Commuting - It's just a short commute. I don't need a helmet...

...Think again!

I've got a fairly short, 9 mile commute. And was just beginning to think, maybe I don't need a helmet - especially on the way home, it's all uphill and relatively slow. Well last night I went down hard, and I'm glad my noggin wasn't nakid.

I was approaching a gas station and a van had partially pulled out into the street but was stopped by heavy traffic. I jigged up a driveway onto the empty sidewalk to ride around the roadblock. Just as I'm maneuvering around a street sign and telephone pole my left barend is snatched by something - HARD! It turns out there is a bare, 1/4 inch anchor cable running vertically straight down into the cement three feet to the inside of the telephone pole. I just didn't see it in the dark, even with two headlights. The handlebars pulled me into the cable, which I struck with my shoulder and outer thigh. Then I am instanly spun around and flung backwards to the cement. I instinctively got a hand out behind me, but I still landed on my butt with such force that I rolled back and bounced my head off the pavement.

I wasn't knocked unconsious, but was pretty slow in getting up. Thank the Good Lord for cell phones, 'cause even in rush hour traffic I was left to figure things out for myself. I was just beginning my ride home and was now getting stiff and sore pretty fast. I wasn't in the mood to try and get back in the saddle, even if that's what they do in Le Tour. Man, I hate calliing my wife to bail me out. At least she knows I'm not playin' if I do make that call.

Lessons learned:
1;Wear the helmet and gloves religiously, evem when you're just cruisin' down to the store. I walked away with a righteous headache. I know for a fact I would have gone to the hospital if I hadn't been wearing a decent helmet.
2;Slow down if you need to use an alternate route which you haven't ridden before - especially at night. This spill wouldn't have happened if I'd been more familiar with that particular stretch of sidewalk. And I'm sure the violence of the crash was directly proportionate to my speed - about 10 or 12 mph. You may not believe in using the sidewalk. It might not even be legal where you live. But next time I need to use it, however temporarily, I'm gonna slow down.
3; Keep a cellphone on you if you have one. Not one person even so much as rolled down the window to shout out if I was OK. I'm also going to get myself a medic alert bracelet - listing my blood type and personal info - in the event I am unable to speak for myself.

My pride is perhaps bruised more than my body. I'll just have to sooth it by living and learning, and with the appreciation that it could have definietly gone worse.

DanO

I've never taken a head hit, but the only time I've hurt my hands have been on short rides where I skipped the gloves. At this point I think I'd rather ride without a helmet than without gloves if I had to make the choice, but in reality I don't want to ride without either.

I use to not wear gloves and my dad said,you'll wish you did the first time you go down on your hands and you will,everybody does.

Glad to hear you're going to be OK. Now get that helmet replaced, since it took a hit. :)

Less than two miles into a ride, I went down hard and had to be airlifted out...If I had not been wearing my helmet, my brains would have been dumped on the side of that road. Distance has nothing to do with it. The asphalt is not softer the closer you are to home.

Wear a Helmet ALWAYS!

If I go a Block to get the kids... the helmet is ON.

You can take a fall in your own drive. anywhere. WEAR IT!

Glad you are ok, but are you REALLY going to ride on the sidewalk again?

I believe that statistically, the closer you are to home the higher the liklihood of an accident. We get into familiar surroundings and let our guard down.

when I got hit by a car last year. I had both my helmet and gloves on. I didn't hit my head, but I used the palm of my hands when I fell down. If I didn't have gloves on I would have had a bloody hand for sure.

So do wear both helmets and gloves. They help protect you. I'll go so far as wear knee cap protectors if you go Mtb.

My commute is only 3.3 miles one way, but for sure I wear a helmet. I live dead smack in Boston so I'm surrounded by cars and oblivious pedestrians...as if walking head down is somehow faster?

Gee, this post doesn't have the usual cast of charachters arguing why wearing a helmet is useless or not effective.
Personally, I can't imaging taking a ride longer than two blocks without a helmet. The only time I don't wear one is when I'm in our cul de sac chatting with a neighbor or just testing a deraileur tune-up. Anything longer than 2 blocks, and the helmet goes on. I don't know how much the helmet helped when a low hanging branch smacked me in the head during a MTB ride, but I didn't feel a thing. My two sons have both taken spills where they landed on their heads with helmets on. Again, I don't know what would have happened, but because they had the helmets on, they were embarrassed but not hurt.
Typically, I wear gloves, but not for protection in a fall, just for riding comfort. If they serve double duty, that's OK too.

Personally, I can't imaging taking a ride longer than two blocks without a helmet. The only time I don't wear one is when I'm in our cul de sac chatting with a neighbor or just testing a deraileur tune-up. Anything longer than 2 blocks, and the helmet goes on. I don't know how much the helmet helped when a low hanging branch smacked me in the head during a MTB ride, but I didn't feel a thing.

So you're somehow safer when within a few blocks of your house or testing mechanical repairs/mods/adjustments? Are you sure that branch didn't do some damage to your reasoning ability? :eek:

Some people bike and wear cool hats and I'd like to join them, but safety is too much of a concern.

Wear a helmet. Period. I'm still dealing with the aftermath of a serious bike accident, from almost 2 years ago. Downhill, on pavement, loose dog, no helmet. Multiple skull fractures, 5 days in a coma, 3 weeks in the hospital, outpatient PT 3 times per week, every week for 3 months. Now it's PT at home twice a week, every week, most likely for the rest of my life. Head injuries are not something you want to deal with. Ever.

I'm glad you're ok. That's really the most important thing here. Thank goodness.

I always wear my medic-alert bracelet when riding. I don't always wear it on a day-to-day basis, but I always wear it while on my bike. I had cancer a couple of times and the surgeries/radiation/chemo left me without the ability to make hormones. If I'm ever unconscious, the docs and paramedics need to know that. Blood type is secondary for me - they can always give O-neg blood, washed platelets, cryo. But they'll need to give me a ton of other stuff that normal people don't need - steroids, hormones, etc.

Some people think it's paranoid, but those people don't have my kind of luck.

So you're somehow safer when within a few blocks of your house or testing mechanical repairs/mods/adjustments? Are you sure that branch didn't do some damage to your reasoning ability? :eek:


I think he's got some point. When I'm testing an adjustment, I'm usually A) not going over 12mph, B) nowhere near traffic, and C) riding as if my bike will fall out from under me.

Also, I don't wear my helmet when riding to another apartment in my complex, something I do often. I never get going quickly, and I know the terrain well enough to do it blind. If there were no cars, anyway.

An anti-helmet geek would point out that you can't prove that without the helmet you would have injured yourself, but the helmet certainly prevented you from experiencing a ton of pain.

Pain prevention is a good enough reason for me to wear a helmet.

I do wear a helmet and gloves... but what about the days when we were kids and NOBODY wore a helmet. We all did ok....
That's just something that goes thru my head. Discuss.

I also ride a motorcyle and wear leather gloves/jacket. 30mph on a bike and 30mph on a motorcycle is the same thing. But we dont wear leather on a bicycle. Something else that goes through my head....

You avg 30 on your bike,you go. We were riding at a few mph slower when we were kids and dont you learn from your mistakes. Stupit kids vs smarter adults.

Better to be safe then stupit.

I'm also a motorcyclist. When I ride the motorcycle I wear a $1200 set of custom leathers, $300 boots, $200 gloves and a $500 helmet.

One time I was riding one of my recumbents down a steep hill and hit just short of 60MPH. I was wearing shorts and a jersey and a bicycle helmet and gloves. It occurred to me that if I had a blowout or something else caused me to get off at 60MPH that I would leave a long, wide red stripe on the road.

I think he's got some point. When I'm testing an adjustment, I'm usually A) not going over 12mph, B) nowhere near traffic, and C) riding as if my bike will fall out from under me.

Also, I don't wear my helmet when riding to another apartment in my complex, something I do often. I never get going quickly, and I know the terrain well enough to do it blind. If there were no cars, anyway.

But the thing is that it's supposedly more likely that you'll have an accident within 1 mile of your home. In addition, normal 'testing' procedures for anything usually involve more safety precautions, whether it be a software programming change or something mechanical like a bike, because...well you are testing a change! If wearing a helmet is about safety and mitigating risk, it seems to make sense that you would wear it in these situtations when the risk of a fall is greater. Remember, these little things are not designed to protect you from a major impact, as with an automobile, but rather to protect you from those minor crashes and falls which are far more likely to happen.

Just to set the record straight, I rarely wear a helmet, but this time of year is when I DO wear one, since the risks of going down are much greater. How one assesses and mitigates their risk is a personal decision, I was just curious why roccobike considered those situtations as 'safe' enough not to wear one.

I had an accident two years ago where I was unexpectidly flipped over the handelbars and slammed flat on my back, thanks to the helmet I was wearing I only saw a shower of sparks inside my head.
My job for the last fifteen years has been to manage a rehab facility for a brain injured patient. Imagine having your whole future altered (and not in a good way) then spending eighteen years (so far) trying to recover from an accident.
No one can say that a helmet will absoutly prevent a brain injury just as no one can say a condom will prevent a pregnancy, but your chances of avoiding both go way up if you use the protection. Is there really that much of a downside to being just a little cautious?
I guess the reason some people don't like helmets has to do with personal freedom, but getting a brain injury and having to have someone else wipe your butt when you take a crap isn't exactly what I call personal freedom and having yourself become a finacial burden on society because you can't work to support yourself isn't personal freedom either.

I recently forgot to reconnect my brakes and went down the hill outside my apartment and broke a fence and hit a light pole. I broke my helmet and my frame (trek 520) and my right knuckle is still tender (may have broken it). I'm glad I always wear a helmet no matter how far I'm going. I only commute about a mile or less to class and wear my helmet. It probably saved my life.

It only takes once for the risk to be great. Do you want to take a chance of putting yourself upon somebody to watch you as you vegatate?

No one can say that a helmet will absoutly prevent a brain injury just as no one can say a condom will prevent a pregnancy, but your chances of avoiding both go way up if you use the protection. Is there really that much of a downside to being just a little cautious?
Well, yes! Every time I stretch a condom over my head I get really bad headaches and find it difficult to breathe. Perhaps I am not understanding the method.

Glad to hear you're going to be OK. Now get that helmet replaced, since it took a hit. :)

+1. Just to reinforce the message, the helmet is designed to absorb force by compressing the material - once the helmet has experienced an impact, it's no longer "the man it used to be", it's done and needs to be replaced. It won't protect you in a second impact.

Have a brief ceremony, raise a glass in toast to it, bury it in the backyard, but replace it and throw it away.
Don't give it to your buddy who needs a spare helmet.

Some manufacturers have a program to issue replacement helmets for "used" helmets, for a small charge within 2 years of purchase, but you may have to have a receipt.


http://www.thirdwave-websites.com/bike/040914_re_enact.JPG

All pain and injury aside consider the legal aspects of not wearing a helmet. Any half-assed lawyer could argue that his client who drove into you can't be held responsible for most or all of your injuries because you knowingly accepted the risk of injuries when you failed to wear a helmet. A $30 one works about as well as a $200 one, it just doesn't look as cool and may keep your noggin warmer in winter.

In two ocasions I saw people wounded after falling from a bicycle. The first guy I saw live in a Thriatlon competion he had an helmet and fell at 50 kph because of a "sleeping policeman" on the street. I flew over the handlebar, landed on the back part of the shoulder and right after that the head banged violently on the road. He slided on the rode for a while, the skin on half of his back was gone, but his head was full operational. The second case, was a friend that was riding at high speed without an helmet. He hit a car the passed a stop signal without stoping and he broke bones in 21 places, broke his jaw and even teeth jumped off. His head was really mistreated and he was in coma for several days. He survived and the bumps on his head and jaw took a couple of years to disappear.

Comedian Steven Wright said it best. "They say most accidents happen within 2 miles of the home, thats why I moved".

Comedian Steven Wright said it best. "They say most accidents happen within 2 miles of the home, thats why I moved".

:roflmao: :roflmao:

Comedian Steven Wright said it best. "They say most accidents happen within 2 miles of the home, thats why I moved".That, or just try to drive as fast as possible until you're past the 2-mile mark :)

But the thing is that it's supposedly more likely that you'll have an accident within 1 mile of your home.

Statistically yes. And where are you most frequently when riding/driving ? Close to home. ;o)

1977 i was involved in a car accident (in a vw vs telephone pole). after the tbi (traumatic brain injury), 32 day coma, and 1.5 years in rehab learning to tell time and read, walk, talk all over again, i only have minimal right side paralysis,a low form of dyslexia, and not so good short term memory. thank God i was age 17 and indestructable! i started to re-ride (with renewed commitment) while waiting for my dr to re-instate my driving license. my dad bought me my first helmet, no one else was wearing helmets in 1979 that i knew of. (remember the huge white Bell helmet with read stripes?) i felt doofy, but obliged.
i have been hit several times since, have had many helmets, nothing serious. the last time i was hit though, in 1999, i was transported to local hospital by ambulance. my Bell Image Pro was detroyed, the police stated that "if you did not have the helmet on, you probably would have been removed by another way". 2 years of chiropractor and sports-medicine, i'm pretty much back in the saddle (just topped 2500 miles this year).
spin safe, where your helmet, and fasten your safety belt...just do it!

Better to be safe then stupit.

You mispelled 'stupid' ;)

LOL - sorry - just HAD to!

Bottomfeeder, I am really glad to hear you are ok! Keep wearing that helmet even it it makes you look stupit :)

I was less then a 1/4 mile into a ride when my chain broke.

It happened as I was standing on the pedal to power through a turn. When the chain snapped the sudden loss of tension in pedaling caused me to fall into my handlebars causing them to twist and lock to one side. this pitched me over the front (I think) and I landed on my head and back.

I was not going very fast and no one else was around me. The fall broke my helmet almost in 2. I was alright, just sore for a few days.

Now I know how important helmets can be

You mispelled 'stupid' ;)

LOL - sorry - just HAD to!

Bottomfeeder, I am really glad to hear you are ok! Keep wearing that helmet even it it makes you look stupit :)

LMAO. I'm heading to the mirror right now.

I was less then a 1/4 mile into a ride when my chain broke.

It happened as I was standing on the pedal to power through a turn. When the chain snapped the sudden loss of tension in pedaling caused me to fall into my handlebars...

Dang! Unfortunately that reminds me of the only other time I had to use my helmet. My chain didn't snap, but it fell off while I was accelerating over some broken pavement. I was not prepared to support my weight on my arms and fell forward, striking my chin on the handlebar... knocked me out. Once I blacked out I fell to the side, unable to reach out and brace my fall. I hit the side of my head.

That time I did get a free ride to the hospital. A couple driving along side in a car saw me slump down and fall off the bike and stopped. They thought I'd simply passed out while riding and called 911 before they even got out of the car. They were really nice. They urged me to just sit in the shade and wait for the paramedics.

As troubling as it is to sight a second incident, at least I walked away from the last one.

DanO

I was less then a 1/4 mile into a ride when my chain broke.

It happened as I was standing on the pedal to power through a turn. When the chain snapped the sudden loss of tension in pedaling caused me to fall into my handlebars causing them to twist and lock to one side. this pitched me over the front (I think) and I landed on my head and back.

I was not going very fast and no one else was around me. The fall broke my helmet almost in 2. I was alright, just sore for a few days.
I was just finishing up a mtn ride with some friends on a super-easy loop. We were riding 6 across on a wide dirt road with nothing in front of us. One of the lasses decided to pick up the pace, and I threw it in the big ring to go after her. I stood, cranked hard on the pedals a couple of times, completely compressed my suspension fork and dropped the chain just as I went for my third stomp on the pedals. My weight shifted forward, the handlebar turned and I augered into the ground at almost 40 km/h. I hit with my shoulder and head, removing plenty o' skin from my left arm and cracking my helmet. The bike shot straight up into the air 15-20 feet. If I wouldn't have been wearing a lid, I would have been knocked out for sure, and maybe missing part of my face.

If I leave the house without a helmet, I am completely paranoid. It's a surreal feeling, like something is terribly wrong - that something is missing. The next closest feeling might be walking around at work without pants and underwear on. Breezy.

Now it's PT at home twice a week, every week, most likely for the rest of my life.
Thanks for sharing. I'm very sorry you had to learn that lesson the hard way! :(

To all reading: Also remember that head injuries result not only from your speed, but the distance from your head to the pavement. That is a long way down even from a standstill.

I have replaced two helmets. Most recently I was making a right turn that I have made hundreds of times, in broad daylight, with a green light and nobody around me. It was my commute home. I was literally right around the corner from my house. Then I hit an oil slick in mid-turn that was impossible to see against the black pavement. I didn't slide out like when you take a corner too fast or hit gravel... I was whipped into the pavement and took the majority of the impact with my head. I remember a motorist who stopped to help me saying that he watched my head bounce off the ground by about a foot.

My helmet was crushed on the right side and I ended up with a mild concussion and a very sore neck. Had I not been wearing the helmet, the ambulance could have just as easily gone to the morgue rather than the emergency room.

When I went to buy a replacement, I picked out a really nice one with lots of ventilation. Another customer walking by commented how expensive helmets were. I replied, "My brains are worth at least $100." That seemed to satisfy him.

So you're somehow safer when within a few blocks of your house or testing mechanical repairs/mods/adjustments? Are you sure that branch didn't do some damage to your reasoning ability? :eek:


I am guilty of the same thing... we feel comfortable in our home neighborhoods and like to think we control what happens around the castle.

Couple weeks ago I did a bit on my derailuer and just jumped on the bike without even shoes on. The neighborhood kids went ballistic and yelled at me to get some shoes on... it was quite funny.