Helmets - who'd been seen dead in one (glasses or not)?

Cunobelin

mailmannz wrote:

Cunobelin wrote:

Yes they are heavy, they look stupid and my head gets sweaty, but those excuses aren't good enough if you ask me.

Motorcycle helmets offer more protection!

Does the same reasoning apply?

Probably depends on the risks each type of transport faces, taking in to consideration things like speeds travelled etc, dont you think?

Like the being run over by a lorry mentioned in the the original post I replied to?

benvickery wrote:

I've got a wife and 4 young children to provide for. If I got run over by a lorry] and became paralyzed then I could still do the job I do. If however, I get a serious head injury and suffer brain damage then I'm no use to anyone. If I reduce the risk by wearing a helmet then I'll wear a helmet. Of course you can all do what you like, but I don't understand how anyone can ride on our busy roads without wearing a helmet. Yes they are heavy, they look stupid and my head gets sweaty, but those excuses aren't good enough if you ask me.

jam1ec

I always wear a helmet. I cannot see what the fuss is about, mine is not heavy, does not restrict vision, does not make my head hot, does not look daft, fits in my bag, in fact it is possible to forget you are wearing it.

So if there is even the slightest a chance it might help in any type of fall then why not wear one, unless you are too tight to spend the small amount of money i guess?

niblue

I always wear a helmet as well - although today was an exception as I'd taken the bike out and closed the garage before realising I'd left my helmet inside. I decided just to head off on my commute without it - it felt a little odd to be honest.

cee

I'd rather be dead in a helmet than cabbaged without one

Peyote

Helmets are great for protection against scratches and abrasions, a bit like woolie hats and cycling caps, I just feel less of a pillock wearing a helmet!

I don't think anyone who has really done some research into it would ever be able to come to the conclusion that they're going to be of an order of magnitude more useful than any other item of head gear in an RTI. Off-road, I'm willing to believe they have some value, though how much I really don't know.

To be honest, anyone who thinks a couple of cms of polystyrene is going to offer anything other than cursory protection really shouldn't be going outside, let alone interacting with other traffic!

Glasses on the otherhand are great, I try to wear them everytime I cycle. Should be compulsory!!!

BentMikey

richardast wrote:

With reference to your previous post Cunobelin, I don't think most people blindly trust the medical profession unquestioningly anymore. Most of us now realise, and most doctors I know are happy to concede, that the majority of practical medicine is highly educated guesswork based on the available facts. They usually get it right, due to their experience and extensive training.

This is quite wrong. The medical profession have no idea whatsoever of the efficacy of helmets, and are not qualified to judge. They are not experts in the field of helmets.

richardast wrote:

As these uninjured folk never report their accident to the police or attend a hospital, their accidents will never be recorded. Thus, there will never be a complete and accurate study. Thus, anyone who argues that anything has ever been proved (either way) is full of sh1te.

I can't remember who it was claiming to be the scientist, but if it was you, then this statement is exceptionally funny. It's wrong because if helmets really had a big effect on cyclist safety, then the results would be very clear in large population data. No such effects can be shown, and it's obvious that helmets don't have much of a safety benefit, at least from deaths and serious head injuries.

BentMikey

Loggerhead wrote:

Are we saying that a good argument for not wearing cycling helmets is that helmet wearing creates a perception that cycling is dangerous and therefore discourages others from taking up cycling?

If you combine this with the relatively neutral effect of helmets on cyclist safety, then yes, it's a serious problem. Conversely, the number of cyclists has a massive effect on our safety, so something that reduces the number of active cyclists is a very bad thing for all of us.

richardast

No. I have never claimed to be a scientist.

All I said was that the data of which you speak will never contain the cyclists who were uninjured because they were wearing a helmet.
No injury = no data to gather from police or hospitals to include in the report.

I didn't realise that I had to be a qualified scientist to make such a simple and obvious statement.

I'm pro-choice.

BentMikey

What you're forgetting is that if helmets were effective, the injury rates over a population will show reduction after an increase in helmet wearing, but they don't. There has even been an increase in the rate of head injuries after helmet wearing increased.

To be honest I would have expected anyone to see the obvious flaws in your statement.

richardast

BentMikey wrote:

To be honest I would have expected anyone to see the obvious flaws in your statement.

And yet, it appears that 82% of the cyclists who read these forums share my opinion and disagree with yours.
http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=12545856&highlight=poll+helmets
We must all be wrong.
Or maybe we should all have the freedom to choose without being dictated to.

BentMikey

No-one's dictating anything here, this is just another example of you taking my opinion personally.

There are plenty of other countries where there is a much lower proportion of helmet wearers, and yet cycling is far safer than in the UK or the US. Just goes further to prove my point that helmets have very little overall effect on safety, no matter which side of the debate you fall on.

FatBurt

BentMikey wrote:

There are plenty of other countries where there is a much lower proportion of helmet wearers, and yet cycling is far safer than in the UK or the US. .

Whats the traffic like in those countries?

Getting a like for like comparrison generally helps when looking at trends.


I personally wear a helmet. I never used to until I took a rather spectacular fall at low speed and clattered my head on a rock. Cue concussion, cuts bruises and a large dose of embarrasment.

I have done similar since with a pot and have come away with a damaged pot not a damaged head.

Helmet = winner in that scenario

I do however accept that a cycle helmet will have a limited effect on a high speed impact and thats a risk I'm prepared to accept.

For me I'm taking a risk at speed but covering the bases at a low speed.


The concept or wearing a motorcycle helmet while mountain biking/commuting amuses me for some reason as well.

BentMikey

LOL on the motorbike helmet on a bike too!

Yes, I've no argument that as in your example, helmets are good for knocks, cuts, and scrapes. My worry is with more serious head injuries such as brain damage, as well as getting into crashes in the first place, and that's where helmets aren't particularly good.

Cunobelin

The motorcycle helmet is actually a serious tool.......

You are allowed not to wear one because it is heavy, sweaty and unwieldy, yet the same criteria are invalid if you decide not to wear a cycle helmet because you find it heavy, sweaty and unwieldy

You wear a helmet to protect your head, and then travel at speeds where the helmet is not designed to work... The answer if you are serious about reducing head injuries is to wear a helmet designed to work at that speed.

Bassjunkieuk

I know a few people on here have probably already said something along the lines of this but here's my take.

I got knocked off my bike back in October '06. It wasn't a huge accident - a car turned in front of me (from the opposite direction for a change) and I managed to avoid hitting the side but still hit the rear quarter. In trying to avoid heading into traffic I pointed myself, as best I could, towards the kerb and ended up being launched off my bike into a metal lamp-post. The impact was enough to open up a 1 or so long cut on the knuckle of my left hand, dis-lodge a tendon and chip the bone. The other part of me that hit the post was my head. Luckily I had a helmet on as from my rather sore and bruised jaw (and the state of my hand) I wouldn't like to think what might have happened. At the very least I wouldn't have expected to be conscious.

I have 4 children who are all growing up learning to wear a helmet when their on their bikes (or roller skates) as all it takes it one freak accident and then one of us might not be there for the rest. I can't say I've ever really found my helmet hot and sweaty but do notice it's a bit breezy up top if I do forget to put it on, which has only happened twice in my 18 months of commuting and I realized before I'd got more then 1/2 a mile away and go back and get it!