the road ate my face/ Met Parachute

[marcw]

Had my back wheel nudged by a driver turning left across a cyclepath/ green painted bit of the road, this morn. Spent the day in hospital but just a sprained wrist and some grazes on knees and elbows. Unfortunately the road also took a bite out of my face, just below my eye, needs surgery possible graft. Thinking that a helmet like a Met Parachute would have kept enough of my face off the tarmac to avoid such a bad injury, has anyone tried one?
Might wear basic pads on knees too. My Foska jersey got ripped to shreds on one elbow but my base layer is intact and there is only minor grazing on the elbow. I don't think a lot of fabric is needed to protect your skin getting ripped up.

 

[betty swollocks]

Very bad luck.
Did the driver stop?
Exchange details?
Police involved?

Your best defence is keeping out of cycle lanes/paths and adapting your road positioning to discourage this sort of thoughtlessness and idiocy.

Get well soon.

 

[Mad Doug Biker]

Ouch! I hope it all works out ok for you

 

[iZaP]

Unlucky mate...

Hope you get better soon!

 

[marcw]

driver stopped, couldn't speak very good english so gave me his phone and I called an ambulance. Fortunately the accident was outside an ambulance station, so they literally drove out the front and parked across the road. Driver stayed with me and the police magically appeared and sorted out all the details.

 

[Brommie77]

Sorry to hear that mate, at least the driver did stop and waited about for the police. Hope youmake a speedy recovery

 

[Panter]

The met parachute gets mixed reviews...
Personally, I've been glad of mine a couple of times after a couple of MTB faceplants.
be aware though that the guard is only designed to offer protection against hitting sticks and small branches when riding, it won't offer the protection of a full face. There are also internet reports of the chin guard braking and driving broken plastic into the riders face so something to be aware of.

Anyway, sorry to hear of your incident, get well soon!

 

[marcw]

I don't do any XC riding just commuting really. I'm not sure the helmet would need to take a large impact, just keep my face off the floor. Worrying that people have said it snapped and embedded itself into their face, although I wonder if this was due to people using it it conditions that it wasn't suitable for, i.e pelting down a trail and hitting granite.
Seems difficult to find soft pads that can be disposed of after a crash, just something to rip instead of your skin.

 

[Panter]

That's the thing, I don't know how well it would withstand a tarmac impact, probably not too well I suspect.
The other thing I forgot about is that it does get very hot, so it's probably not ideal for road use.

It's obviously easy for me to sit here and say this, but I think you've just been unlucky. It's probably not worth armouring up against another incident as it may well never happen.