Cycle helmets are useless, says brain surgeon

steveblack

goo.gl/mml4d4

" In the countries where bike helmets are compulsory there has been no reduction in bike injuries whatsoever."

Lets be honest, who would you believe, a brain surgeon or someone on the board of a health and safety quango?

Amirani

Why believe someone? Why not just look at the statistics and research papers yourself? There's a large body of evidence to suggest that mandatory helmet use doesn't cause any significant reduction in the quantity of head injuries that occur.

corktina

Yes but surely a helmet prevents a lot of injuries that don't get into the statistics.

I don't think a bike helmet would make a lot of difference in a big accident because a lot of the brain injuries are internal shaking of the brain rather than impact with a hard surface. A helmet would stop or reduce the external damage and bone damage, none of which comes within the orbit of a brain surgeon.

Five Lamps

steveblack wrote: »

goo.gl/mml4d4

" In the countries where bike helmets are compulsory there has been no reduction in bike injuries whatsoever."

Lets be honest, who would you believe, a brain surgeon or someone on the board of a health and safety quango?

This statements are very misleading. It ignores a couple of basic facts:

1) Look at the average helmet. It's only designed to protect the user to extent. Many cycle injuries involve impacts that are outside the protection that a helmet can reasonably protect you from.

2) Many cycle injuries to other parts of the body. The statement above is very vague when it uses the word "injuries". The helmet can only protect the head and not the rest of the body.

3) What the "no helmet" brigade conveniently forget is that helmets do protect against many impacts that "could be worse". So instead of going to hospital and becoming counted as a "bike injury" statistic you go home with a few bruises and cuts and never get counted.

L1011

There's a difference between "mandatory helmet use doesn't reduce injuries" and "helmets are useless"; a vast difference.

monument

Let's keep this as strictly as possible about commuting and transport cycling.

-- mod