Is a hard-shell bike helmet an acceptable emergency substitute for a hard hat?
This is not really about bicycle safety, but using bicycle safety equipment for something else.
My mother has some dead branches on a tree, and needs me to come use the chainsaw to cut them off.
However, my late father only owned one hard hat, and I don't own any.
There is a danger that I'll misjudge a branch and have it fall and clunk me or her on the head, as she needs to hold the ladder steady while I'm cutting on the unstable ground beneath the tree.
Would my bicycle helmet be an acceptable substitute for a hard hat for this one-time use trimming a tree? It seems that logical that something that something designed protect my head from impacting the pavement should be able to protect it from a falling tree branch.
Not that I plan to get hit, but accidents happen and it's better to be safe than sorry. This should all be academic, but will it do the job?