A helmet will not protect you.?

CB19Kevo

Just listening to the radio and the director of cyclist.ie stated a helmet will not protect you and that its peoples choice if they wear them or not.
He was primarily referring to collisions at high speed involving vehicles.

I for one find that statement to be utter rubbish,And i say this having dealt with a lot of cycle accidents over the years.

Falling off the bike while stationary,low speed collisions and being thrown over the handlebars are just a few examples where a bike helmet may save you from major head trauma/stitches.

It is a choice but wearing helmets should be encouraged and not dismissed by representative organisations.

wanderer 22

Oh good - a new topic to discuss.

Junior

Good for you... So tell me, you drive a car occasionally ? Do you wear one in the car ?

jimmycrackcorm

If I think I'm going to fall off my bike I make sure to go head first so that I get the use out of my helmet.

traprunner

I reckon it saved me from a cracked skull when I fell of the bike earlier this year. Also, doctors in the emergency department are eager to see helmets after a collision as it can aid them.

While it is a choice, it's one I easily make after my fall.

Crow92

Junior wrote: »

Good for you... So tell me, you drive a car occasionally ? Do you wear one in the car ?

How is that a fair comparison? You've seat belts, crash bags, crumple zones around a car frame.

On a bicycle you've nothing, fair enough about helmets not working at high speed collisions but there is a point for low speed collisions and even though I think it should be a choice, it's not great for people to advocate they are basically useless

ednwireland

Aaaand silly season just kicked into full swing (you know this will happen as soon as rte six one goes to half an hour and reeling in the years comes on)

Iwannahurl

CB19Kevo wrote: »

Just listening to the radio and the director of cyclist.ie stated a helmet will not protect you and that its peoples choice if they wear them or not.
He was primarily referring to collisions at high speed involving vehicles.

I for one find that statement to be utter rubbish,And i say this having dealt with a lot of cycle accidents over the years.

Falling off the bike while stationary,low speed collisions and being thrown over the handlebars are just a few examples where a bike helmet may save you from major head trauma/stitches.

It is a choice but wearing helmets should be encouraged and not dismissed by representative organisations.

Have you dealt with any motor vehicle accidents OP?

You seem to think certain roads are very dangerous, eg the N22. Do you wear a helmet while driving? If not, why not? Genuine questions, btw.

Jawgap

CB19Kevo wrote: »

Just listening to the radio and the director of cyclist.ie stated a helmet will not protect you and that its peoples choice if they wear them or not.
He was primarily referring to collisions at high speed involving vehicles.

I for one find that statement to be utter rubbish,And i say this having dealt with a lot of cycle accidents over the years.

Falling off the bike while stationary,low speed collisions and being thrown over the handlebars are just a few examples where a bike helmet may save you from major head trauma/stitches.

It is a choice but wearing helmets should be encouraged and not dismissed by representative organisations.

Why would you say that?

Leroy42

Junior wrote: »

Good for you... So tell me, you drive a car occasionally ? Do you wear one in the car ?

Why do you think airbags were invented in cars?

Do helmets solve all the problems, of course not. Do seatbelts save every life in a car? But very few would advocate not wearing a seatbelt as in certain cases it can reduce the overall effect of a crash.

I can see the, albeit, limited circumstances that a helmet can possibly help reduce the effects, as in the cases the OP mentions. Will it always work in this scenarios, I seriously doubt it.

But I fail to see the downside of wearing it. In a high speed collision I will probably be killed regardless, but if it low speed etc then it might just help. They weigh next to nothing, have no operational constraints, don't inhibit and senses.

galwaycyclist

CB19Kevo wrote: »

I for one find that statement to be utter rubbish,And i say this having dealt with a lot of cycle accidents over the years.

Sure and how much research have you done into people who didn't fall off their bikes?

Were the two groups comparable?

Iwannahurl

Leroy42 wrote: »

Why do you think airbags were invented in cars?

What proportion of head injury cases are car occupants?

What is the ratio of motorists to cyclists on our roads?

In absolute terms, how many cases of head injury would be eliminated annually by the wearing of helmets by car occupants?

Jawgap

Leroy42 wrote: »

Why do you think airbags were invented in cars?

Do helmets solve all the problems, of course not. Do seatbelts save every life in a car? But very few would advocate not wearing a seatbelt as in certain cases it can reduce the overall effect of a crash.

I can see the, albeit, limited circumstances that a helmet can possibly help reduce the effects, as in the cases the OP mentions. Will it always work in this scenarios, I seriously doubt it.

But I fail to see the downside of wearing it. In a high speed collision I will probably be killed regardless, but if it low speed etc then it might just help. They weigh next to nothing, have no operational constraints, don't inhibit and senses.

Rotational or torsional injury of the neck can be one potential income.

Nobody is saying helmets are a bad idea - what people are saying is they are not a panacea, and indeed are perhaps over-rated as safety measure. Safe cycling doesn't begin and end with helmets and hi-viz.

Macy0161

CB19Kevo wrote: »

Just listening to the radio and the director of cyclist.ie stated a helmet will not protect you and that its peoples choice if they wear them or not.
He was primarily referring to collisions at high speed involving vehicles.

I for one find that statement to be utter rubbish,And i say this having dealt with a lot of cycle accidents over the years.

Falling off the bike while stationary,low speed collisions and being thrown over the handlebars are just a few examples where a bike helmet may save you from major head trauma/stitches.

It is a choice but wearing helmets should be encouraged and not dismissed by representative organisations.

You said he was primarily referring to collisions at high speed involving vehicles - a cycling helmet isn't designed for high speed collisions. They're also designed as single impact protection - collisions with a speeding vehicle would often involve two impacts for the head - one with the vehicle and then at least one with the ground.

rp

Iwannahurl wrote: »

What proportion of head injury cases are car occupants?

What is the ratio of motorists to cyclists on our roads?

In absolute terms, how many cases of head injury would be eliminated annually by the wearing of helmets by car occupants?

We haven't many studies in Ireland, but the Phillips one implies that head trauma cases (and thus, potential protective benefits of helmets) are about equal for car occupants, pedestrians and cyclists, but notes that the first two groups tend to suffer worse injuries. This report is recent so most if not all cars involved have airbags fitted.

Lumen

There's a thread for this.

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2057030568

Eamonnator

Anything to see here, or can I move on?

Leroy42

Eamonnator wrote: »

Anything to see here, or can I move on?

I'd hang around. Somebody is bound to mention Sky at some point!

magicbastarder

CB19Kevo wrote: »

He was primarily referring to collisions at high speed involving vehicles.

CB19Kevo wrote: »

Falling off the bike while stationary,low speed collisions and being thrown over the handlebars are just a few examples where a bike helmet may save you from major head trauma/stitches.

you *did* think this one through?

Iwannahurl

rp wrote: »

We haven't many studies in Ireland, but the Phillips one implies that head trauma cases (and thus, potential protective benefits of helmets) are about equal for car occupants, pedestrians and cyclists, but notes that the first two groups tend to suffer worse injuries. This report is recent so most if not all cars involved have airbags fitted.

In severe car crashes the combination of an airbag and seatbelt apparently results in an estimated 11% lower fatality rate than the seatbelt alone.

I don't know what the effects on TBI are, but it seems reasonable to conclude that helmets for car occupants might improve things by another few percentage points. What's not to like about car helmets? I drive regularly, but I only ever see cycle helmets in Halford's.

Maybe I should get one with an intercom, which might help with the kids squabbling in the back seat...

Beasty

OP - read the Charter and FAQs