the jury, as you well know, is out on that one.

 

[FishFright]

How does wearing a helmet mitigate the risk of one's having an accident on a bike ?
The argument is around whether the helmet mitigates the consequences of having an accident and the jury, as you well know, is out on that one.

Except amongst MTBers who fall off enough to have experience with their efficacy.

 

[hatler]

How does wearing a helmet mitigate the risk of one's having an accident on a bike ?
The argument is around whether the helmet mitigates the consequences of having an accident and the jury, as you well know, is out on that one.

That post looks a little lost now. It was in response to a post from racing roadkill that has since disappeared. In that post he appeared to assert that wearing a helmet reduced your risk of having an accident.

 

[glasgowcyclist]

That post looks a little lost now. It was in response to a post from racing roadkill that has since disappeared. In that post he appeared to assert that wearing a helmet reduced your risk of having an accident.

Indeed.

I'd posted a reply to that and it was still held in moderation after your post had gone through. Now my post has vanished without a trace and no notification from any moderator. Most disappointing.

Mod note: Apologies if you did not get an explanation - I did enter one. Your post was deleted because it was in answer to a deleted post, I must have missed hatler's!