Why are UK cyclists fixated on helmets

[RedRider]

Can I just say...

"Would you prefer to be shot in the head whilst wearing a cycling helmet or whilst not wearing one?"

Please feel free to explain your answers using maths and physics, referencing the transfer of kinetic energy and the effect of rapid deceleration on the human brain rather than anecdata.

I give this thread three more pages at which point either option will do, ta.

 

[snorri]

Isn't the recommendation in most pastimes that involve a modicum of speed that wearing a helmet is desirable to protect your head. I've been off road motorcycling, paragliding, skiing, go karting, and probably a few other things that you could crash fairly heavily doing and always been given a helmet to wear and been glad of it despite legally not needing one.

A similar argument was no doubt raised when the idea of compulsory motorcycle helmet wearing was mooted re freedom not to wear one etc ( I'm not suggesting cycle helmets are made compulsory btw!)

I will always wear a helmet cycling as I've crashed heavily and concussed myself with one on so wouldn't like to think of that impact on my unprotected head.

Its nothing to do with being brainwashed rather fear of being brain damaged and how I can minimise that possibility however small the chance of it may be

Most day to day activities carry an element of risk, it's largely up to the individual how they perceive and mitigate that risk. I respect the decision of those who choose not to wear one as their perception is clearly different from mine, it's doesn't make either of us wrong just different.

Well, that's all very well but you've skillfully avoided addressing the issues raised in the OP.

 

[MontyVeda]

Imagine what it would be worth to make driving helmets mainstream.

millions... maybe more!

All they need is the right angle to spout their emotive facts and stats from, and people will wake up and feel the need.
Unfortunately at present, people just laugh when one suggests it might be a good idea to wear a helmet whilst driving to work... which is odd given the number of head injuries drivers sustain every year. I guess in a way, the metal and glass shell of the car is one big helmet.

 

[NorvernRob]

I love the sun on my head, who wants a bonce like a Sunderland shirt?



Take up bowls or something, I am 51 and haven't even fallen off a bike yet.

You didn't have a proper childhood then!

 

[Jon George]

In answer to the OP: if someone does anything twice in this country, it becomes a tradition.

Oh, and just to be a tease - I'm not going to tell you if I wear one or not.

 

[bianchi1]

The OP wondered why UK cyclists are fixated with helmets, and as has already been pointed out, not all are.

From what I see opinions are split 4 ways.

There are those who think that helmets should be made compulsory and those who don't wear one will die a horrible death. These people are quite vocal and spend their rides tutting at those who dare to go bareheaded.

There are a group that wear a helmet (for reasons that they believe in ) but don't care what any one else does. This group don't say much..and just get on with enjoying cycling.

Then there are those that don't wear a helmet ( for reasons they believe in ) but don't care what anyone else does. This group also stay out of the argument and enjoy cycling.

The last group don't wear helmets and believe those that do are not only stupid, but ruining cycling for them, to the point that seeing a cycling child wearing a helmet makes them sad. This group are also extremely vocal and like to plan militant actions.

Thankfully there are a lot more of the two middle groups getting on with each other, although the vocal nature of the strong pro and negative often makes it seem otherwise.

 

[NorvernRob]

Can I just say...

"Would you prefer to be shot in the head whilst wearing a cycling helmet or whilst not wearing one?"

Please feel free to explain your answers using maths and physics, referencing the transfer of kinetic energy and the effect of rapid deceleration on the human brain rather than anecdata.

Bit of a silly post. If you come off a bike at 40mph and land on your head then it probably won't matter whether you are wearing a helmet or not, the outcome would still be the same.

It's at lower speeds where it becomes a grey area IMO, but at the very least a helmet protects you from cuts, grazes, the side of your head scraping along the road etc and that's good enough for me even if it doesn't make any difference in an impact situation.

However, I still stand by my post from earlier whereby if you hit a wall or fell at slow speed it would hurt a whole lot less with a helmet on. And a point impact would at least spread the force somewhat - imagine a flattened out helmet on a table, hit the table with a ball hammer and you'd damage the table at that point. Hit the helmet with the hammer and whilst the same overall impact may be applied to the table (if the helmet material didn't compress, if it did then the energy transfer would be reduced) the load would be spread instead of being concentrated at that point.

ps: Good post above bianchi. There is no right or wrong, just personal choice and nobody should be derided for making theirs.

 

[cyberknight]

The helmets the pros wear are hideously non aero. They have highly aero alternatives but are fiercly conservative.

Seems that spesh, giro, poc etc are making serious inroads with the aero stuff if the one day classics and adriactico are anything to go by.

 

[Big Nick]

Well, that's all very well but you've skillfully avoided addressing the issues raised in the OP.

Probably because the question from the OP is unanswerable with any certainty as to the validity of the answer

 

[steveindenmark]

I am the original poster and did not compare cycling in the UK to cycling in Holland. I was only comparing the attitude towards helmets. The idea that riders in Denmark and Holland pootle to work on Grannie bikes is a myth. We have miles of open road and cycle paths to ride our road bikes along.

I am 55 years old now and cycle helmets are a relatively new thing in UK cycling. We all managed without them for years until this fad came along that we should all have one. The way I rode as a kid a motorbike helmet would have been my best choice. Its a fad that doesnt seemed to have gripped the rest of Europe in the same way.

Those staunch supporters of helmets are far more outspoken than those who dont wear helmets. Its like a new religion to some people. It is well known that helmets are only designed for minor drops. Well anyone with safer roads than the UK can have minor drops, on a cycle path for instance. So it still doesnt explain why they are not worn in most of Europe.

Big Nick, i am not looking for answers, only opinions. But I can feel people getting anti now.

Steve

 

[Colin B]

Does polishing your helmet cause it too crack

 

[deptfordmarmoset]

Probably because the question from the OP is unanswerable with any certainty as to the validity of the answer

The OP's question was about the specificities of UK attitudes to helmet wearing. Possible factors have already been mentioned, some of which have been recurrent, and, as far as I can see, anybody who has experience of cycling in the UK (and preferably in other countries too) has a valid opinion to give. Valid because it's a social question that relates to a number of factors acting at the same time, not because it's the kind of valid (or true) conclusion that comes out of pure logical syllogisms.

 

[simon1]

I have not read all of this thread but here are my thoughts. Helmets are a personal choice but I choose to wear one on cycle journeys longer than a trip into town. I hate to think about an off on the open road but it might give me edge. In an urban area a helmet may actually do more good, lots of hard kerbs etc to bang your head on. Again its a personal choice and should stay that way.

 

[NorvernRob]

I am the original poster and did not compare cycling in the UK to cycling in Holland. I was only comparing the attitude towards helmets. The idea that riders in Denmark and Holland pootle to work on Grannie bikes is a myth. We have miles of open road and cycle paths to ride our road bikes along.

I am 55 years old now and cycle helmets are a relatively new thing in UK cycling. We all managed without them for years until this fad came along that we should all have one. The way I rode as a kid a motorbike helmet would have been my best choice. Its a fad that doesnt seemed to have gripped the rest of Europe in the same way.

Those staunch supporters of helmets are far more outspoken than those who dont wear helmets. Its like a new religion to some people. It is well known that helmets are only designed for minor drops. Well anyone with safer roads than the UK can have minor drops, on a cycle path for instance. So it still doesnt explain why they are not worn in most of Europe.

Big Nick, i am not looking for answers, only opinions. But I can feel people getting anti now.

Steve

How come everytime I've been to Holland there has been thousands of people pootling along on granny bikes then? Didn't look like a myth to me.

 

[Nigel-YZ1]

In this country wearing a helmet is trotted out as the standard answer to all road problems involving a cyclist. It's my guess that even if every single pedaller in the country wore one, and the accident stats didn't change, the new 'must have' would be the pedal reflector or a 10,000 lumen dayglo bodysuit.
We're asked to accept that all the ills of the road are contributed to solely by us, not by the people that feel it's too much to expect for them to wait a short while, and have to go around us as they storm about driving one handed, mobile to their ears in the life or death struggle to get to Tescos.

So I think helmet compulsion theory is just easier than confronting a wider problem.
Perhaps European cyclists aren't treated as badly?