I get even better money's worth from my no-helmet which cost me nothing. Came off my bike and ran into things many times as a kid/young adult all without a helmet and all without anything more than scuffed knees, hands and elbows. None of the family wear them now either and the worst we've had is badly skinned knees and a cracked tooth with grazed chin. Can't see how a helmet would have helped with any of those. Had two hospital visits with head injuries though from tripping over on an uneven pavement and falling over on an icy one.
Helmets why doesn't everyone wear them?
- Thread starter Pikeman
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I get even better money's worth from my no-helmet which cost me nothing. Came off my bike and ran into things many times as a kid/young adult all without a helmet and all without anything more than scuffed knees, hands and elbows. None of the family wear them now either and the worst we've had is badly skinned knees and a cracked tooth with grazed chin. Can't see how a helmet would have helped with any of those. Had two hospital visits with head injuries though from tripping over on an uneven pavement and falling over on an icy one.
steve52
I'm back! Yippeee
- Location
- bottesford scunthorpe
how many of the wont wear dont wear brigade have ever sufferd a concussion ? just a thought, i wear one because i have and anything that might lessen the pain is ok by me, ps if u dont thats fine by me too
Try having a look at the 'standards' 99% of helmets comply with. As a design engineer I can tell you those standards are not worth the paper they are written on.
numbnuts
Legendary Member
- Location
- Gone over the hill and far away
I wear a helmet for the same reason I wear gloves it is the first line of defence
I have (and not just one) - and I've cracked a helmet coming off a bike at speed. But then again I occasionally use capitals and apostrophes.
StuAff
Silencing his legs regularly
- Location
- Portsmouth
I think my previous posts on the subject have made my position clear....
I've have never had concussion. My partner had concussion from tripping over uneven pavement. I know plenty of people who have had concussions, none of them from cycling though. I've not noticed any of them wearing helmets since though.
With respect, you (and your friend) have absolutely no idea whether his helmet saved his life or not. And without recreating the precise conditions of the crash again, this time without a helmet (which is obviously impossible), we won't ever know.
With any public health intervention, the 2 important questions are:
1) Does it work?
2) What are the side effects?
With all of the available evidence, the answer to 1 is "Not significantly". That is, there is no evidence that helmets are significantly effective in protecting against head injuries. I'm quite sure that there are a small set of limited circumstances where a helmet might protect you, but it's so vanishingly remote that IMO it's simply not worth worrying about.
The majority of cyclists are killed in impacts that far outstrip the ability of a helmet to protect you (being crushed under the wheels of a vehicle for example) and good road sense and positioning are going to do more to protect you than any helmet. I do despair when I see someone wearing a helmet who clearly has no idea of how to ride defensively in such a way as to protect themselves.
I personally don't wear one for the reasons above, and because I find cycling much more enjoyable without one. I love the feeling of the wind in my hair.
If new evidence comes to light that helmets offer a significant protective effect then I'll reconsider my position.
I have had concussion
- Playing rugby - no helmet
- Playing hockey - helmet
- Running into a brick wall - cub scout cap
- Falling from a tree - no helmet
snorri
Legendary Member
- Location
- East coast, up a bit.
Why? Some non-wearers will be simply going with the flow, following the norm for cyclists in this country and beyond. Other non-wearers will have made a concious decision following the results of a risk assessment and research into pros and cons of wearing a helmet while cycling.
There is a cycling "look"? Wouldn't that look vary depending on which particular discipline of cycling you were engaged in?
snorri
Legendary Member
- Location
- East coast, up a bit.
GrasB
Veteran
- Location
- Nr Cambridge
Why don't I wear a helmet? Because I've got a 100% record of sustaining a head & neck injuries which require hospitalisation with a cycle helmet on when coming off my bike & a 100% record of not having ANY head or neck injury when not wearing a helmet. Being hospitalised with sever concussion, and temporary paraplegia in one case(!), is something I'm not wanting to experience again.
I think what people don't understand is that the injury risk set is changed. What is unclear is if the alternate risk set actually provides more or less injury risk.
I think what people don't understand is that the injury risk set is changed. What is unclear is if the alternate risk set actually provides more or less injury risk.
mickle
innit
- Location
- 53.933606, -1.076131
Me. I have been knocked off my bike and banged my head hard enough that - had I been wearing a helmet - the medical staff who treated me would have said that my helmet saved my life.
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