helmets

Amprodude

Why dont we wear helmets when driving cars? Would it not give us more protection if involved in a car accident like what seat belts and airbags do?

Opinions?

Cungi

How are the ladies gonna brush their hair and do their make up then?

I jest. Seems like overkill though unless proven that it will reduce fatalities.
In most serious accidents a helmet is not going to save you.

challengemaster

It would probably do more harm than good in normal road cars, similarly with roll cages etc. Excess weight on the head = more inertia. Reduced visibility, reduced hearing.

Realistically in terms of protection in a crash, at this stage with frontal and side deployed airbags there's not much more can be improved upon for head safety. The problem in crashes is the inertia of internal organs causing damage, which short of defying physics, you can't do much about either.

Amprodude

Cungi wrote: »

How are the ladies gonna brush their hair and do their make up then?

How do they do it while cycling or motorbiking?

Amprodude

challengemaster wrote: »

It would probably do more harm than good in normal road cars, similarly with roll cages etc. Excess weight on the head = more inertia. Reduced visibility, reduced hearing.

Realistically in terms of protection in a crash, at this stage with frontal and side deployed airbags there's not much more can be improved upon for head safety. The problem in crashes is the inertia of internal organs causing damage, which short of defying physics, you can't do much about either.

What happens if you bang yout head off drivers window? No helmet = split head.

Helmet = no bad cuts?

shooter88

Great way of stopping people talking on the phone

Chris_Heilong

Amprodude wrote: »

Why dont we wear helmets when driving cars? Would it not give us more protection if involved in a car accident like what seat belts and airbags do?

Opinions?

Now dont go giving the RSA ideas:rolleyes:

Cungi

Amprodude wrote: »

What happens if you bang yout head off drivers window? No helmet = split head.

Helmet = no bad cuts?

Don't side airbags protect against that?

ManMade

OP do you wear a helmet?

Voodoomelon

I can just imagine what 70 people on a coach wearing helmets would look like.

serious3

shooter88 wrote: »

Great way of stopping people talking on the phone

not in my helmet!! its got a bluetooth headset so i can listen to music while riding my bike, with auto answer built in and noise cancelling. 80mph+ conversations on the phone and if my mates are out, wireless bluetooth comms between 4 of us.

think its illegal to wear a helmet in a car on normal roads, think its to do with hazard awareness and blind spots

Supergurrier

Hell no mang !

OldmanMondeo

Amprodude wrote: »

What happens if you bang yout head off drivers window? No helmet = split head.

Helmet = no bad cuts?

I got smacked side on before, slapped my head against the window. Unless you have the window half open and catch the edge of the glass, your not going to split you head. If you do hit the window too hard it will A) break if fully closed or move if open at all.

Helmets in a car would not work, not much room to move, reduced vision etc. Unless your in a race car, then no.

mickdw

I think its a valid idea.
From reading some stuff since hans device was brought into motorsport, it appears that the main organs of the body can handle quite a severe impact. The problem in head on collisions was tearing something at the base of the brain as the head moved forward too far, too hard. The hans device makes much more high energy accidents survivable.
The issues around allowing adequate head movement for driving safely in public would need to be looked at but its not such a crazy idea.
I know of a guy who wore a helmet driving on the roads everyday back in the 1970s.

Bpmull

They definately wouldn't work if you were tall. My head is near enough the roof in most cars add a helmet and in some case a tall person wouldnt fit in the car. Plus reduced hearing reduced visibility and it would feel uncomfortable very quickly. It wouldn't work IMO.

challengemaster

mickdw wrote: »

I think its a valid idea.
From reading some stuff since hans device was brought into motorsport, it appears that the main organs of the body can handle quite a severe impact. The problem in head on collisions was tearing something at the base of the brain as the head moved forward too far, too hard. The hans device makes much more high energy accidents survivable.
The issues around allowing adequate head movement for driving safely in public would need to be looked at but its not such a crazy idea.
I know of a guy who wore a helmet driving on the roads everyday back in the 1970s.

And hans devices work properly because the driver is in an unmovable bucket seat secured with a racing harness so there's I'd say an inch of free movement at most. I'd imagine it won't work with a normal seatbelt, not very well anyway.




You can't even check over your shoulder in a harness. If you think it's a valid idea for road cars, you don't know enough about how these safety mechanisms work tbh.

Amprodude

Cungi wrote: »

Don't side airbags protect against that?

No. A friend of mine banged his head off drivers door window while back and smashed window with head and was knocked out for a while. He had glass stuck in his head too.

Cungi

Amprodude wrote: »

No. A friend of mine banged his head off drivers door window while back and smashed window with head and was knocked out for a while. He had glass stuck in his head too.

Sorry to hear that dude.
I believe curtain airbags can protect against this though. Not sure if they're in production cars or not though.
TBH as others have said a helmet is probably going to restrict movement. Not a good thing

EDIT: apparently they are in production cars. Honda have them

smellslikeshoes

Amprodude wrote: »

How do they do it while cycling or motorbiking?

Being aware of the fact that you're more vulnerable tends to focus the mind.