View Poll Results: Helmet wearing habits?
I've never worn a bike helmet
178
10.66%
I used to wear a helmet, but have stopped
94
5.63%
I've always worn a helmet
648
38.80%
I didn't wear a helmet, but now do
408
24.43%
I sometimes wear a helmet depending on the conditions
342
20.48%
Voters: 1670. You may not vote on this poll
The helmet thread
#1201
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I might remind everyone that this is a cycling forum. We really dont care about what happens to people walking riding horses skiing digging wells or playing tiddley winks.
#1202
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The population studies of helmet effectiveness in the wake of mandatory helmet laws are useful to help break out actual vs perceived risk. In such cases helmet use has increased substantially without a corresponding decrease in fatalities. So, we know that simply increasing helmet use doesn't have a significant effect on fatalities.
If you look at the Netherlands, they have low helmet use and still have relatively low (per hour or per mile) fatalities compared to the U.S. Many people balk at such a comparison saying that the Netherlands is special because they have legal protections, facilities, and a strong cycling culture that results in good safe riding practice. That would be correct, but nonetheless, it shows that widespread helmet use is not a precondition for safe cycling. Other factors are more important.
So, while it is true that in the U.S. not using a helmet is correlated with bicycle fatalities. It doesn't appear to be a causal relationship.
Speedo
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My own personal arguement is based on part fact and part personal belief. Fact: A helmet reduces risk of injury or death. I say reduces, not prevents. Anyone who disagrees can look up any number of these facts anywhere on the internet or in written publication. It may be a 1% risk reduction or a 100% reduction in any circumstances, whether you are a cyclist, horse rider, parajumper or whatever. Belief: Its my belief that you cannot put a price on human life. If I spend 20 bucks on a helmet or 200 bucks, it doesnt matter, its a price in my opinion worth paying for that 1% or 100% reduction of possible injury or death.
None of us can predict whats going to happen a mile or a year down the road and whilst you may be a world class cyclist or a weekly commuter with all the skill of a 2yr old, accidents happen whether its your fault or not. For that reason, Ill spend my money on a helmet over a titanium bolt that saves me 9 grams anyday. Rant over.
None of us can predict whats going to happen a mile or a year down the road and whilst you may be a world class cyclist or a weekly commuter with all the skill of a 2yr old, accidents happen whether its your fault or not. For that reason, Ill spend my money on a helmet over a titanium bolt that saves me 9 grams anyday. Rant over.
#1204
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Great. I don't have any helmets that show signs of "serious contact with solid objects". Should that be a reminder that safety gear is unnecessary?
#1205
Senior Member
I tell ya what helmet supporters. I don't have a helmet to wear. If someone would like to help me in protecting myself and in spending the word of helmet advocacy, heres what I'll do.
Send me one size large helmet, cause I have a big head, and not only will I gladly wear it but I will also tell others I know and meet about the importance of wearing a helmet while cycling. Otherwise,I may never buy one.
Send me one size large helmet, cause I have a big head, and not only will I gladly wear it but I will also tell others I know and meet about the importance of wearing a helmet while cycling. Otherwise,I may never buy one.
#1206
----
I tell ya what helmet supporters. I don't have a helmet to wear. If someone would like to help me in protecting myself and in spending the word of helmet advocacy, heres what I'll do.
Send me one size large helmet, cause I have a big head, and not only will I gladly wear it but I will also tell others I know and meet about the importance of wearing a helmet while cycling. Otherwise,I may never buy one.
Send me one size large helmet, cause I have a big head, and not only will I gladly wear it but I will also tell others I know and meet about the importance of wearing a helmet while cycling. Otherwise,I may never buy one.
#1207
Senior Member
Check with your Health Care plan. Mine provides them, many health care plans do- check the fine print on your plan. If that doesn't work for you and you honestly cannot afford to purchase a helmet check with local bike advocacy groups and clubs, many of them have give away plans as do some municipalities- though usually for children.
Last edited by Drummerboy1975; 01-24-12 at 08:50 PM.
#1208
Senior Member
There is a strong correlation between non-helmet use and fatalities. There is also a strong correlation between alcohol use, wrong way cycling, riding at night without lights, and various other behaviors and fatalities. The question is which of these perceived risky behaviors carries actual risk.
The population studies of helmet effectiveness in the wake of mandatory helmet laws are useful to help break out actual vs perceived risk. In such cases helmet use has increased substantially without a corresponding decrease in fatalities. So, we know that simply increasing helmet use doesn't have a significant effect on fatalities.
If you look at the Netherlands, they have low helmet use and still have relatively low (per hour or per mile) fatalities compared to the U.S. Many people balk at such a comparison saying that the Netherlands is special because they have legal protections, facilities, and a strong cycling culture that results in good safe riding practice. That would be correct, but nonetheless, it shows that widespread helmet use is not a precondition for safe cycling. Other factors are more important.
So, while it is true that in the U.S. not using a helmet is correlated with bicycle fatalities. It doesn't appear to be a causal relationship.
Speedo
The population studies of helmet effectiveness in the wake of mandatory helmet laws are useful to help break out actual vs perceived risk. In such cases helmet use has increased substantially without a corresponding decrease in fatalities. So, we know that simply increasing helmet use doesn't have a significant effect on fatalities.
If you look at the Netherlands, they have low helmet use and still have relatively low (per hour or per mile) fatalities compared to the U.S. Many people balk at such a comparison saying that the Netherlands is special because they have legal protections, facilities, and a strong cycling culture that results in good safe riding practice. That would be correct, but nonetheless, it shows that widespread helmet use is not a precondition for safe cycling. Other factors are more important.
So, while it is true that in the U.S. not using a helmet is correlated with bicycle fatalities. It doesn't appear to be a causal relationship.
Speedo
Otherwise, the correlation may be specious.
#1209
Senior Member
... None of us can predict whats going to happen a mile or a year down the road and whilst you may be a world class cyclist or a weekly commuter with all the skill of a 2yr old, accidents happen whether its your fault or not. For that reason, Ill spend my money on a helmet over a titanium bolt that saves me 9 grams anyday. Rant over.
#1210
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I guess I'd want to know how many bike crashes they have in the netherlands, and what types of bike crashes the have, compared to the US -- speed of the bike and any other vehicles involved in the crash, specific nature of bodily impacts sustained during the crash -- that sort of thing.
Otherwise, the correlation may be specious.
Otherwise, the correlation may be specious.
Speedo
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And based on your logic, would you jump from a plane without a parachute based on that it only reduces the risk of plummeting to the ground rather than prevents it?
Last edited by irishbill76; 01-24-12 at 11:33 PM.
#1214
Senior Member
as much as I hate helmet/seat belt analogies - here goes...
if you don't wear a helmet on the stairs, but but do on the bike, it'd be like putting your seat belt on for a drive, taking it off after a block, continuing on with your drive sans-belt for many more blocks, only to put it back on for the last block.
Does that make a lot of sense?
if a parachute wasn't reliable enough to prevent hitting the ground without an injury I wasn't willing to accept, I wouldn't jump
if you don't wear a helmet on the stairs, but but do on the bike, it'd be like putting your seat belt on for a drive, taking it off after a block, continuing on with your drive sans-belt for many more blocks, only to put it back on for the last block.
Does that make a lot of sense?
if a parachute wasn't reliable enough to prevent hitting the ground without an injury I wasn't willing to accept, I wouldn't jump
#1215
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In the US, according to the CDC, falls are the leading cause of traumatic brain injury:
https://www.cdc.gov/traumaticbraininjury/causes.html
https://www.cdc.gov/traumaticbraininj...ernalcause.pdf
But what speculation? The speculation we're mostly seeing in this thread is vague claims about what helmets are designed to or actually have done: it's either things along the lines of "a helmet prevented a head injury when I fell" or "helmets are only designed for zero-speed crashes like a pedestrian falling." The former can't be scientifically proven without an A/B test--which is obviously not possible or desirable--and the latter has been debunked in detail here by actually referring to the testing standards that state what helmets are designed for and how they are tested.
Falls continued to be the leading cause of TBI (35.2%) in the United States. Falls cause half (50%) of the TBIs among children aged 0 to 14 years and 61% of all TBIs among adults aged 65 years and older.
https://www.cdc.gov/traumaticbraininj...ernalcause.pdf
The focus here is on cycling, but that's part of the argument; placing the risk of cycling out of context. Without context, speculation is worthless
#1216
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I guess I'd want to know how many bike crashes they have in the netherlands, and what types of bike crashes the have, compared to the US -- speed of the bike and any other vehicles involved in the crash, specific nature of bodily impacts sustained during the crash -- that sort of thing.
Otherwise, the correlation may be specious.
Otherwise, the correlation may be specious.
Dutch cycling casualty statistics and the measures that have affected them:
https://www.swov.nl/rapport/Factsheet...S_Cyclists.pdf
and from the same Institute:
One third (32%) of the seriously injured
cyclists that are admitted to hospital are diagnosed
with head or brain injury. Approximately
three-quarters of the head or brain injuries are
caused by crashes that do not involve motorized
traffic...
Research has shown that a bicycle helmet offers
protection against sustaining serious head or
brain injury in crashes. The most reliable estimates
indicate that at speeds of up to 20 km/h
helmets reduce the risk of head injury by 42%,
the risk of brain injury by 53%, and the risk of
facial injury by 17%, whereas they increase the
risk of neck injury by 32%. These estimates are
partly based on research carried out in countries
like the United States and Australia, where
standards for bicycle helmets are stricter than
they are in Europe and can offer protection at
higher impact speeds.
cyclists that are admitted to hospital are diagnosed
with head or brain injury. Approximately
three-quarters of the head or brain injuries are
caused by crashes that do not involve motorized
traffic...
Research has shown that a bicycle helmet offers
protection against sustaining serious head or
brain injury in crashes. The most reliable estimates
indicate that at speeds of up to 20 km/h
helmets reduce the risk of head injury by 42%,
the risk of brain injury by 53%, and the risk of
facial injury by 17%, whereas they increase the
risk of neck injury by 32%. These estimates are
partly based on research carried out in countries
like the United States and Australia, where
standards for bicycle helmets are stricter than
they are in Europe and can offer protection at
higher impact speeds.
and, similarly,
One third of the cyclists who are admitted to hospital with serious injury after a road crash are diagnosed with head or brain injury. Approximately three-quarters of the head and brain injuries among cyclists are caused by crashes that do not involve motorized traffic; as many as nine out of ten young children who sustain head/brain injury, do so in crashes not involving motor vehicles. These are mostly cyclist-only crashes. This type of crash is difficult to prevent, but it is possible to limit the severity of the head and brain injury by wearing a bicycle helmet. According to the most recent and sound estimate, the risk of sustaining head injury is reduced by as much as 42% when a good bicycle helmet is worn correctly; the risk of sustaining brain injury is then reduced by 53%.
Research has shown that a bicycle helmet provides protection against serious head and brain injury. The best estimates that are presently available indicate that the use of bicycle helmets decreases the risk proportion of sustaining or not sustaining head injury by 42%, that of sustaining or not sustaining brain injury by 53%, that of sustaining or not sustaining facial injury by17%, whereas the odds ratio for sustaining or not sustaining does on the other hand increase by 32%. These effect estimates are partly based on American and Australian studies, countries that use stricter standards for bicycle helmets than Europe.
An argument that is often heard against compulsory helmet use is that it would reduce the use of bicycles. International research indicates that this effect sometimes occurs, especially during the first couple of years after the introduction of compulsory helmet use. The long-term effects, as well as the significance of these findings for the Netherlands are unknown.
All in all, the SWOV concludes that a bicycle helmet is an effective means of protecting cyclists from sustaining head and brain injury in a fall with a bicycle.
An argument that is often heard against compulsory helmet use is that it would reduce the use of bicycles. International research indicates that this effect sometimes occurs, especially during the first couple of years after the introduction of compulsory helmet use. The long-term effects, as well as the significance of these findings for the Netherlands are unknown.
All in all, the SWOV concludes that a bicycle helmet is an effective means of protecting cyclists from sustaining head and brain injury in a fall with a bicycle.
#1217
Senior Member
as much as I hate helmet/seat belt analogies - here goes...
if you don't wear a helmet on the stairs, but but do on the bike, it'd be like putting your seat belt on for a drive, taking it off after a block, continuing on with your drive sans-belt for many more blocks, only to put it back on for the last block.
Does that make a lot of sense?
if a parachute wasn't reliable enough to prevent hitting the ground without an injury I wasn't willing to accept, I wouldn't jump
if you don't wear a helmet on the stairs, but but do on the bike, it'd be like putting your seat belt on for a drive, taking it off after a block, continuing on with your drive sans-belt for many more blocks, only to put it back on for the last block.
Does that make a lot of sense?
if a parachute wasn't reliable enough to prevent hitting the ground without an injury I wasn't willing to accept, I wouldn't jump
#1218
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This thread would benefit from refraining from these diversionary, ad hominem arguments that speak to (or slyly attempt to belittle) a particular person's behavioral choices, and instead keep the focus on bike helmets and cycling. If the stance is pro-choice, why not let the other guy be and not try to alter or undermine his beliefs or practices?
#1219
Senior Member
Lets be clear (and I'm sure you understand my position on this), a helmet can help reduce or mitigate minor injury. I would think a reasonable person would consider "scalp damage" within that definition
But what speculation? ...
Risk is an inescapable fact of life. Managing it is the goal. Key to risk management is placing risk in context.
It's not that something can happen, it's how likely it is to happen.
Risks are almost always a matter of probabilities. Unless someone can tell me what level of risk is associated with a given activity, they have no business telling me it is risky. Once I understand the risk in context, then I can determine how I want to manage it.
Making a risk management decision without an idea of its context can lead to increasing that risk
Last edited by closetbiker; 01-25-12 at 08:08 AM.
#1221
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Not sure how we got to the topic of scalp injury, but here's how the CDC defines TBI:
https://www.cdc.gov/TraumaticBrainInjury/index.html
i.e., more than a mere scalp laceration, but an injury that adversely affects normal brain function. According to the CDC, the leading cause of these injuries in the US is falls.
The problem is when people imply, contrary to fact (see the quotes and links in my posts over the last few pages), that helmets are only designed to or capable of mitigating minor injury. Both the standards themselves and at least some expert opinion speaks of helmets reducing the chance not merely of minor scrapes, but of "serious head or brain injury" or even death.
Well, there have been countless statistics posted in this thread suggesting levels of risk associated with cycling; it's not exactly terra incognita It's up to you to decide how to proceed. If you want to compare cycling with walking, stairs, bathrooms, etc. before deciding, great, but that's ultimately not the real issue here: viz., what are your chances of hitting your head while cycling, how can a helmet help, what laws should regulate helmets, etc. It's not about whether you or I think we should wear one or about trying to convince someone else that their personal thought process in adopting helmet use is flawed. That is indeed diversionary.
A TBI is caused by a bump, blow or jolt to the head or a penetrating head injury that disrupts the normal function of the brain. Not all blows or jolts to the head result in a TBI. The severity of a TBI may range from “mild,” i.e., a brief change in mental status or consciousness to “severe,” i.e., an extended period of unconsciousness or amnesia after the injury. The majority of TBIs that occur each year are concussions or other forms of mild TBI.
i.e., more than a mere scalp laceration, but an injury that adversely affects normal brain function. According to the CDC, the leading cause of these injuries in the US is falls.
Lets be clear (and I'm sure you understand my position on this), a helmet can help reduce or mitigate minor injury. I would think a reasonable person would consider "scalp damage" can fall within that definition
the speculation of risk.
Risk is an inescapable fact of life. Managing it is the goal. Key to risk management is placing risk in context.
It's not that something can happen, it's how likely that is to happen. Risks are almost always a matter of probabilities. Unless someone can tell me what level of risk is associated with a given activity, they have no business telling me it is risky. Once I understand the risk in context, then I can determine how I want to manage it.
Risk is an inescapable fact of life. Managing it is the goal. Key to risk management is placing risk in context.
It's not that something can happen, it's how likely that is to happen. Risks are almost always a matter of probabilities. Unless someone can tell me what level of risk is associated with a given activity, they have no business telling me it is risky. Once I understand the risk in context, then I can determine how I want to manage it.
Last edited by Six-Shooter; 01-25-12 at 08:26 AM.
#1222
Senior Member
I tell ya what helmet supporters. I don't have a helmet to wear. If someone would like to help me in protecting myself and in spending the word of helmet advocacy, heres what I'll do.
Send me one size large helmet, cause I have a big head, and not only will I gladly wear it but I will also tell others I know and meet about the importance of wearing a helmet while cycling. Otherwise,I may never buy one.
Send me one size large helmet, cause I have a big head, and not only will I gladly wear it but I will also tell others I know and meet about the importance of wearing a helmet while cycling. Otherwise,I may never buy one.
PS: reports of the helmet I'll ship to you not helping you on a regular basis will be discounted by my own observations of the times I've not worn a helmet and not died. What's the point of this exercise?
Last edited by mconlonx; 01-25-12 at 08:53 AM.
#1223
Senior Member
While I'm more than willing to grant your argument credence, by the same logic, why should a study or report regarding helmet use where there is a MHL in a place, half a world and culture away, have any relevance in NYC reportage?
#1225
Senior Member
How many potholes or other instances of subtandard repair/maintenance caused by motor vehicles that might contribute to a TBI injury do you encounter on stairway? In a shower?