Can you Justify wearing a Helmet (TAKE 2)

Dannyboy95

Ok so I first put this on the MTB forum not really thinking what audience would be reading it lol so here goes TAKE 2.

I wear a helmet all the time its second nature to always put it on and if I didn't wear it I would feel naked. But heres the thing truthfully yes head Injuries I suppose out of all common cycling injuries are the biggest killers. But I sometimes wonder would a helmet really save you from a collision with a car the damage suffered to you body let alone your head would be possibly devastating. But the question is if we only protect our head why not the rest of our bodies. Can you justify wearing them and hoping they are going to save you if you come into contact with a car :?:

desweller

I wear one in the winter, as mine has a peak on it, keeping the rain out of my eyes. Plus it helps keep my head warm (but not too warm!).

Come summertime I hang it up and plonk my lucky Buff on my head. Not been a problem yet.

chedabob

This thread again...

TommyEss

Of course people can justify it. What no once can seem to do is come to an agreement on whether or not they help. You're right in that if you're involved in a collision with a car, you will most likely have trauma to many different parts of your body.

One guy in my club was killed a few years ago when he was hit by a van. Another just about survived a head on with an MPV that ran into us on our side of the road. Both were wearing helmets. Can you say the second only survived because he was wearing a helmet? Of course not. Could you say the helmet actually did him any harm? Almost certainly not.

Wear one if you want to - don't expect it to work miracles - if you get a bad cut on your leg you can still die from it after all.

And don't start any more helmet threads - just use the search function and read through all of them instead.

mouth

Had I been wearing a helmet at 10 years of age I wouldn't have a 4 inch scar across the back of my head from where I upended myself and went over the handlebars. Now that I'm quickly becoming a slap head it's very unsightly. That's reason enough IMO. Of course if I hadn't been trying to emulate Evil Knievel it'd have never happened in the first place, which is ultimately the point.

shouldbeinbed

Oh dear god nooooo. Calling Rick with his magic padlock


P. S. For the sake of accuracy please rename this thread to:

I'm either a troll or lack the wit to use the search facility, here's futile helmet thread number 6472.

Cycloslalomeur

Head over to Cyclechat if you want to see helmetists slaughtered properly.

gbsahne001

only wear one due to blackmail from family to do so.

cooldad

Website for people who ask the question

rolf_f

How on earth can people actually think that, when they ask this question, it hasn't been asked a million times already?

BTW, I've had a great idea - I've made a couple of round things and I've fixed them together with a stick and they roll along the ground really easily. We could use these things (I call them wheels) to move stuff around. Do you think I should patent my idea and make loads of money?

PS promise not to steal my idea - it's mine OK. MINE........

Dannyboy95

LOL note too self NEVER EVER ask about helmets again hahahahaha. Sorry fella's just trying to think of something to write lol. :roll:

Long_Time_Lurker

Surely the question should be the other way around...justify why you shouldn't wear a helmet.

The only possible reasons are that:
It is too hot (in which case, buy a better/lighter/better ventilated helmet)
It is too expensive (in which case, it is too expensive for you to even consider buying a bike - buying the correct gear is as important as buying the right bike) or...
You don't want to mess your hair up

MichaelW

Helmets can downgrade a head injury from bruise to nothing, from concussion to bruise, from brain injury to concussion, from lethal to brain injury and from very lethal to a bit lethal.
You are totally right that in the event of a major collision with 2 tons of metal, you are going to die with a head injury but not necessarily from a head injury.

Cycloslalomeur

Long Time Lurker wrote:

Surely the question should be the other way around...justify why you shouldn't wear a helmet.

The only possible reasons are that:
It is too hot (in which case, buy a better/lighter/better ventilated helmet)
It is too expensive (in which case, it is too expensive for you to even consider buying a bike - buying the correct gear is as important as buying the right bike) or...
You don't want to mess your hair up

Here we go again. This is classic shifting of burden of proof, much loved by religious fanatics of all stripes. I'm pretty sure I didn't emerge from the womb wearing a helmet ergo it is up to you to prove the benefits of wearing one, not vice versa.

Cycloslalomeur

MichaelW wrote:

Helmets can downgrade a head injury from bruise to nothing, from concussion to bruise, from brain injury to concussion, from lethal to brain injury and from very lethal to a bit lethal.
You are totally right that in the event of a major collision with 2 tons of metal, you are going to die with a head injury but not necessarily from a head injury.

Please provide evidence (not Thompson, Rivara and Thompson). Or was yours just another "stands to reason innit" argument?

meanredspider

I thought we had the sense not to start another one of these or, at least, let it wither on the vine....



....but clearly not :roll:

Cycloslalomeur

Yeah well I just don't buy the argument that the correct response to outbreaks of helmetism is silence. They'll just post some anecdote/faith-based drivel/emotional blackmail and feel vindicated if nobody asks any questions.

bompington

Yeah well I just don't buy the argument that the correct response to outbreaks of anti-helmetism is silence. They'll just post some anecdote/faith-based drivel/freedom of choice emotional blackmail and feel vindicated if nobody posts any proof that penetrates the tinfoil helmet.

Cycloslalomeur

More shifting of burden of proof. The natural state of man is non-helmeted, so the person who started this thread was perfectly reasonable to query what the case for wearing one is. Please consult the dedicated sections on Cyclechat and the CTC forum for evidence.

Long_Time_Lurker

Cycloslalomeur wrote:

Here we go again. This is classic shifting of burden of proof, much loved by religious fanatics of all stripes. I'm pretty sure I didn't emerge from the womb wearing a helmet ergo it is up to you to prove the benefits of wearing one, not vice versa.

:roll:
You wait, I'll be coming back with the Chewbacca Defence...

Must.Not.Bite

Cycloslalomeur

Me not understanding. Not surprising really as only last night I managed to maul my jaw with a chainring while removing a pedal... :?

Daz555

Can you Justify wearing a Helmet (TAKE 2)?

Mountain biking - defo. I'm a bloody danger to myself whilst hooning down single track at close to 40mph. Also I've lost count of times I've scraped my lid on thorns or had branches crack me on the side of my head. I also never ride without eye protection.

Commute/popping about - nah, been riding out and about on the streets for 35 years and simply don't see the need. I also love cycling at this time of the year - as it warms I can begin to the shed the layers and on long hot summer days I can look forward to long lazy family rides clad only in my sandals, some baggy shorts, and a t-shirt (my belly out days are long gone). Perfect.

Dannyboy95

Its not helmetism at all its something that everyone should ponder about all the time because there are people out there who dont wear them then have a crash and start to wear them.

desweller

I've even started wearing safety specs when I'm doing a fry-up. Hot oil can blind (I expect)! Why would you not wear safety specs while cooking???!

Dannyboy95

Oopps ive opened a right can of worms here i might as well escape while I can

Rigged

Somewhere discussing the same topic someone said that wearing a cycle helmet provided the equivalent protection of eggs in an egg box as a justification for not wearing a helmet. Perhaps we should do a trial whereby we drop a series off eggs off the work surface in and out of egg boxes and see how they cope? My money is on a marginal improvement in the 'survival' rate of eggs in a box.

More seriously, I wouldn't dream of riding without a helmet just because there's a chance that it could prevent grazing, cuts, breaks to bones and worse. I'm not really willing to take that risk and I'm slightly surprised that others do but each to their own.

If someone can present evidence to me that wearing a helmet actually creates some additional risks then obviously the relative merits of wearing a helmet would be a far more interesting debate, but until then the possibility it provides me a little protection is reason enough for me to sacrifice my hair-do and 'cool' cyclist look for.

corshamjim

Dannyboy95 wrote:

Oopps ive opened a right can of worms here i might as well escape while I can

You don't think you can get away this quicky do you? I reckon this one has at least another three pages to go yet. :twisted:

Anyway, my answer to your question is to turn it around and say I can't justify /not/ wearing a helmet.

meanredspider

There's no proof for either side of this argument - none that stands up to a moment's critical inspection at least. Many have tried - all have failed. It then comes back to anecdotal "evidence" which no-one accepts (least of all on the anti-helmet side). That said, I haven't yet come across anybody claiming with anecdotal evidence that their helmet hurt them. Make your own choice.

bompington

meanredspider wrote:

That said, I haven't yet come across anybody claiming with anecdotal evidence that their helmet hurt them. Make your own choice.

Oh yes you have...
Which just goes to show that the only helmet you need is a tinfoil one ;-)

Cycloslalomeur

meanredspider wrote:

There's no proof for either side of this argument - none that stands up to a moment's critical inspection at least. Many have tried - all have failed. It then comes back to anecdotal "evidence" which no-one accepts (least of all on the anti-helmet side). That said, I haven't yet come across anybody claiming with anecdotal evidence that their helmet hurt them. Make your own choice.

Could you please provide proof that there is no proof? I'm anti-compulsion, not anti-helmet. The two are more often than not equated but there is a world of difference between them. You'd be hard pressed to find anybody who would claim that you'd be an idiot for wearing one yet I'm often called that and worse by the omnipresent helmet brigade.

Risk compensation aside, on an individual level helmets make little difference either way but in aggregate the public health impact of compulsion does not make for pleasant viewing as seen in Australia. This is one of the main reasons countries like Belgium, Denmark and the Netherlands have rejected compulsion.

The dedicated boards on Cyclechat and CTC are plentiful resources with regard to studies.

My freedom not to wear one is at threat, helmet-wearers' freedom to wear one is not.

bompington

Cycloslalomeur wrote:

I'm anti-compulsion

Funnily enough, so are about 99.8% of people who have ever posted on the subject on this forum