Would You Be Here Today If You Hadn't Been Wearing A Helmet?

[ufkacbln]

Nevertheless, EN1078 is by far the most common standard and weak or not its what's available. Snell and others can be hard to track down. I believe the Specialized ones are still marked EN1078 even though they do pass the Snell test. But none of this invalidates the observation that price has no relationship to impact protection.

Only because that is required for sale in the UK - you need to read the labels on the box and on the helmet

 

[martint235]

1997

My crash was definitely before then, around 1994-5 so the doc may have been correct.

 

[Red Light]

1997

Its predecessor BS6863:1989 had these useful words to say:

"It (the standard) specifies requirements for helmets intended for use by pedal cyclists on ordinary roads, particularly by young riders in the 5 years to 14 years age group, but which may also be suitable for off the road. It is not intended for high-speed or long distance cycling, or for riders taking part in competitive events. The level of protection offered is less than that given by helmets for motorcycle riders and is intended to give protection in the kind of accident in which the rider falls onto the road without other vehicles being involved."

For some reason they seem to have dropped that wording in the recent equivalents.

 

[Bicycle]

As a teenager (in the late 70s) I was having trouble putting my foot in a cage.

I looked down at speed to see what the problem was and went full chat into the back of a stationary milk float.

I wasn't wearing a helmet as they'd only just invented the wheel then; helmets were a distant dream.

I believe that the doorstep delivery of dairy produce nearly killed me. I was saved by not wearing a helmet.

I think this scenario is typical of its type and speaks volumes for the zealous inflexibility of anyone who disagrees with me on any topic.

I cannot reply to your survey as there is no question exactly reflecting my own personal accident.

 

[Borbus]

I've been cycling on the road for 15 years and never worn a helmet. Riding defensively has saved my life. Even if I did get hit I doubt the helmet would do much good.

I have just started to wear a helmet on my road bike, though, to complete the "look". It's quite an expensive one, and while I always feared that a helmet would be uncomfortable, I forgot it's even there after a few minutes. Still don't think it will save my life, though.

 

[david k]

save your life if what happened? The type of accident probably has a larger bearing on that then the helmet.

i feel there may be circumstances were a helmet could make the difference between life and death

 

[Sheffield_Tiger]

I rode to work without my helmet yesterday, although I do normally wear it, I got caught out on a long hike on Sunday so had sunburn enough to make wearing it uncomfortable.

Despite such reckless and foolhardy behaviour, I didn't get eaten by a shark!

 

[Red Light]

i feel there may be circumstances were a helmet could make the difference between life and death

I agree - there is no other way to explain Rodgers [1] finding in a study of 8 million US cyclist accidents:

"The most surprising finding is that the bicycle-related fatality rate is positively and significantly correlated with increased helmet use"."

[1] Reducing bicycle accidents: a re-evaluation of the impacts of the CPSC bicycle standard and helmet use, Journal of Product Liability 11 pp307-17, 1988

 

[david k]

The journal is over 20 years old, i would presume cycle helmets have improved in that time and new studies available


Would you consider that a cycle helmet could prevent a death from a cycle accident in certain circumstances?

 

[Angelfishsolo]

The journal is over 20 years old, i would presume cycle helmets have improved in that time and new studies available

In 1985, Snell B85 was introduced, the first widely adopted standard for bicycle helmets; this has subsequently been refined into B90 and B95 (see Standards below). At this time helmets were almost all either hard-shell or no-shell (perhaps with a vacuum-formed plastic cover). Ventilation was still minimal due mainly to technical limitations of the foams and shells in use.


Around 1990 a new construction technique was invented: in-mould microshell. A very thin shell was incorporated during the moulding process. This rapidly became the dominant technology, allowing for larger vents and more complex shapes than hard shells. Use of hard shells declined rapidly among the general cyclist population during the 1990s, almost disappearing by the end of the decade, but remain popular with BMX Riders as well as inline skaters and skateboarders.

The late 1990s and early 2000s saw advances in retention and fitting systems, replacing the old system of varying thickness pads with cradles which adjust quite precisely to the rider's head. This has also resulted in the back of the head being less covered by the helmet; impacts to this region are rare,

 

[david k]

i couldnt pick out from your post if they are better or not mate

 

[Red Light]

i couldnt pick out from your post if they are better or not mate

In summary, helmet standards are much lower now than they were then.

From an article in Cycle by the head of the main helmet certification lab in the UK:


"Cycle helmets sold in the UK today generally offer a lower level of protection than those sold in the early 1990s. This is due in the main to the introduction of the European EN1078 standard, which is weaker than the Snell standards then used (see below).

In the early 1990s, market research suggested that in excess of 90% of the cycle helmets sold in the UK were certified to the Snell B-90/95 standards, at that time the most stringent cycle helmet standard in the world. In 1998, Head Protection Evaluations conducted a test programme for the Consumer’s Association’s assessment of UK cycle helmets.

By that year, all of the helmets were manufactured to the EN1078 standard. The results showed that many of the helmets tested were totally incapable of meeting the higher Snell standards, to which some of the models had been previously certified. Some tests suggested that certain helmets were even incapable of meeting the weaker EN1078 standard."

 

[david k]

has this ever been addressed?

 

[Red Light]

The journal is over 20 years old, i would presume cycle helmets have improved in that time and new studies available

Its of the same vintage as the study most widely cited in favour of helmets, the much discredited Thompson, Rivara and Thompson paper of 1989.

Would you consider that a cycle helmet could prevent a death from a cycle accident in certain circumstances?

Would you consider that a cycle helmet could cause a death from a cycle accident in certain circumstances?

Because if there are circumstance in which they prevent a death there must be more circumstances in which they cause a death in order to explain the increased death rate from helmet wearing.

 

[Red Light]

has this ever been addressed?

How would you propose to address it?