The CycleChat Helmet Debate Thread

[PMarkey]

The main trouble is no two heads or crashes are alike , in this crash I landed directly on my head according to the runner who witnessed the crash and then came down on to my back and proceeded to roll down the road like a rag doll , I have no memory of the actual crash or the seconds leading up to it so I have to assume that I was knocked unconscious , I do know that I must have put a lot of pressure on my neck as my arms and legs were tingling and numb as I rolled down the road so would a helmet have added more leverage and maybe broken my neck ? We will never know but I do know that I would never suggest people not wear a helmet if that's what gets them out on the bike .

 

[theclaud]

To let other people know what happened to me.

Curious title to choose, in that case.

 

[Wobblers]

I used to wear a helmet to protect me from lawyers. I was fully aware that they increased the risk of rotational injuries (https://www.cyclehelmets.org/1039.html) and are absolutely no use if you are crushed by an HGV (the most common cause cycling deaths).

In mid-Sempter I was coming down a steep hill at about 20mph and hit the brakes to make a right-turn. I locked the front wheel and went over the handlebars. My left shoulder took the initial impact and I felt the right side of my face bounce of the road twice. I must have been knocked unconscious as about a week later I noticed I had bruises on my shoulder blades, I don't remember rolling over.

I was immediately aware that my helmet had stopped my temple hitting the ground (twice). Yesterday I noticed there was a crack in the back of my helmet. It's the hard BMX type so it saved me from a fractured skull as well.

I'm off to get another one now.

I had a fairly similar off to you a few years back - coming down a hill and, whoosh!, the front wheel just washed out. Oil, diesel, or merely the eejit betwixt saddle and handlebars? I don't know - but I did come very close to hitting my head on the ground, when I would have been still doing rather more than 20 mph. Sufficiently close in fact that I would have struck my head on the ground had I been wearing a helmet.

Out of curiosity I worked out just what would have happened had I been wearing a lid (I'm a physicist, so I was sort of obliged to do so... ) The rotational acceleration would have exceeded 6000 rads/s^2. 3000 rad/s^2 is the threshold above which severe brain injury occurs. And a helmet still wouldn't have prevented the broken ankle!

You'll understand, I hope, why I am not a convert to helmet wearing...

My point? Well, simply that it is not possible to categorically state that a helmet will be beneficial in all circumstances. It is perfectly feasible that a helmet may make things worse, simply due to its bulk which makes the probability of a head impact more likely.

Lastly, that crack in your helmet. The properties of that polycarbonate shell are rather different to that of your skull - skulls tend to be much stronger. You cannot equate a crack in a helmet to preventing a fractured skull. Moreover, a crack is indicative of brittle fracture. Helmets are designed - or at least supposed to - undergo progressive crushing to dissipate the impact energy. Brittle fracture dissipates little energy. This can be demonstrated by dropping a glass onto a hard surface - the shards move away from the impact without having lost much speed. A cracked helmet is indicative of a helmet that provided less protection than it should have done.

You seemed to have missed the most important aspect of all this: how's the bike?

 

[theclaud]

Out of curiosity I worked out just what would have happened had I been wearing a lid (I'm a physicist, so I was sort of obliged to do so... ) The rotational acceleration would have exceeded 6000 rads/s^2. 3000 rad/s^2 is the threshold above which severe brain injury occurs.

And this, Wobblers, is why you're such a hot date!

 

[Tenacious Sloth]

I had a tree fall on me during a commute home a couple of winters ago as a result of strong winds. My helmet took the brunt of the blow and probably saved me from a nasty bump/bruise.

That's why I always wear a helmet now 'cos I reckon if a Jumbo Jet fell on me that would really hurt!

 

[Wobblers]

And this, Wobblers, is why you're such a hot date!

Ah, I see you've already acted on my advice conceerning beery analgesics. Well done!

 

[I like Skol]

This might be the beer talking, but Wobblers I want to have your children!

 

[mjr]

[QUOTE 5481911, member: 9609"]jeez - I never think cycling is that dangerous until I read these threads. I reckon about 10% of us seem to get mangled at some point every year. Seriously it is one dangerous hobby.[/QUOTE]
I've never been mangled from a cycling crash. Bruised a couple of times. So someone must be getting my 10%!

And it's not a hobby.

 

[Ming the Merciless]

If it was 10% I think many of us would reconsider. But it is far far less than that. A tiny tiny chance.

 

[Sharky]

If it was 10% I think many of us would reconsider. But it is far far less than that. A tiny tiny chance.

Not sure

Spills in 64 & 67 with just a few grazes, then nothing for 35 years.

Then between 2005 and 2017, 8 spills, resulting in a few bruises, two broken collor bones, fractured pelvis, broken tooth and a few facial cuts needing stitches. Oh and with one of the spills, I was airlifted to hospital.

So what's my percentage?

 

[Rusty Nails]

I had a fairly similar off to you a few years back - coming down a hill and, whoosh!, the front wheel just washed out. Oil, diesel, or merely the eejit betwixt saddle and handlebars? I don't know - but I did come very close to hitting my head on the ground, when I would have been still doing rather more than 20 mph. Sufficiently close in fact that I would have struck my head on the ground had I been wearing a helmet.

Out of curiosity I worked out just what would have happened had I been wearing a lid (I'm a physicist, so I was sort of obliged to do so... ) The rotational acceleration would have exceeded 6000 rads/s^2. 3000 rad/s^2 is the threshold above which severe brain injury occurs. And a helmet still wouldn't have prevented the broken ankle!

You'll understand, I hope, why I am not a convert to helmet wearing...

My point? Well, simply that it is not possible to categorically state that a helmet will be beneficial in all circumstances. It is perfectly feasible that a helmet may make things worse, simply due to its bulk which makes the probability of a head impact more likely.

Lastly, that crack in your helmet. The properties of that polycarbonate shell are rather different to that of your skull - skulls tend to be much stronger. You cannot equate a crack in a helmet to preventing a fractured skull. Moreover, a crack is indicative of brittle fracture. Helmets are designed - or at least supposed to - undergo progressive crushing to dissipate the impact energy. Brittle fracture dissipates little energy. This can be demonstrated by dropping a glass onto a hard surface - the shards move away from the impact without having lost much speed. A cracked helmet is indicative of a helmet that provided less protection than it should have done.

You seemed to have missed the most important aspect of all this: how's the bike?

Very impressive that you had the presence of mind and spatial awareness to accurately assess how far your head was off the floor when coming off at 20+mph. You've convinced me.

 

[mjr]

[QUOTE 5482782, member: 9609"]you did say in an earlier post
After years of crashing at least once a year and suffering the even closer passes one gets while using a helmet, a mild neck injury made it a choice between giving up cycling or helmets.[/QUOTE]
Crashing doesn't mean being mangled and I was mangled by helmet use, which isn't a necessary part of cycling. Are people getting mangled by helmet use, either directly by exacerbated injuries or indirectly through higher crash rates or severities as a result of things like helmet-impaired decision-making or hearing?

 

[srw]

[QUOTE 5482782, member: 9609"]I believe in them, and that's half the battle.[/QUOTE]
Considering risk compensation is a well established phenomenon, it's a good first step towards more dangerous riding.

 

[Mugshot]

[QUOTE 5482782, member: 9609"]And that bit of tyre rub on the helmet won't make any difference to its ability to save my life - lets face it, a bit of polystyrene stuck on your bonce probably wont help much[/QUOTE]

[QUOTE 5482782, member: 9609"]I believe in them, and that's half the battle.[/QUOTE]
Eh?

 

[Slick]

Considering risk compensation is a well established phenomenon, it's a good first step towards more dangerous riding.

What does that mean exactly. Genuine question as I was trying to workout what that would mean for me but couldn't come up with anything. I understand the concept of risk compensation but I reckon I would ride in the same manner regardless of what I was wearing.