Study finds wearing a helmet attracts cars to cyclists

[djborisyeltsin]

http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?articleId=778EF0AB-E7F2-99DF-3594A60E4D9A76B2&chanId=sa013&modsrc=most_popular

[rando]

"If you really want the greatest passing distance, you should wobble down the road," looking as inept as possible, he adds.
:roflmao:

[maddyfish]

I know I really notice the difference when I ride with a woman, much more room is given.

[deputyjones]

I know I really notice the difference when I ride with a woman, much more room is given.

http://www.bluecollarmtb.com/images/partner.jpg

[pj7]

I just love those helmets-attract-cars tests. They all have the same conclusion but none of them have any form of control. In order to perform the test correctly and acheive unbiased and real results you'd need to use the exact same cyclist, the exact same road, and the exact same drivers at the same time of day while putting them under the exact same level of stress and awareness for both the control test and the variable test.
Until that is done the data collected from these tests is about as useless as tits on a Mule. (a mule can not produce offspring for those who don't know)

[closetbiker]

Randy Swart, founder of the Bicycle Helmet Safety Institute (BHSI), says that studies such as Walker's run the risk of misleading cyclists as to the effectiveness of helmets.

:roflmao:

Dorothy Robinson, a patron of the Bicycle Helmet Research Foundation and a senior statistician at the University of New England in Armidale, Australia, published a 2006 review article in the BMJ (British Medical Journal) ...The newly instituted (MH) laws, she found, did not have a significant effect on bicycle accidents resulting in head injuries... Her conclusion was "helmets are not designed for forces often encountered in collisions with motor vehicles"

Maybe Randy Swart is doing the same thing?

Walker... notes that when it comes to riding in traffic, motorists are the real problem.

[darksiderising]

The problem with all of these claims about how riding without a helmet is actually safer is that they all view accidents as so "black and white". It's always "you're more likely to be hit if you wear a helmet." While this may (or may not) be true, you're more likely to die if you are hit without a helmet. You can fix a broken arm, but you can't fix a broken dome.

Protect your dome.

[pj7]

I don't wear a helmet to protect myself from brain injury. I know that brain injury (a large percentage of them) results from your brain becoming traumatized by the impact of it with the inside of your skull and I don't see how a helmet is going to stop that. People receive brain injuries in automobiles while they are wearing their seatbelts and their head does not come into contact with anything during the crash.
I wear a helmet because it will protect everything on the outside. It will likely help keep my skull from cracking when my head comes into contact with something hard and it will definately prevent the flesh being peeled back from my crown in the case of a skid.
Anything else it provides me is a bonus (a visor to keep the sun out, a place to mount a light, a way to knock tree branches out of my way, etc).

[closetbiker]

... you're more likely to die if you are hit without a helmet. You can fix a broken arm, but you can't fix a broken dome.

Protect your dome.

Everyones entitled to their opinion, but I'm going with Ms. Robinson on this one. She's done the work.

[ralph12]

Until that is done the data collected from these tests is about as useless as tits on a Donkey. (a donkey can not produce offspring for those who don't know)

No, no. You're thinking of a mule.

[pj7]

No, no. You're thinking of a mule.
Thank you for the correction, it was my fingers getting ahead of my thinking. Breeding a Mare with a Jack gives us a Mule, thanks, I'll edit my post so as to not cause confusion.

[blonduathlongrl]

I know I really notice the difference when I ride with a woman, much more room is given.
maybe you noticed that I however didnt. I can tell you that no grace is giving to me on my bike and my opinion on this study is that I do not agree. Most drivers cant even care to look out for cyclists, never mind taking the time paying attention to see if they do or do not wear a helmet!

[darksiderising]

I don't wear a helmet to protect myself from brain injury. I know that brain injury (a large percentage of them) results from your brain becoming traumatized by the impact of it with the inside of your skull and I don't see how a helmet is going to stop that.

Yeah, good thing dampening of impact forces doesn't help anything.

[2manybikes]

This study is just like that one...............

I always carry my swiss army kinfe.

I have never seen polar bears nearby.

So..... swiss army knives keep polar bears away.

[darksiderising]

real life: http://bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=297599

would you look at that...

[Dahon.Steve]

If you want more space with the helmet on, you'll need to buy one of these geek flags. If the study used one of these flags, the figures would have been much different.

In addition, getting hit from behind by close drivers is not really killing most cyclists. His assumption that if you don't wear a helmet, the cars coming from behind will give you more room thus increasing your safty. However, the real danger come from car doors, left and right hooks where not having a helmet will not give you any advantage.

http://www.osubookstore.com/MerchItem.asp?CatalogGroupID=200&CatalogItemID=2473&Big=False&XO=False

[darksiderising]

...real danger come from car doors, left and right hooks where not having a helmet will not give you any advantage.

Nailed it.

[pj7]

Yeah, good thing dampening of impact forces doesn't help anything.
I smoke too!
And I run with scisors!!

[darksiderising]

I smoke too!
And I run with scisors!!
Did you hear about the sequal to "My Big Fat Greek Wedding?" It's called "My Big Fat Troll Wedding."

If you want to make the lame argument that because we all do dangerous things anyways, there is no point in wearing a helmet to protect us from other dangerous thing, then try to justify it.

[huffergoat]

When I hit something the flying through the air bit is quite fun but the sudden stop can hurt. Somehow its always my head that makes contact first. I have cracked or smashed four helmets in the last few years, had the occasional sore bits- neck, arms, hips but walked away every time. I never ride without a helmet. You can trot out any statistics and surveys you like. A helmet has saved me from a lot of damage several times.

[kjmillig]

I drink milk every morning. A young, sexy woman hasn't hit on me in years. Therefore drinking milk repels young, sexy women.:D (couldn't resist putting in my $.02)

[pj7]

Did you hear about the sequal to "My Big Fat Greek Wedding?" It's called "My Big Fat Troll Wedding."

If you want to make the lame argument that because we all do dangerous things anyways, there is no point in wearing a helmet to protect us from other dangerous thing, then try to justify it.
No, I was trying to make the point that this is why *I* wear a helmet and you decided to take a sarcastic shot at me.
So I just replied with a just as worthless post to counter it. did you really think I didn't take into account the dampening aid of the impact that a helmet has? Do you know if I have any sort of medical condition that could cause brain trama in me by the slightest so a helmet would not aid me in an impact anyways? Did you take into account that I just might have nothing to live for and might be welcoming death? No. I just posted to show you that I don't live my life worrying about death. There isa difference between living a life and avoiding death.

If I were trolling you'd know it because I am one hell of a fisherman!

[darksiderising]

I apologize, pj7, for not understanding your intent. It seemed apparent to me (but not you) that you were failing to recognize the importance the helmet has in reducing the blunt force impact that many objects might create when striking the head.

[pj7]

I apologize, pj7, for not understanding your intent. It seemed apparent to me (but not you) that you were failing to recognize the importance the helmet has in reducing the blunt force impact that many objects might create when striking the head.
Apology accepted bud. And I do know the benefits of wearing a helmet. I always wear mine and make sure my child and wife do as well.

[bragi]

I'm a bit sceptical about helmets -after all, they're little more than bits of styrofoam- but I always wear one anyway, because they're way better than nothing. They won't save you if you're run down by a semi, but if you ride drunk and ride into a curb, they may be just the thing...

[donnamb]

I wear one. I'm missing a piece of my skull, and so the helmet seems like a good idea for my head. I did observe interesting behavior on the part of motorists when my mom visited me, though. She refused to wear a helmet and rode around town with my brother and me on an old 3 speed. I have never been given the kind of courtesy and passing space on any road that I did when my mom was riding. It could have been her lack of sureness and confidence, it could have been seeing her gray hair without any helmet over them, or it could have been her pleasant disposition. I really don't know, but I did give serious consideration to making her stay in Portland and accompany me on all my commute rides to work. :D

[pj7]

I wear one. I'm missing a piece of my skull, and so the helmet seems like a good idea for my head. I did observe interesting behavior on the part of motorists when my mom visited me, though. She refused to wear a helmet and rode around town with my brother and me on an old 3 speed. I have never been given the kind of courtesy and passing space on any road that I did when my mom was riding. It could have been her lack of sureness and confidence, it could have been seeing her gray hair without any helmet over them, or it could have been her pleasant disposition. I really don't know, but I did give serious consideration to making her stay in Portland and accompany me on all my commute rides to work. :D
Your mom came from Detroit to Portland and you let her come back??
Shame on you!!

[donnamb]

Your mom came from Detroit to Portland and you let her come back??
Shame on you!!
My stepdad would be lost without her.

[pj7]

My stepdad would be lost without her.
Easy solution... move the whole family there ;)
I never did ask you, what made you move out there anyhow? As if I don't know the answer already *ahem* Detroit *ahem*

[darksiderising]

Some data that needed to be collected in addition to the stuff that was is the passing distance that the cyclist gave the parked cars or curb. It is possible (and likely) that this varied. It is also possible that the experimental subject, when wearing a helmet, subconsciously wanted to make sure that the results came out in favor of the study and rode 3 inches closer (on average) to the middle of the road.

[zeytoun]

I rigged up a broom handle to my bike with a large sheet of sandpaper on the end. I also have a sign on the back of the bike, pointing to the broom handle's sandpaper-y end, which says: sandpaper

Cars give me plenty of space.

[zeytoun]

wobble
I hate it when people charactarize the "VC visibility waggle" as a wobble or a swerve. It's a waggle, people. A very different thing.

[2manybikes]

I rigged up a broom handle to my bike with a large sheet of sandpaper on the end. I also have a sign on the back of the bike, pointing to the broom handle's sandpaper-y end, which says: sandpaper

Cars give me plenty of space.

need photos.

[donnamb]

I rigged up a broom handle to my bike with a large sheet of sandpaper on the end. I also have a sign on the back of the bike, pointing to the broom handle's sandpaper-y end, which says: sandpaper
I think it's very sweet of you to warn them. I'm not that nice. ;)

[mmerner]

hey this story got on digg.com

digg.com (http://digg.com/offbeat_news/Strange_but_True_Helmets_Attract_Cars_to_Cyclists_4)

[closetbiker]

let's see, it's been on ABC TV, USA Today, Scientific American, now digg, where else?

[closetbiker]

just after re-reading the thread I just had to add to a previous post I made in response to darksiderising when he posted

You can fix a broken arm, but you can't fix a broken dome.

Protect your dome.

and I responded

I'm going with Ms. Robinson on this one. She's done the work.

a better response would have been, it is erroneous to associate skull fracture directly with brain injury. It's the movement within the skull that causes the damage. Not the damage to the skull. Many brain injured people have not been involved with an impact to the head. Troops have returned home from Iraq with brain damage from the shock waves of explosions, there's shaken baby syndrom and motor vehicle occupants often do not hit their heads but the sudden jerking from an impact of the heads of these people result in brain injury.

[banerjek]

I drink milk every morning. A young, sexy woman hasn't hit on me in years. Therefore drinking milk repels young, sexy women.
Damn! I wish I would have learned about that sooner. It does explain why my wife will pick up a gallon of milk if we run out even though she doesn't drink it herself....

[ghettocruiser]

In addition, getting hit from behind by close drivers is not really killing most cyclists.

Locally here, that is indeed what is causing most cyclist fatalities. Elsewhere statistics may be different.

[closetbiker]

Locally here, that is indeed what is causing most cyclist fatalities. Elsewhere statistics may be different.

not here. check out all the deaths to cyclists in BC over a 10 year period

http://www.helmets.org/bcstudy.htm

where it shows only 18 out of 64 deaths were from the rear (and a large number of those were easily preventable e.g. - don't drink and ride)

[nightc1]

So wait...

I need to glue an old woman's wig on top of my helmet for the ultimate in safety?

Hmmm... I don't know... maybe I'll give it a shot.

[closetbiker]

no, just have drivers treat cyclists with due care and respect as cyclists treating the rules of the road in the same fashion will end up keeping everyone much safer