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Helmets - the definitive thread.. Mod Note - Please read Opening Post

Felloffmebike

I'm sure this has been discussed before but I'm interested in a lot of recent comments about wearing or not wearing a helmet. It never occurred to me not to wear one but recently I'm picking up a lot of people who seem to have a different view. Why is that? Does wearing a helmet not make it safer if you fall, even a little bit? And those who advocate not wearing one, is it a safety thing or a style thing or a macho man thing or what? Or is there some evidence that a helmet doesnt actually give you any protection or even that wearing one could be dangerous in itself.

I'm not looking to start an argument, just interested in the different views.

Mod note

Title changed - this can hopefully be considered the definitive helmet thread that can be pointed to whenever anyone wants to start another discussion on the subject - I'll put a link from the FAQs to it also

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cjt156

You can get pepper-based deterrent spray in pet shops. My Lab loves the stuff...:rolleyes:

ThisRegard

Occam's razor, why not just put it somewhere the dog can't get?

smacl

cjt156 wrote: »

You can get pepper-based deterrent spray in pet shops. My Lab loves the stuff...:rolleyes:

Obviously from Mozambique so, maybe attach some bells to it as well

Province of Inhambane
Ministry of Fish and Wildlife
MOZAMBIQUE

WARNING

Due to the rising frequency of human-lion encounters, the Ministry of Fish and Wildlife, Inhambane Branch, Mozambique is advising hikers, hunters, fisherman and any motor-cyclists that use the out-of-doors in a recreational or work-related function to take extra precautions while in the bush.

We advise outdoorsmen to wear little noisy bells on clothing so as to give advanced warning to any lions that might be close by so you don't take them by surprise.

We also advise anyone using the out-of-doors to carry "Pepper Spray" with him or her in case of an encounter with a lion.

Outdoorsmen should also be on the watch for fresh lion activity, and be able to tell the difference between lion cub shít and big lion shít. Lion cub shít is smaller and contains lots of berries and dassie fur. Big lion shít has bells in it, and smells like pepper.

Enjoy your stay in
MOZAMBIQUE

CramCycle

Head injuries are quite troublesome in all walks of life, have you considered never taking it off?

In all serious though, a bit of lemon juice. Help kill off any sweaty smells (probably what the dog likes) as well as many dogs find lemons repulsive.

buffalo

Put the helmet on your dog?

https://twitter.com/alexedmo/status/841572798761975808

robyntmorton

I don't trust that dog... he look like he's quicker than me on the bike.

cython

cjt156 wrote: »

You can get pepper-based deterrent spray in pet shops. My Lab loves the stuff...:rolleyes:

Can just imagine when said spray gets wet with rain or sweat and runs into the poster's eyes...... Sunscreen wouldn't be a patch on it! :eek::pac:

radia

Jep Gambardella wrote: »

mandatory DIY helmets

buffalo wrote: »

I read that as 'helmets that you make yourself via DIY should be mandatory'.

It'd make for interesting designs if nothing else...

Well, it's happened before: Anyone remember Julian Dalby?

Capt'n Midnight

CramCycle wrote: »

Head injuries are quite troublesome in all walks of life, have you considered never taking it off?

The stats on that are very clear.

Children have been killed by cycling helmets when used for non-cycling activities. Usually by strangulation when the helmet gets caught on playground equipment , bunk bed etc.

DO NOT ALLOW CHILDREN TO WEAR CYCLING HELMETS UNLESS THEY ARE ON THE BIKES.

As driverless cars become more common the risks of being hit by motorists may drop. So we should see a return to helmet use by self selection of higher risk groups like racers and off roaders rather than plodders or casual cyclists.

Chuchote

Capt'n Midnight wrote: »

As driverless cars become more common the risks of being hit by motorists may drop. So we should see a return to helmet use by self selection of higher risk groups like racers and off roaders rather than plodders or casual cyclists.

Depends on infrastructure too. I've come off my bike after hitting a nasty bit of rough cement. In my own driveway, as it happens…

magicbastarder

Capt'n Midnight wrote: »

The stats on that are very clear.

Children have been killed by cycling helmets when used for non-cycling activities. Usually by strangulation when the helmet gets caught on playground equipment , bunk bed etc.

What are the stats on children being strangled by bike helmets as a result of being caught on bunk beds?

tomasrojo

France under-12 law comes into effect on Wednesday.

http://road.cc/content/news/219474-france-makes-cycle-helmets-compulsory-under-12s-and-wants-kids-nag-their-parents

ednwireland

Mips or non mips

Chips Lovell

tomasrojo wrote: »

France under-12 law comes into effect on Wednesday.

http://road.cc/content/news/219474-france-makes-cycle-helmets-compulsory-under-12s-and-wants-kids-nag-their-parents

He pointed out that just one child aged under 12 had been killed riding a bike in France last year.

tomasrojo

https://t.co/EB6RiCa4VK

Haven't had a chance to read it, but Peter Walker is usually a good read. It's an extract from his new book, which is about cycling.

Tenzor07

Wear a blonde wig, safer than a cycle helmet on the roads!

In a parallel experiment Walker also spent some time riding about wearing a long brunette wig, to see whether drivers gave female cyclists more room than men, perhaps because they also unconsciously assumed women are less experienced cyclists. They did, it emerged, even when the “woman” was 6ft tall and, for the drivers who happened to look in their rear-view mirror, surprisingly hairy.

bike-helmet-cyclists-safe-urban-warfare-wheels

tomasrojo

I've read it now. It seems an honest attempt to sum up both sides as fairly as possible. Not sure it's 100% accurate, but it's not wildly inaccurate.

Is is the true that "the great majority" of cyclists in the UK wear helmets? It's certainly a very high rate by UK standards, and London seems to be very high (based on cyclists you see on British TV), but I'd assume a "great majority" to be 70+%. Is it that high in the UK as a whole?

HivemindXX

tomasrojo wrote: »

Is is the true that "the great majority" of cyclists in the UK wear helmets? It's certainly a very high rate by UK standards, and London seems to be very high (based on cyclists you see on British TV), but I'd assume a "great majority" to be 70+%. Is it that high in the UK as a whole?

I wondered if maybe there was some ridiculous RSA style safety issue where TV was encouraged to only show cyclists in helmets so as not to create the impression it was safe to go helmet free. In my super scientific survey where I cruised around central London using street view for a couple of minutes 16 out of 21 cyclists were wearing a helmet. So that's around 76%.

I repeated that for Dublin and got 15 out of 23 wearing helmets and that's around 65%. Slightly lower but within the same ballpark. Especially given the error based on my sample size which must be approaching plus or minus as big a number as you like.

I think that might be an interesting area of study for someone. Find two approximately equivalent places and compare helmet usage numbers with fatality numbers somehow taking in to account the number of accidents. If the 'common sense' approach to helmets that they must do some good is right they we should see an inverse correlation between helmet use and number of fatalities per trip or km travelled.

tomasrojo

HivemindXX wrote: »

I wondered if maybe there was some ridiculous RSA style safety issue where TV was encouraged to only show cyclists in helmets so as not to create the impression it was safe to go helmet free.

The BBC had adopted a policy of never showing cyclists not wearing helmets. Someone claimed that they were made to wear one for a radio interview. Not sure that's actually true, but the BBC really has taken bicycle helmets on as a mission, and not just on children's TV, where they're especially assiduous.

HivemindXX wrote: »

Slightly lower but within the same ballpark. Especially given the error based on my sample size which must be approaching plus or minus as big a number as you like.

Yes, pretty big confidence interval, I imagine!

CramCycle

Reanimating peppa pig to include bike helmets, a low in childrens TV. Bad enough with all the fat, incompetent, Daddy jokes.

tomasrojo

CramCycle wrote: »

Reanimating peppa pig to include bike helmets, a low in childrens TV. Bad enough with all the fat, incompetent, Daddy jokes.

I think they were primarily reanimating to include seat belts, so they decided to do the helmets while they were at it. They'd obviously had complaints about both.

.

Chips Lovell

You'd lose your faith in human intelligence, wouldn't you? I mean, what did they think was going to happen?

"Put on your seatbelt there Junior"
"No! Peppa Pig doesn't wear one"
"Ah, you've got me there. Nevermind so"

tomasrojo

Jep Gambardella wrote: »

You'd lose your faith in human intelligence, wouldn't you? I mean, what did they think was going to happen?

"Put on your seatbelt there Junior"
"No! Peppa Pig doesn't wear one"
"Ah, you've got me there. Nevermind so"

IIRC that was exactly the complaint the producers cited! A parent whose child flat out refuesed to wear seat belt because Peppa didn't.

I love Sean nos

tomasrojo wrote: »

IIRC that was exactly the complaint the producers cited! A parent whose child flat out refuesed to wear seat belt because Peppa didn't.

That's easily fixed by telling the story of "Peppa goes through the windscreen".

magicbastarder

'that's not snorting, that's peppa choking on her own blood'.

Chuchote

"Bad Daddy," says Peppa, "Why didn't you make me wear my seatbelt, that's your job."

tomasrojo

Reminds me of a bit on Republic of Telly where 80s Eamon was telling one of the kids to stand up between the seats so he could see the road better.

Someone I know was a child in a large family in 80s, and one of them occasionally travelled in the trunk.

CramCycle

tomasrojo wrote: »

Reminds me of a bit on Republic of Telly where 80s Eamon was telling one of the kids to stand up between the seats so he could see the road better.

Someone I know was a child in a large family in 80s, and one of them occasionally travelled in the trunk.

My cousin and myself were routinely stored in the boot for trips to and from family/work events. I also remember it being common practice if you had a question to undo your seat belt and scoot between the seats so you were closer to the driver.

Chuchote

Trouble with helmets is that they're dull. Not like in France…

https://www.lecyclo.com/velo/securite/casques/enfant-adolescent/casque-velo-enfant-tigre-crazy-safety.html?utm_campaign=25032017-vfconseils&utm_content=18066943688&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Emailvision

CramCycle

Chuchote wrote: »

Trouble with helmets is that they're dull. Not like in France…

TBF I would happily wear that is it were made in my size