Fatal collision prompts calls to make helmets compulsory

[Mussels]

BBC NEWS | World | Europe | Ski death provokes helmet debate
Someone has died in a freak accident and a senior politician was saved by wearing a helmet. An Olympic skiier says a helmet would have helped reduce injuries so now there are calls for making them compulsory.
It's not just British cyclists that are at risk from the safety Nazis.

People tend to ski faster these days and they overestimate their own abilities

That describes me down to a tee.

 

[Tiberius]

"With the new carving skis, people tend to ski faster these days and they overestimate their own abilities. The slopes are very busy and it's much safer for everyone if you wear a helmet," he said.

Except that it looks as if his helmet killed the woman he collided with who wasn't wearing one.

Ok, maybe there isn't enough evidence to support that, but its an example of how people interpret the same incident as supporting their own views.

Nick

 

[flecc]

And ski helmets are quite often very different anyway, looking as though they'll give better protection overall. The downhill racers look very well protected in theirs.
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[Danny-K]

Don't a lot of European ski resorts have speed restriction signs up on their ski slopes? They originally installed them because, quote:

"It follows a growing number of collisions caused by people skiing too fast as the slopes become ever more crowded. In France last season the number of collisions on the slopes went up 15% and included several fatalities."

 

[rooel]

It is rather strange that a fairly unusual incident on the ski slopes should provoke a call for "safety" helmets, yet the daily occurence of head injuries to pedestrians in collision with motor vehicles never provokes a similar reaction.

 

[JohnofCambridge]

Ski helmets - never thought of that for ordinary ski-ing

This may have been covered many times elsewhere, so forgive me but why are cycle helmets shaped the way they are? Those ski helmets are at the other extreme of good cover

Why don't cycle helmets sit down the head more? Are they just designed for drop handlebar racers rather than normal folk? Why can I not get one that covers the ears albeit with sound holes?

I wear a helmet - I know a lot of you don't - but I do feel the designs are not particularly effective and i would want a better one if i can get it.

End of rant!

John

 

[Mussels]

Why don't cycle helmets sit down the head more? Are they just designed for drop handlebar racers rather than normal folk? Why can I not get one that covers the ears albeit with sound holes?

I wear a helmet - I know a lot of you don't - but I do feel the designs are not particularly effective and i would want a better one if i can get it.

End of rant!

John

I guess the current style is popular to allow for cooling, if you want a fuller helmet there is a big range available.
Helmets MTB | Buy Now at ChainReactionCycles.com

 

[flecc]

Yes, heat dispersion is the reason for the "top of head only" style of cycle helmets, helped by the fashion factor, cyclists wanting to ape the racers.

In fact for utility cycling and e-biking in our temperate climate, a better more enveloping helmet would be practical as a defence against minor head injuries without being too hot to wear most of the time. A helmet more effective against more serious high impact injuries wouldn't be practical though, on size, weight and heat grounds.
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[Mussels]

A helmet more effective against more serious high impact injuries wouldn't be practical though, on size, weight and heat grounds.

You're turning it into that argument again.

 

[torrent99]

Yes, heat dispersion is the reason for the "top of head only" style of cycle helmets, helped by the fashion factor, cyclists wanting to ape the racers.
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Yes I think fashion is one of the primary reasons that cycle helmets are not as good as they could be.

This issue affects kayaking helmets too, where recently there has been a real trend for lids that look more like overgrown baseball caps and away from the more traditional over ear and back of head style. This has primarily been driven I think by the popularity of playboating (playing on wiers and large waves) as opposed to running lengths of wild rivers. Playboating has a street cred similar to skateboarding and snowboarding and drives the trends in helmet design. Anyway I digress.

As far as ski-ing helmets go, my opinion is that it's fine for particular ski areas to mandate the use of helmets on their pisted runs. These areas are crowded and the chances of collision high, with potential liablity issues. What would be wrong would some sort of legal compulsion for all skiers to wear a helmet wherever they are skiing i.e. off piste etc.

 

[flecc]

You're turning it into that argument again.

Not at all, there's published test data on the amount and type of absorbent materials necessary to resist impact damage and they aren't compatible with the needs of cycling. There's no harm in observing that fact.
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[Rod Tibbs]

When my head hit the deck I was wearing just a standard bike helmet. It did the job because the sides actually project out quite a way. When I looked at it later - prior to getting a new one - I could see the side and top had taken a considerable crushing force. So even the ordinary helmet is capable of giving vital protection.

Rod

 

[CheKmx]

Different sport same agruments

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/snowandski/722935/Do-ski-helmets-encourage-a-false-sense-of-security.html

I going boarding often, one of the perks living here in Switzerland, and I do wear a helmet but is that because I find it the most comfortable way to keep my head warm. There does seem to be a lot more Skiier/Boarders wearing helemts than in Cycling though and I think the 15 percent quoted here is an out of date figure. It seem more like 50% here. At least in the resorts I have been going to.

 

[Mussels]

Not at all, there's published test data on the amount and type of absorbent materials necessary to resist impact damage and they aren't compatible with the needs of cycling. There's no harm in observing that fact.
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I wear a helmet that will prevent my head hitting the ground when I fall off, that is the most likely impact and I don't expect much more from it. I don't sing the praises of helmets as I believe their use is limited and people should be allowed to make up their own mind. By saying that absorbant materials aren't compatible with cycling sounds like you are saying they are useless or even detrimental to health. I have looked for facts on helmet testing, they make it clear that a helmet cannot be compatible with all the needs of cycling (motorcycling, skiing etc.) but I have never seen one that dismissed a helmets usefulness offhand like that. I would be interested to read one if you have it.

 

[torrent99]

...sounds like you are saying they are useless or even detrimental to health.....

Interestingly the shape of many cycle helmets (pointy rather than smooth and rounded) has been criticised because it can vastly increase the tortional forces on the head and neck as the helmet scrapes along the ground. In these cases a helmet can cause more injury than none.

More rounded "head shaped" helmets should be much safer...see
Bike Helmets Should not have Oversized Vents and Square Lines

(I'm currently looking at the Bell Metropolis for this very reason!)

 

[Tiberius]

Hit the road, Jack

More rounded "head shaped" helmets should be much safer...see
Bike Helmets Should not have Oversized Vents and Square Lines

The article includes the wonderful line:
We believe that the ideal surface for striking a road resembles a bowling ball: hard, smooth and round.

I have* one of these:
ProTec Helmet

It even has the special bowling ball holes in the top.

Nick

*As I said in "another thread" I sometimes wear it and sometimes I don't. It depends on what I'm doing, so please don't pigeon hole me in one of the extreme camps. Usually I wear it going downhill fast and take it off for going uphill slowly.

 

[torrent99]

I have* one of these:
ProTec Helmet

Ah the ProTec, they use almost the same design for their kayaking helmets (hence the bowling ball holes!) A good value helmet, shame it doesn't fit me

 

[Tiberius]

...and rock climbing, parachuting, etc. Its not too far removed from building site hard hats or miners' helmets either.

Is it only the cycling world that has this strange idea that a helmet should be something out of a primary school project on Royal Ascot?

Nick

PS. On the ProTec, I had to individualise it and mess around with padding because the fore-aft/side-side ratios were not the same as my bonce.

 

[Mussels]

I have* one of these:
ProTec Helmet

It even has the special bowling ball holes in the top.

Are they to make it easier for the paramedics to drag you out from under the bus?

It's a good article though and well worth reading for anyone interested in buying a helmet. I'm gonna stick with my many vented areo shaped one for now though as I don't think it makes an enormous difference when compared to the rest of the hazards out there.

 

[Tiberius]

Are they to make it easier for the paramedics to drag you out from under the bus?

I normally wear a tie for that purpose. Be prepared and all that.

Nick