Advocacy & Safety - Has a helmet ever saved you?

In response to the ongoing threads that pop up from time to time as to the merit of wearing or not wearing a helmet. I would like to know if you or someone you know personally has ever benefited from having your helmet on in a mishap. Hopefully, the responses could help some make a more informed decision.

One of my regular riding partners was riding on a bike path. He hooked a post designed to keep cars off the path with his handlebar and was thrown instantly to the ground. His injury was a bloody nose, scrapes and bruises. The back of his helmet was crushed and had to be replaced.

In response to the ongoing threads that pop up from time to time as to the merit of wearing or not wearing a helmet. I would like to know if you or someone you know personally has ever benefited from having your helmet on in a mishap. Hopefully, the responses could help some make a more informed decision.
I've been fortunate to have crashed pre helmet (back when I was a kid and the only helmets were giant foam coolers) and come up uninjured. My girlfriend's brother manages to bust a helmet at least every couple of years. The most severe injury I've seen him take while wearing one was a mild concussion, the helmet however was trashed.

Did a header a year ago hit the helmet in the frontal lobe region, mild jarring of the senses, trashed helmet. Worth the investment I never leave home without it.

Never had a knock to my head biking, skateboardings another story, split my helmet in 2.

One of my regular riding partners was riding on a bike path. He hooked a post designed to keep cars off the path with his handlebar and was thrown instantly to the ground. His injury was a bloody nose, scrapes and bruises. The back of his helmet was crushed and had to be replaced.

This is not unlike the types of crashes MTBers encounter when they hook with their handlebars or barends on a tree on the trail. I usually end up replacing my helmet around every 18 months... mostly from MTBing crashes. That said, I have crashed several times while road riding too and one time where the helmet did come into play by doing its job.

A little over ten years ago, I was coming around a series of S-curves and cutting the corners when my front wheel went into a drainage grate. It was pretty spectacular and I was able to roll out of it during the fall but I wasn't that good and the initial impact was taken directly to the front of the helmet which lost the right front quarter like an exploded pie chart. Needless to say, I required a new helmet and other than the road rashes and a few minutes of dizziness (I did get myself checked out for a concussion), I came away relatively unscathed. I also luckily didn't damage my bike much but the front wheel was trashed.

Is this question for recumbent riders only?

Yeah shouldn't this be in General Cycling Discussion?

Is this question for recumbent riders only?

At first I thought that and refrained from posting but then it seemed that people were answering on the basis of non-recumbent riding too so I chipped in. I guess I'm guilty too.

I'm an EMT on an emergency squad and have seen quite a few accidents involving riders with and without helmets. The majority of the riders that do not wear helmets are young people below the age of 18. In NY State there is a helmet law requiring persons under the age of 14 to wear a helmet but in most cases they do not and the law is not enforced. It seems the older one gets, the more aware of the consequences can be if not wearing a helmet. Of the accidents I have seen, the person wearing a helmet makes out far better than one who is not. I've been an EMT for 8 years and have only been involved with one death involving a rider wearing a helmet and it did not involve head trauma. I'm not saying that all riders that wear helmets do not receive head trauma but it has been my experience that the trauma is not a severe as it could have been. On the other had I have been unfortunate to have seen several deaths involving riders that have not been wearing a helmet. Two of them were young people, that in my opinion and the opinion of the medical people involved, they would still be alive today if they had been wearing a helmet. The third person wouldn't have been helped by a Kevlar helmet never mind a bike helmet. I for one always wear my helmet when riding and thank goodness have not had to really try it out. I would just rather not take the chance just to see if the helmet would save my melon or not.

I crashed at about 5 mph..Barely moving..The helmet had a crack about 2 inches long and all the way through..Even with the helmet, I felt a little dazzed.Head hit directly on a concrete curb..
It that had been my cranium...It would have been messy..

3 weeks ago, I landed on my right side after colliding with a dog (Great Dane). The helmet took a pounding to the right side above my right eye. I had a concussion and still don't remember the actual crash or 4 hours after the crash. I didn't need any stiches but I did need a new helmet. 2 guys I know have also had helmets save their heads from contact with bitumen, during races.

CHEERS.

Mark

not on a bicycle but about 12 years ago on a motorbike I got hit by a Volvo coming off a roundabout near Chester (UK). I slid along the ground for a while and then ended up hitting the kerb with the helmet. The helmet got a hole in it. I think the helmet saved my life or at least from making the accident a lot more serious.

Yep, helmet helped me for sure when I came off a week or so back. It's only scratched, but rather it than my head. Scarred arm is healing nicely, but good thing I was wearing my gloves too (always).

It seems that about every two years, I manage to hit the ground. I have trashed two helmets that way, and never had worse than a mild headache.
A poll like this is seeking to document a negative event: in other words, nothing happened. Tough to do.
Sadly, the folks who could give the best testimony for wearing a helmet are no longer available for comment.

I had a minature dauchaund run out in front of me like he was trying to chase me, but got caught under my wheel. After the endo and the ensuing crash, I ended up sitting up with no helmet on, as it cracked and fell off me head.

ive had a very mild crash or 2 while wearing a helmet in recent years, but didnt hit my head, so both helmet and head were fine. last time i had any kind of what might be called a bad accident was when i was a kid and no one wore helmets back then. never really got hurt, except some minor scrapes.
truthe is i really hate wearing helmets, not sure why i just find it really annoying, and every 2 months or so i'll say to heck with it i'm not gonna wear one anymore. usually the same day i leave the helmet at home i read on these forums about someone who has been in an accident, and their helmet saved them from a serious head injury. it always gets the helmet back on my head.

What they don't tell you is... the ones that crash severely enough to crack their helmets but weren't wearing a helmet? they're not here to post about it...

About ten years ago, I was working in my front yard. The mailman had parked his truck at the curb next to my driveway. A young kid was following his brother down the street which is a gentle downhill. The older brother saw the truck and moved out into the road but his little brother didn't notice. He slammed into the back of the mail truck, hitting his helmet on one of the steel handles located on the back. His helmet was shattered! Amazingly, the young boy was just dazed, was not seriously injured, and was able to sit up almost immediately. His dad (they only lived a couple of blocks away) took his son to the hospital as a precaution and let me know later that the kid was OK.

If this kid hadn't been wearing a helmet, he would have had serious brain damage or been killed by such a crushing blow.

When I was in college I rode to and from school. The school I went to was right off of the bike trail in Des Moines, Iowa. The same trail also goes behind Iowa Lutheran Hospital with a small down hill section where it is easy to pick up some good speed.

On the way home I was on that section of the trail & started to slow down. One of the springs on the front brake broke & the brake pad wedged under the rim. Which stopped the bike suddenly & sent me flying over the handle bars. This wasn't an endo, more like my impression of superman with the ability to fly.

Luckily I landed on the dirt & grass next to the trail & not on the asphalt trail itself. And I hit chest first & bounced a little before stopping. That knocked the wind out of & stunned me but no major damage was done as I landed flat on my chest on the flat level ground.

The worst part of this though is the fact that I had my heavy back pack on, full of books. When I hit the ground the back pack lunged forward & smacked the back of my helmet, which moved it forward. The helmet stayed on but it was covering my forehead a little more.

After I realized I was not dead, could move all of my limbs, etc, I rolled on to my side slid the back pack off & rolled on to my back, then caught my breath. Another person who was finishing his ride saw all of this happen and came running over to me. He made sure I was ok and helped me to my feet.

I took the helmet off and looked at the back of it. The entire back section of the helmet was cracked & broken & just hanging there. The helmet was a Panasonic, it had a hard polycarbonate shell that was probably about a 1/16" thick covering the poly-styrene. THe back pack full of books hit the helemt with so much force it broke the polycarbonate & cracked the poly-styrene most of the way through.

Had I not been wearing the helmet it proably would have broken my neck & cracked my skull in the back & more then likely would have killed me. This area was around the base of my head just above the neck, where the spine & skull meet, which is a highly sensitive area to injury.

I was dazed, but otherwise ok. The guy who saw this gave me a ride home. The next day I took the helmet & bike in to the shop. The shop fixed the bike for free & also gave me a new helmet for free.

Bottom line is the helmet did it's job.

A few months ago, I was riding into work when a truck passed me at the bottom of a hill. The truck was towing a trailer which came unhitched at the base of that hill. The free trailer took its own course, which was into the bike lane, and rammed me from behind. I went tumbling into the street. I don't remember hitting my head, but the red curb paint and two crushed spots (front and back) on the helmet explained it all. I escaped with some bad road rash and a mild concussion. It could have been much worse.

You need another option -Wearing helmet/Head never made contact with anything.

I have endoed, crashed at high speeds into the backs of cars (when I was a kid) and had my bike go out from under me on wet pavement but have never hit my head. I still wear a helmet for example and just in case I happen to crash so hard a head injury can't be avoided but I have yet to hit my helmet on anything. I usually tuck and roll.

Can you change this to a "multiple response" poll? I've had three crashes with helmet-to-ground impact, and my wife has had two. No LOC or head "injury" in any case, but a moderate headache in a couple cases. I also crashed once with a head impact and no helmet. About a 10-minute LOC, moderate concussions, loss/jumbling of memory of periods shortly before and after the crash.

Can you change this to a "multiple response" poll?

Perhaps if one of the moderators look in. When you create a poll you don't have the same ability to edit as a normal thread. Or I'm not seeing it at least.... That's why there is a misspelled word in the last option. :o It's also why this started under the recumbent section. I still don't know how I managed that. I don't ever visit them.

As a kid in the early 60's (I think only football players wore helmets back then), my front wheel hit some sand. I bounced my forehead off the pavement. I was going slow enough that the height of the fall was worse than the speed I was traveling. I did sustain a large lump, but as far as I can tell, there was no permanent........uhhh...............I'm sorry. What was the question again?

I crashed in February when my front wheel slid out after hitting some cinders (Volcanic gravel used to give cars traction in snow and ice.). No time to tuck, no time to rock, no time to roll straight over onto the pavement. My helmet hit the asphalt hard enough that I still remember the impact. The helmet was cracked all the way through. I believe, if I hadn't been wearing a helmet, I would've been in the hospital with serious head injury that day.

Since then, I always wear my helmet, even on short "test rides."

Perhaps if one of the moderators look in. When you create a poll you don't have the same ability to edit as a normal thread.

I don't seem to be able to change it to a multiple response poll myself. Strange, because I have the capacity to manipulate everything else... Bwahahahahahahahahaha!!!

I would like to know if you or someone you know personally has ever benefited from having your helmet on in a mishap.

I've known a couple who have hit heads without a helmet and were fine. I've known a few who wore helmets and swear the helmet saved them. I rode 10 years as a kid without a helmet, rode liked a stupid kid, crashed many times, hit my head and was fine. I rode 5 years as an adult without a helmet and 15 years with a helmet crashed a few times and have never hurt my head with or without the helmet.

This question reminds me of a story I was told when I was 9 years old about a person who wore a magic tie that kept tigers away. When told that there were no tigers within 1500 miles, he replied, "see how effective the tie is?"

I'm also reminded of Australian Chris Gillham's quote (that also described the situation here in BC after our all ages MHL was passed in '96)

"The number of Australians whose lives have been "saved by helmets" [according to anecdotal accounts in the media] over the past decade is staggering. I estimate that here in Western Australia the helmet law has saved about 5,000 lives per year... based upon the claims by cyclists who wouldn't know what to do without a helmet law.

It's curious that the average annual cyclist death toll in Western Australia before law enforcement was just 7. "

Here in BC the local authorities keep track of head injuries of cyclists that were or were not wearing helmets and the split is pretty even. Just as many cyclists that wear helmets as not receive head injuries and the deaths show just as many die wearing helmets as not.

I'd prefer effort be spent on getting everybody to follow the rules of the road than making claims that one thing will make an 80% improvement in cyclist safety.

Ken Kifer's argument about testimonials that "A Helmet Saved My Life"

"the evidence of dented and broken helmets is proof of nothing. After all, they are made of light foam with perhaps a thin coat of plastic. It seems that the helmet must have reduced the impact somewhat, but it's impossible to say how much, as many cyclists do land on their heads without wearing helmets and yet still walk away from the accident. In some cases, the size of the helmet may have contributed to its contacting the ground. In the case of those seriously injured while wearing helmets, one might equally argue that the helmet should have been stronger. "

Another opinion from De Clarke

"without analysis of the helmet damage by a very well-equipped forensic lab, these assertions are not substantiated. In fact, they are no more automatically credible than the equally sincere protestations of those who credit their lucky rabbit's foot, angelic intervention, prayer, psychic foreknowledge, or other unverifiable causes with their survival of some traumatic event. The anecdotal testimony of this extraordinarily accident-prone group of cyclists is no more conclusive than my own "charmed life" as related above. I therefore dismiss this type of "Jesus healed me" evidence and would prefer to stick strictly to the published literature and statistics."

I started wearing a helmet after I went over the handlebars once. Lucky I rolled out of it and took the brunt on my shoulder and ribs, but it put the fear of god into me.

as a physician at a trauma center i see lots of people who are spared serious head injuries because of proper helmet use

i once split my helmet on a tree while mtb 15 years ago....i suffered a mild concussion... i was unconscious 1-2 minutes....i would be dead if i was not wearing one

last year i fell hard breaking my collarbone...i also hit the back of my head...my helmet protected me well...in fact my head was just about the only thing that did not hurt

i once split my helmet on a tree while mtb 15 years ago....i suffered a mild concussion... i was unconscious 1-2 minutes....i would be dead if i was not wearing one

I remember reading once about a guy who was involved in a really nasty MTB crash. His friends did the right thing by transporting him to the hospital without removing his cracked helmet. I guess they were trying not to move any part of him as much as possible. It turns out he had a major skull fracture and the remnants of the helmet was basically keeping part of his skull in place.

In response to the ongoing threads that pop up from time to time as to the merit of wearing or not wearing a helmet. I would like to know if you or someone you know personally has ever benefited from having your helmet on in a mishap.

I've crashed in races, helmet fine, no head injury.
I've had friends do likewise.
I've been hit by a car, helmet totalled, minor head injury (impact damage, head/brain saved due to helmet lossage)
I've had friends been hit by a car, helmet totalled, no head injury.
I've dumped my 1100, no helmet damage, no head injury.
I've dumped my 1100, minor helmet damage, no face injury (great to see the road come up and hit you as you use the face guard to protect, well...your face. IMPRESSIVE, to say the least!)

I've been in a waiting room (Neurology) and viewed a patient report (yeah, I shouldn't have but was bored) where a gentleman got spooked by a cat, fell over, hit the curb, d.o.a.

No real reason not to wear a helmet, imho. Keeps the rain off of your head. :D

Twenty years ago I concussed myself with a fall off my bike while wearing a helmet.

I wasn't moving at the time. I had been to the supermarket and after securing my groceries I went to ride off, forgetting to unlock the front wheel. (My bike was not secured to anything, lock was just immobilising it.) This fall was sufficient to concuss me. The helmet did prevent me from skinning myself on the concrete and bleeding a bit.

Nevertheless I choose to not wear a helmet while walking around, even though I could trip and repeat the experience.

Saturday evening October 25, 1997 I was riding home with benefit of rear LED strobe and halogen headlight. This was not sufficient to prevent an unknown (to this day) hit and run driver from ramming my rear wheel, totaling my Fuji Absolute bike, and cracking my helmet. Others following did not get the license number, but did call 911. I was evacuated by helicopter to the Level II Trauma Center at Parkview Hospital in Fort Wayne, Indiana and was dismissed about five hours later. I had a lacerated left ear lobe, a light concussion, and numbness on my right side that cleared up before Christmas. No fractures. The unknown assailant almost won the trifecta (hitting cyclist, totaling bike, and escaping undetected), but no cigar this time. The helmet may have provided me with the necessary margin, therefore I always use it.

Saturday evening October 25, 1997 I was riding home with benefit of rear LED strobe and halogen headlight. This was not sufficient to prevent an unknown (to this day) hit and run driver from ramming my rear wheel, totaling my Fuji Absolute bike, and cracking my helmet. Others following did not get the license number, but did call 911. I was evacuated by helicopter to the Level II Trauma Center at Parkview Hospital in Fort Wayne, Indiana and was dismissed about five hours later. I had a lacerated left ear lobe, a light concussion, and numbness on my right side that cleared up before Christmas. No fractures. The unknown assailant almost won the trifecta (hitting cyclist, totaling bike, and escaping undetected), but no cigar this time. The helmet may have provided me with the necessary margin, therefore I always use it.
I should have said killing cyclist instead of hitting cyclist. Then he would have won the trifecta.

I destroyed 8 or 10 helmets back in the late 80s-early 90s when I was living in Mesa & Flagstaff, Az. Lots of splits, cracks and shatters, but never more than a couple minutes feeling loopy. I wiped out so hard once I lost a hiking boot while rolling down the mountain, but even after smacking into several trees with all parts of my body and not being able to walk for a while, my head was fine.

I KNOW a helmet saved my life at least once when I hit the edge of a concrete curb doing about 17.55 mph with the very top of my melon...

I've been hit four times by autos and my helmet has done nothing for me - it's still pristine. I have no illusions that it will save my life, but it may prevent a nasty bump or laceration, so I wear it. Plus, it keeps tigers away.

I remember, as a kid, doing endos on a curb one day with my Redline BMX bike. Since I was waiting for a ride to a local race, I had my new Bell helmet on (I ordinarilarily would not have been wearing it). Well, of course, I did an endo a little too fast, went right up and over the bars (I don't think I even let go of the handlebars or tried to ditch), and landed, head first, on the concrete with my bike on top of me. This new Bell, full-face helmet split right down the centerline from stem to stern. I walked away thinking the helmet was defective until I learned that it absorbed the brunt of the impact sparing my skull. Since then I wear my helmet nearly 100% of the time, wether commuting, mountain biking, or touring. In fact the only time I went without was on last year's 4 day trip along the C&O Canal-a pretty benign ride on a level, crushed gravel path. I still brought it and was fortunate to have it on when I hit a thick vine hanging from above. I'm still surprised at how many times I hit my head on low-hanging branches and limbs when I'm off-road. Oh yea, I've also hit my head on a particular sprinkler head in my building's parking garage (twice now) leaving a nice, star-shaped dent in the helmet. Wear your helmet.



"die trying"

I picked "CRASHED WEARING A HELMET / HELMET FINE / RIDER SUFFERED HEAD INJURY" because there was not slot for "CRASHED WEARING A HELMET / HELMET WORKED BUT RIDER SUFFERED HEAD INJURY / WOULD HAVE BEEN DEAD WITHOUT IT".

If Tyler Hamilton were a member here we could add his vote. He destroyed a helmet in a crash this week.

Yep! Just yesterday in fact! You can read my post by clicking here (http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=57914)

I've been saved by a helmet on a couple of occasions.

Once a few years ago in the woods near me. I lost it and fell. My head hit a stone pretty hard and my helmet had a huge crack in the side of it. I'm absolutely certain the chances I may not have been able to write this had I not have been wearing my helmet are pretty high.

The second time was last year on a rocky track in the same woods. Incident No.1 prompted me to get some body armour and a full facer. Anyway, again I fell, ended up rolling sideways while falling and smacked the back on my head on some rocks. My helmet had some pretty big gashes in the back of it, but again it kept me totally safe. The 661 Riccochet knee/shin guard on my left leg got pretty scratched up as well, and my 661 Pressure Suit did its usual job of keeping my body safe.

I ALWAYS wear a helmet, without exception, and I prefer it when people I'm riding with wear one as well. I think I've turned into a bit of a safety freak lately. I've started wearing my full face helmet even on normal rides on the road, and I've been wearing a pair of football shinguards as well even when I'm not doing mad stuff. They hide nicely under my jeans and when I get off the bike and walk around I just keep them on and no-one even knows I'm wearing them. I'd just rather be safe than get hurt really. It makes sense to me.

I voted and had to pick CRASHED WEARING A HELMET / HELMET DAMAGED / RIDER SUFFERED NO HEAD INJURY although that only describes one crash. There also needs to be this option:

CRASHED WEARING A HELMET / HELMET DAMAGED / RIDER SUFFERED SIGNIFICANT HEAD INJURY BUT DID NOT DIE (and the irony is, this crash was a collision with a bicyclist)

LOL, actually I could vote for most of the options if I think back into my childhood and all the crashes I've been in :D I'm 36, for the record.

Is the critera for "a helmet saved me" a broken or damaged helmet?

How is it someone "knows" the helmet "saved" them?

Just last month in the Tour de Palm Springs I hit some uneven pavement and took a slide along the sidewalk. Got some road rash on my right knee, right forearm, and right shoulder. The helmet was scratched on the right side. It probably didn't save my life, but didn't get a scratch on my pretty face. :)

Amazingly I never hit my head during a crash. That said I still wear a helmet on every ride. I also just bought a helmet for snowboarding, since I started to ride through the trees (off trail).

Is the critera for "a helmet saved me" a broken or damaged helmet?

How is it someone "knows" the helmet "saved" them?


I believe that it is a simple matter of physics.

The broken or damaged helmet, which was a barrier between the ground/curb/tree etc. and the rider, absorbed energy from the impact and was broken or crushed. Had the helmet not been in place those same forces would have had no other outlet of absorption than to have been absorbed by the skull of the rider. Resulting in a broken or damaged skull. Unless, of course, the rider has a skull made of steel and a brain made of rubber.

I think the expression "saved me" might best be extended to "saved me from more significant injury" not necessarily certain death. I am willing to attribute the sometimes dramatic exaggeration to the exhiliration anyone feels when they have a brush with mortality whether real or somewhat imagined.

A few years ago, I was hit by a truck at an intersection, and I was wearing my helmet. I received a mild concussion, bruising on my left arm, and I suspect a few torn muscles on the left side of my back, the helmet had a big crack on the left hand side, and a lot of gravel marks on the back.

I'm not sure that I would be dead if I wasn't wearing the helmet, but I'd rather the helmet get cracks and gravel rash on it, I wouldn't like to try that with my head.

Is the critera for "a helmet saved me" a broken or damaged helmet?

How is it someone "knows" the helmet "saved" them?

+1... I wear a helmet on and off, and have nothing against them, but there always seems to be a certain sanctimoniousness in those statements. I'd be interested to see an epidemiolgical study about helmet use and injury... they undoubtedly help, and I'm sure they save lives, but I wonder just how many... Anecdotal evidence like that offered earlier in the thread, even from medical professionals, is pretty meaningless.

That they prevent plenty of concussions save a bunch of scalps and faces from getting sliced up, I won't deny.

Edit: It would be interesting to see how studying Judo or Aikido (or tumbling) and learning to keep your head off the ground would compare....

Timmins, 1995, business trip. Out riding with a local who was a lot slower than me...got a little impatient. Someone had dumped a load of sand or gravel across the trail near where it crossed a road...either to be spread later, or perhaps to block car access. I saw bike tracks going over it so I decided to ride over it like a small jump. My front wheel nose-dived into a rut on the far side and stopped, and I flew forward and to the right, bruising and scraping my right elbow, flank and hip. After I got up I noticed my helmet was fractured down the middle. No awareness of hitting my head, no head pain, concussion symptoms or other neurologic sequelae. But boy the rest of me was sore, and, in a couple of days, very colourful.