Helmets!

owen21

So i ride track mainly, however not started racing yet. And i also commute to work for some base miles and use a turbo trainer.

Yesterday i went training with my dad and did a practice two up TT to practice following a wheel and doing some sprints for the track. On our warm down lap riding behind each other, a loud horn was heard from behind us for no apparent reason - every other car had overtaken without problem! A 4x4 comes past, and carries on beeping the horn and scares the shit out of me causing me to try and see what was going on. At which point the 4x4 hits me and the trailer its carrying drags me along side my dad and takes me down under the trailer, my wheel hits my dads and we both come off and our heads take the full impact of the floor. I had a £25 helmet on, which is now ruined, and my dad had an expensive helmet on - also ruined. The doctors said that without the helmets we would have died due to the impact, or at least suffered a serious brain bleed.

The point of this is - please wear a helmet regardless of how it looks or its cost. They do save lives believe it or not!!

Now i just need a new helmet, and maybe a new bike :roll: :? Cant wait to get back on the track and in the gym when ive had my 16 stitches removed and i can bend my leg and clench my jaw properly again.

cookeeemonster

Billion threads on here regarding helmets, none with any new arguments or points of view, just pages and pages of people with no intention of changing my mind. I always wear a helmet on the road but am pro choice.

Far more importantly - how's the police investigation going?!?!? That's verging on attempted murder, any local papers etc pick this up?

owen21

i was only trying to raise awareness.

The police investigation will be slow i guess. they compounded his vehicles and want to charge for careless driving

Bobbinogs

Cripes! Glad to hear you are ok, well sort of ok. The helmet debate does come up a lot and, despite anyone's best intentions, often descend into vitriolic exchanges that get trotted out each time. I know where I stand on the matter and that is all that counts to me; I think it really is just a case of personal choice/risk assessment. Hope your recovery goes well.

owen21

Bobbinogs wrote:

Cripes! Glad to hear you are ok, well sort of ok. The helmet debate does come up a lot and, despite anyone's best intentions, often descend into vitriolic exchanges that get trotted out each time. I know where I stand on the matter and that is all that counts to me; I think it really is just a case of personal choice/risk assessment. Hope your recovery goes well.

thanks i can see where people come from with not wearing one but as roads get busier and nights get darker i think personally its a no brainer. Espeially as my helmet was hardly expensive, however my new Mavic one is very nice cant try it on yet due to the war wounds lol

imposter2.0

owen21 wrote:

i was only trying to raise awareness.

Great idea. It probably wouldn't have occurred to anyone if you hadn't mentioned it...

jgsi

Owen, the helmet thing is just the back story here. Whats really relevant is the moronic and possibly lethal driving that nearly did for you both.
Keep us informed.

fast as fupp

owen21 wrote:

i was only trying to raise awareness.

The police investigation will be slow i guess. they compounded his vehicles and want to charge for careless driving

sounds more like dangerous driving!

make sure you get a good solicitor and sue the arse off him too!

owen21

JGSI wrote:

Owen, the helmet thing is just the back story here. Whats really relevant is the moronic and possibly lethal driving that nearly did for you both.
Keep us informed.

Think the police will release the bikes tomorrow so I'm interested to see what state they're in. Don't remember much from being out on my bike 1 minute. And in an ambulance the next. My injuries have got worse since, which is annoying - bored and in pain isn't the way to be lol.

owen21

fast as fupp wrote:

owen21 wrote:

i was only trying to raise awareness.

The police investigation will be slow i guess. they compounded his vehicles and want to charge for careless driving

sounds more like dangerous driving!

make sure you get a good solicitor and sue the ars* off him too!

I'm not sure on the different categories but will see what the police say. And yep hopefully will replace my ruined gear, just want my bike to be ok so at least I can go on my turbo when I can.

tlw1

That sounds like a horrific incident - glad you are 'relatively' ok

Daz555

JGSI wrote:

Owen, the helmet thing is just the back story here. Whats really relevant is the moronic and possibly lethal driving that nearly did for you both. Keep us informed.

This. The story here (or in any such cases) is not "rider saved by helmet" but "rider nearly killed by asswipe motorist".

larkim

Without the helmets though it could have been "riders killed by asswipe motorist". I prefer the original story.

Tjgoodhew

Good luck with recovery as the whole thing sounds pretty nasty.

Im staying out of the helmet debate

In regards to new helmets - i just picked up a Giro Savant from Cycle surgery reduced form £60 to £40 which is a steal and on a real positive it doesnt make my head look like a mushroom

Bobbinogs

Yepp I think the Savants are a bargain and they are (or at least were ) covered by Maddison's crash replacement warranty so if you need a replacement within 2 years you can get it for a big discount (excellent service too, which I benefited from when I wrote off my last helmet in a club ride spill that also left me with two broken bones in my hand). Helmet fit is always very subjective though.

fast as fupp

owen21 wrote:

fast as fupp wrote:

owen21 wrote:

i was only trying to raise awareness.

The police investigation will be slow i guess. they compounded his vehicles and want to charge for careless driving

sounds more like dangerous driving!

make sure you get a good solicitor and sue the ars* off him too!

I'm not sure on the different categories but will see what the police say. And yep hopefully will replace my ruined gear, just want my bike to be ok so at least I can go on my turbo when I can.

you really do need to speak to a solicitor!

gozzy

Totally get onto a solicitor.
Don't worry about the bike being busted too much, the first thing that'll happen if you claim is their insurance will send you a cheque for a new bike and any other bits you've had busted. Injury compo will probs take a bit longer as you'll have to see a doctor through the solictor. After I got hir I had to wait till the driver that hit me had been prosecuted to get any compo, your case seems a little more clear cut so I'd imagine there should be less delay.

W12_Lad

I got run over about 6 weeks ago. Lady ploughed into me from the left as I was going straight over a roundabout. I was taken to hospital in an ambulance with severe back pain where I had first hit her bonnet (police said there was a large dent) and then landed on the ground.
I wasn't wearing a helmet and didn't hit my head.
I know for definite that a helmet would not have helped.
My proof is better than yours, where you don't really know what would have happened if you weren't wearing one.
I can take a guess though, that if I was wearing one, the extra size may have caused it to hit the ground and I could then say if I wasn't wearing it, I would have had serious head injuries.

Good luck by the way with your claim and your rehab. Crashes suck.
My claim is going slowly as her insurers haven't responded to my solicitor in the first 21 days.
Apparently they now have 3 months to drag their heels.

iPete

W12 lad wrote:

My proof is better than yours, where you don't really know what would have happened if you weren't wearing one. I can take a guess though, that if I was wearing one, the extra size may have caused it to hit the ground and I could then say if I wasn't wearing it, I would have had serious head injuries.

Are you sure you didn't hit your head?

Helmets (or not) aside, heal up both of you and keep us posted on what the police do!

CiB

W12 lad wrote:

My proof is better than yours, where you don't really know what would have happened if you weren't wearing one.
I can take a guess though, that if I was wearing one, the extra size may have caused it to hit the ground and I could then say if I wasn't wearing it, I would have had serious head injuries.

I had a similar tumble where I just lightly touched my head on the road as I hit the deck; had I been wearing a hat it would have been damaged and thus presented as absolute evidence that it saved me from serious injury.

I won't post this anecdote though as it would only contribute to a pointless debate that will go on for page after page. I'm more interested to know what the driver has been / will be charged with. Attempted murder sounds like a good start.

owen21

We have solicitors Whether we need to wait till the prosecution is done well that remains to be seen. Still haven't got the bikes back ffs. First impressions say I have a good claim due to the facial scarring I'll have. Also the witness and the fact the police turned up pretty quickly and gave us some positive words was good. Just a waiting game, we've got nothing to worry about on the legal side of proceedings.

DavidJB

If he had time to lean on his horn he had time to slow down and avoid the crash. I'd want much more than 'careless driving'

cougie

Doesnt sound too dissimilar to that clip we had a few months back of a wide open road - no traffic and a HGV beeping his horn as he passed within inches of the bike. Wasn't he sacked for that ?