dirtyhippy

In this argument you make no qualifications between injuries that are statistically inevitable and injuries that would be prevented by wearing helmets. Most of BF's members (my guess here, but substitute "many of" for "most of" if you must) would bike regardless of the life-extending properties of biking. I consider myself one of these people. We have a variety of reasons for biking, whether it be recreation, sport, commuting, etc. For us, the question is not "does biking, overall, lead to a longer life" but rather, "given that we will be biking, does it make sense to wear a helmet or not?" In this case, the benefits of cycling are not relevant since those are given; it is just the benefits of wearing a helmet that are in dispute. If we were discussing helmet legislation, your argument would be valid, but the discussion here centers around the benefits of helmet usage for an individual.

p.s. - I don't wear a helmet while biking.

[edit]

In the spirit of promoting accurate information, why don't we try and summarize the arguments for and against wearing helmets. I would like it if other posters would add to this list, and I would be much obliged if closetbiker would edit this into the first post for those entering the discussion. This list will be limited real research and actual facts (sorry those who like to post "I got in an accident going 88 mph without a helmet and survived - helmets are bogus! or; I survived an accident while going 88 mph while wearing a helmet, if you don't use one you're a fool!) Also, this list should be limited to arguments for or against individuals wearing a helmet - mandatory helmet laws and the like are beyond its scope. Citations in the form of a link are especially welcome.

Pro helmet usage:
Common sense - helmets unquestionably offer a degree of protection. This protection has been shown to, in some cases, reduce or eliminate head injury in the case of a bicycle crash.

Even in cases where force applied to the helmet exceeds the rated value, at least some protection is retained.

Against helmet usage -
At least one study has demonstrated that cars pass helmeted riders with less clearance than non-helmeted riders. This study has been questioned, but criticisms are poorly offered: even if most crashes involve non-helmeted riders, this statistic is meaningless without data on the total percentage of riders who wear helmets.

Helmets have been reported to increase the likelihood of striking one's head in a crash.

Few, if any, studies have shown helmets to reduce the overall risk of head injuries to cyclists.

RazrSkutr

The above statement is incorrect. Effectively no protection exists when the helmet is subjected to impacts greater than those for which they are designed. Instead of crushing the foam breaks.

While welcoming the idea of a summary it's not going to be much use if it contains such inaccuracies.

closetbiker

Statistically, it's inevitable that head injuries are going to occur and wearing a helmet can reduce some of the effects of some of the head injuries that can result, so the question is not so much does it make sense to wear a helmet while cycling, but why do some insist to wear a helmet while cycling when it hasn't been shown that cycling has elevated risk for head injuries?

because I don't think that there are many here that are against using a helmet.

I think there are quite a few who think helmet promoters want people to wear helmets but I think those who are skeptical about the need for and effectiveness of helmets wouldn't want people to remove their helmets as much as they'd prefer to just see more people ride their bikes and if they wanted them to be safe, they prefer they'd ride in a safer manner rather than concentrate on helmet use.

I wore one for 21 years. 9 years before it was required by my province's MHL and 12 years during the MHL. I removed my helmet last year and am now an outlaw. I'm risking fines and confiscation of my bicycle if a police officer so chooses to charge me. So far in spite of many interactions with police while helmetless, I haven't been charged. Police are turning a blind eye to cyclists without helmets and one even wrote a column about being swayed by the arguments against the MHL and asks if it is time to reconsider this legislation. I write a regional newspaper column that deals exclusively with cycling issues and if I get a ticket for riding without a lid I'll use that ticket to bring awareness to the public on the issue.

nycwtorres

nycwtorres

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...runs-HEAD.html

A schoolgirl whose head was run over by a car miraculously walked away from the accident with only cuts and bruises.

Savannah Haworth was riding home after passing her cycling proficiency test when she lost her balance and fell into the path of a car.

The vehicle ran over her arm, shoulder and head but, amazingly, the 11-year-old escaped with just cuts and bruises.
Enlarge Savannah Haworth


The helmet she was wearing bore the brunt of the impact and shattered into pieces.

Savannah's parents Harvey and Gillian believe if their daughter had not been wearing the protective head gear, she would now be dead.

Accounts manager Harvey said: 'Without her helmet Savannah would have sustained serious head injuries or would have been killed. She's been a very, very lucky girl.'

closetbiker

Here is where helmet proponents shoot themselves in the foot. They make poor, emotion based arguments about isolated incidents that have nothing to do with a helmets ability to protect. They just spread ignorance and fear.

These stories can be countered with other stories, (like, this one

Man survives pickup rolling over his head

July 13, 2007
BARNSTABLE — A 43-year-old man was taken to a Boston hospital by ambulance yesterday after a pickup truck he was working on ran over his head, fire officials said.

At about 11:30 a.m., the Barnstable Fire Department received a report of a motor vehicle accident. But it turned out the owner of a landscaping company was working beneath a three-quarter ton pickup truck trying to fix it when the vehicle suddenly rolled. A wheel went over his head and shoulder, Barnstable Fire Lt. Ed Guilford said. "But he's in great shape," Guilford said.

When the rescue squad arrived to the Millway address, they found the man smoking a cigarette with his crew. He had a tire track across his head, significant "road rash" and a missing patch of hair to prove he had been under the wheel.

Tests done at Cape Cod Hospital revealed no internal injuries. He was taken to Boston for some plastic surgery on his ear, Guilford said.

"It was really unbelievable," he said. "Someone was looking out for him." )

but these stories do nothing to shed any light on what the issues are.

(Funny how as helmet usage has risen there are stories of cyclists dying with helmets on but these don't seem to receive the same attention)

dirtyhippy

True. I'll fix it when I have more time to devote to the list as a whole, or other people are certainly welcome to.

The list is an attempt to help an individual decide whether or not to wear a helmet, not be an overall pro/against helmet usage. Put another way, when I bike to class later today, I will opt against using a helmet. I am not against helmets, but I do not choose to wear one when I ride. I agree that this language might be confusing, and welcome suggestions for improvements.

closetbiker

so is the thread.

This is part 2. Part 1 started 6 years ago, within it's bowels there is a wealth of information but I find how each individual reacts to the information is what's fascinating and the wealth of this thread.

globalrider

While I feel my brain is worth protecting, not everyone sees their own as worth protecting and that is their choice. I do feel that minors should be required to wear helmets, the consequences of head Injury

globalrider

Opps didn't finish, minors need to wear helmets to be protected from head injuries, an adult should be more experienced and less likely to engage in risky or impulsive behavior.

mikeybikes

An accounts manager is hardly any authority to determine whether or not a helmet saved a life.

mikeybikes

I feel it should be up to the parents to decide if minors should wear their helmets, not MHLs.

dirtyhippy

Because that is working out so great, right? A new forumer can just load this thread and find a cornucopia of concise, accurate information without personal attacks or appeals to emotion.

Or not. I think it would be helpful to create a sort of "one-stop" info post about helmets, so that people don't have to wade through the muck of these threads to find information. Since this thread was already stickied I chose to try and start such a thing here.

closetbiker

it has it's strengths and weaknesses.

If you want a neutral point of view with all kinds of resources and links of supporting studies that you can even take part in and contribute to, you can always go here.

lukasz

Are you serious?

What percentage of people ride a bicycle (single digits? Then your excluding competitive cycling disclaimer takes out a huge chunk of that small percentage)? What percentage of people are capable of 'falling' (100%)? What percentage of the population drives or is driven (well over 75%?)? This pie chart is absolutely meaningless.

Ok I looked up the percentage of the US population that rides a bicycle to work: Somewhere around 0.000000000657894737%. I first looked up Canada which had 1.2% of the population bike to work. Either way, that 3% statistic looks pretty bad with a tiny bit of context - though it is still meaningless because I am by no means an expert and my source has been government websites via google.

capejohn

Nerds.

closetbiker

OK, show that cyclists receive more head injuries than the general population based on exposure.

nycwtorres

Some statistics from my city, make your own judgment call.

• Almost three-quarters of fatal crashes (74%) involved a head injury.
• Nearly all bicyclists who died (97%) were not wearing a helmet.
• Helmet use among those bicyclists with serious injuries was low (13%), but it was even lower among bicyclists killed (3%).
  
  SOURCE

I-Like-To-Bike

Who said that bicycling to work is the only relevant bicycling metric? Maybe the same poster who made up the phoney baloney percentage for US bicyclists.

closetbiker

well, having a head injury and dying from a head injury are 2 very different things.

A head injury could be a scraped chin and death from a crash almost always involves a collision with a motor vehicle and the forces involved in motor vehicle crashes are beyond a bicycle helmets ability to provide protection.

In studies of cyclists who have died with head injuries, in the vast majority of cases, the cyclists had other internal injuries that would have led to death.

And yet again, can anybody show that someone who dies from head injuries are more likely to die while riding a bike than doing anything else?

I also think people are looking at this from the wrong end of the scope. Far, far more people die from causes cycling prevents. Why can't people see the benefits of cycling and balance these with the risks?

nycwtorres

Do you not agree that this stat
-Nearly all bicyclists who died (97%) were not wearing a helmet.
has relevance? Or am I looking at that the wrong way? Is it just coincidence?

closetbiker

you're looking at it the wrong way. A helmet has little relevance in most deaths because the impacts that lead to death are beyond a helmets ability to provide adequate protection and often lead to other internal injuries that lead to death.

Generally speaking, you'll find in areas that have about a 10% rate of use, that 10% will die with helmets on, 50% use, 50% deaths with helmets and in New Zealand (that has about 90% use) 90% of cyclists that die were wearing helmets.

helmets are a red herring. The safest areas for cyclists have little to no helmet use. The problem is collisions with cars, not use of helmets

nycwtorres

Wow, I really don't know how to respond to some of this. My experience is so contradictory to your opinions. 18 years of road biking in NYC area (cars cars cars), 2 major accidents with no cars in sight. One with no helmet.. major injury = almost lost my ear. 2nd accident cracked my helmet down the temple, no head injury.

My cousin tells my how beautiful her baby is... it's the ugliest thing in the world. I suppose you can believe what you want.


I'm sure that most of the deaths included automobiles, But to me the FACT that, nearly all bicyclists who died (97%) were not wearing a helmet is way too much of reality check to ignore. When they create a prosthetic for your head and brain maybe then I'd agree that helmets are a red herring. If I get slammed by a bad driver, I know I can loose my leg. But I also know I can still ride a bike with one or even zero legs. But you can't when you're trapped in a brain dead coma.

closetbiker

the fact of the matter is a helmet is made to mitigate a simple fall to the ground, not save a life in an impact with a motor vehicle.

nycwtorres

That is a very important fact. But a car can snap both your legs, break your back and send you falling to the ground, where your helmet will prevent you from having brain trauma. Thus allowing you to be of sound mind and capable of recover from your other injuries.

Calling a helmet a red herring, or false protection is foolish. There is absolutely no overkill or exaggeration in the practical protection of wearing a helmet when you ride a bike, they work. This is important for riders to consider when they choose to wear a helmet or not. And it is a choice, just like one can choose to only ride in parks and MUPs and never in streets.