I mentioned the track cycling helmets to highlight the inadequate protection current polystyrene helmets offer.

 

I'm not going to post on this thread again and will end with a recommendation to everyone to read and digest the article below from Cycle Helmets .org...if you don't get it at first, read it again and again...

 

Cycle helmets - an overview

 

That's an interesting article and well worth reading. Thanks for posting it.

Excellent article in that link NRG, thanks for drawing attention to it.

That's a very good, detailed article, and explains succinctly (though hardly in a nutshell!) why I and many others choose not to wear helmets (apart from just not liking them for discomfort/looking like a wally reasons).

 

There; I can't believe I actually contributed to a helmet thread!

 

There; I can't believe I actually contributed to a helmet thread!

 

Awwww.......Very well done Roger....the headbanging must be working

 

Lynda

A most interesting article. However, having only been released from hospital yesterday morning, my firm non-helmet-wearing stance is beginning to waver.

 

To cut a long story short, in over 40 years of using bicycles I've never injured my head (everything else, yes, head, no), but on Saturday I fell off my bike, cracked the side of my head on the road, and the next thing I knew I was waking up in an ambulance. I had been unconscious for some 15 minutes.

 

I was just pulling away so wasn't travelling at any speed (there was therefore no grazing evident on limbs), but my head obviously struck the road hard enough to knock me clean out and, according to witnesses, there was an impressive puddle of blood decorating the tarmac.

 

Apart from a pounding headache and a badly bruised shoulder I appear to be okay. It could, however, have easily been a different story.

 

The question is, would a helmet have saved me from injury in this instance?

 

Probably.

 

Will I wear one in future?

 

Probably...

A most interesting article. However, having only been released from hospital yesterday morning, my firm non-helmet-wearing stance is beginning to waver.

 

QUOTE]

 

Was that on your new e-bike

To cut a long story short, in over 40 years of using bicycles I've never injured my head (everything else, yes, head, no), but on Saturday I fell off my bike, cracked the side of my head on the road, and the next thing I knew I was waking up in an ambulance. I had been unconscious for some 15 minutes.

 

I'm pleased to hear that you are ok and hope that all aches and pains resulting from your prang are soon forgotten.

 

I was interested to hear that you have enjoyed 40 years of cycling without a head injury until your recent crash. Following on from a recent discussion on hear, does this mean that your judgment not to wear a helmet has been historically 100% justified for 39 years and 364 days?

Following on from a recent discussion on hear, does this mean that your judgment not to wear a helmet has been historically 100% justified for 39 years and 364 days?

 

That's an impressive percentage, by any measure.

That's an impressive percentage, by any measure.

 

I suppose it is. To be honest I hadn't really thought about it. Now I have, the figure is incorrect.

 

I'm 54, and have been riding bicycles since I was a small child (since 4 or 5 years old, if you count the stabilser days), so it's over 40 years.

 

In that time the only head injury I have sustained has been on a motorcycle, but that involved a head-on collision with a myopic Austin 1100 driver on the A34, who thoughtfully decided execute a right-hand turn in front of me. But that's another story.

 

Another story concerns me witnessing the death of a fellow motorcyclist who, despite wearing a helmet, was killed while stationary.

 

It was in my schoolboy motocross days, and we were training in a local chalk pit. He'd just finished a few laps of the course, rode over to where we were milling about, stopped the bike, then put his foot down to support the bike's weight. His foot slipped on the damp chalk and he fell sideways, cracking his head on a small rock/boulder.

 

He died shortly after in hospital.

 

I'm not making any claims either way here. It's just that there seems to be no hard and fast facts when it comes to head protection and head injury.

 

Ride safely, folks...

I wear mine at night for the 20km ride home, after I got hit by a scooter with a bit of concussion and needing a head scan

it seems the right thing to do I was very very lucky.

The wally factor never seemed to happen never got a second glance mind you my helmet is super cool.

Urban-TC Plus

After reading some of these stories, I may well consider wearing a helmet myself. Does anyone know where I could buy one with provision for a transparent visor to keep the rain off my glasses and face? Am I the only one who wears glasses and rides in rain? As regards the Wally Factor, at my age I just don`t care, not that I ever did...

If necessary, I thought of a DIY solution, using a visor of the type worn in post mortems. These are cheaply available on ebay.

Edited August 13, 201213 yr by neptune

I thought of a DIY solution, using a visor of the type worn in post mortems.

 

That could either be thought of as rather appropriate, or on the other hand as tempting providence!

Came across a couple of helmets that maybe I would consider wearing

 

[ATTACH]4058.vB[/ATTACH] [ATTACH]4059.vB[/ATTACH]

 

 

pro_tokyo_cowboy

I thought of a DIY solution, using a visor of the type worn in post mortems. These are cheaply available on ebay.

 

The disposable surgical type visors are quite flimsy Neptune and not really practical for cycling. They are really only designed to protect the wearer from the blood and bodily fluids of others.

The disposable surgical type visors are quite flimsy Neptune and not really practical for cycling. They are really only designed to protect the wearer from the blood and bodily fluids of others.

 

That might come in handy if you come across a non-helmet wearer who's run out of luck and been chewing a Tarmac sandwich.

The disposable surgical type visors are quite flimsy Neptune and not really practical for cycling. They are really only designed to protect the wearer from the blood and bodily fluids of others.

I have only seen these visors on TV. My idea is just to keep the rain off your glasses, or very cold air off the face in very low temperatures, They would probably need to be cut down to cover just the upper half of the face, to allow ventilation to prevent misting. Being shorter, would probably make them less likely to flex. The lower half of the face would be covered by a scarf or "neck tube."

It had slipped my mind that this poll had finished.

 

So, what can we take from the results?

 

1) People wearing helmets on a regular basis outnumber those who don't by a factor of two to one.

 

I think I knew that anyway. That was a waste of time then.

This one seems to have finished as well.

 

So, what can we take from these results?

 

1) People don't want to be told that they must wear a helmet.

 

I think I knew that as well.

No not a waste of time Tillson, a worthwhile exercise.

 

Now it is resurrected from oblivion, we might get a few more voters, but I doubt if the ratio will change a great deal.

 

What would now be interesting to know, and a question solely for the helmet wearers of course, what is the best or safest helmet?

It had slipped my mind that this poll had finished.

 

So, what can we take from the results?

 

1) People wearing helmets on a regular basis outnumber those who don't by a factor of two to one.

 

I think I knew that anyway. That was a waste of time then.

 

The opposite of the government's figure.

 

No doubt this is due to this site not being representative of the mass of the population, but I knew that anyway!

a question solely for the helmet wearers of course, what is the best or safest helmet?

 

Not solely for helmet wearers, I don't wear one but can make this worthwhile contribution:

 

The disguised type covered with material in hat styles as in this link are potentially dangerous. It's important that if the helmet glances against any obstruction that it should slide past. If it doesn't, the wrench as a fabric drags or catches can break a wearer's neck.

No not a waste of time Tillson, a worthwhile exercise.

 

Now it is resurrected from oblivion, we might get a few more voters, but I doubt if the ratio will change a great deal.

 

What would now be interesting to know, and a question solely for the helmet wearers of course, what is the best or safest helmet?

I bought a Specialized helmet because it came with a Snell rating and I expected it to be well designed. Not so, the strap adjusters under the ears work loose easily leaving the helmet likely to fall off after an impact.

Their more expensive ones should be better, my disappointment was with the Snell rating system allowing that through.

Just caught up with this thread. Very interesting. Been under some pressure from family to wear a helmet, was just about to comply, but even more confused now........ It seems that the basic problem is that helmet designs are poor, and lead one into a false sense of security. Think I'll stick to the flat 'at for now until designs improve. AG:confused:

No protective device is ever perfect against all eventualities though, as today's tragic boating accident in Scotland shows. Four children were in that Canadian canoe, one swam ashore unharmed, a second is critically ill in hospital and the remaining two died. All four were wearing lifejackets when discovered which clearly failed to protect them adequately. I don't doubt that the lifejackets were approved ones which had probably been extensively tested, the failures to protect due to the particular circumstances.

 

No matter how good and well tested a protective device, it will not meet every possible circumstance. Once again this illustrates how vital primary safety is, avoiding the accident in the first place by paying the most attention to that through more effort in planning, preparation and practice. In my experience few do that adequately, tending to pay more attention to secondary safety by using protective devices to alleviate the accident they almost expect.

After a serious accident that put me in hospital...no bearing on whether or not I was wearing a helmet, my daughter got on my case and every day asks "have I been wearing my helmet ?"

.....I find it easier to wear it than lie to her ...30 years ago she used the same tactic to stop me smoking.