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> Every cyclist I know has a story of unexpectedly ditching. IIRC, the majority of injuries from cycling accidents are to the hands, arms and shoulders. > I p
by wtbob 11y ago
> Every cyclist I know has a story of unexpectedly ditching.
IIRC, the majority of injuries from cycling accidents are to the hands, arms and shoulders.
> I personally have cracked a helmet and walked away.
Which of course means nothing regarding whether you would have injured your brain. Our hair, scalps and skulls are remarkably good at protecting our brains.
> as good as you are you don't control many types of collisions (negligent/distracted drivers)
True enough, and of course a strike from a two-ton vehicle travelling 20 mph faster than one will impart far more force on one's body than a strike of a 180-pound body travelling at 18 mph will impart on the road.
Helmets are nothing more than magical safety hats; they're placebos; they're a triumph of marketing and emotion over reason and sense. If you wear a bicycle helmet, then logically you should wear a driving helmet, a walking helmet and a sleeping helmet.
- Kurtz79 11y ago"Which of course means nothing regarding whether you would have injured your brain. Our hair, scalps and skulls are remarkably good at protecting our brains." Even so, I would rather have a cracked helmet than a cracked skull.
- throwaway5752 11y agoYou are free to make the helmet decisions you see best for yourself and loved ones. For everyone else, I think it's worth contemplating the statistics I linked to from NYC: * Almost three-quarters of fatal crashes (74%) involved a head injury. * Nearly all bicyclists who died (97%) were not wearing a helmet.
- wtbob 11y ago> You are free to make the helmet decisions you see best for yourself and loved ones. Not when that is made illegal. > Almost three-quarters of fatal crashes (74%) involved a head injury. That's unsurprising, particularly if 'head injury' includes a broken neck; people rarely die from broken wrists these days. > Nearly all bicyclists who died (97%) were not wearing a helmet. What percentage of bicyclists don't wear helmets? What percentage of bicyclists in accidents don't wear helmets? That's important. And of course, what percentage of cyclists who died without helmets would have lived with them? That's the only number that counts, and every bit of research indicates that helmets only make a small improvement in survivability of certain crashes, while also increasing the rate of neck injuries and the rate of accidents in general.
- JoeAltmaier 11y agoYeah a helmet is sort of a hail-Mary. We say "I'm hurtling down the road at 20mph on a contraption make of pipes and sharp things, wearing shorts and a t-shirt. But I've strapped a block of Styrofoam to my head, so I'm Safe!" Its clearly not enough. But what is? Its kind of like, you cycle, you sign up for the risk.
- jacquesm 11y agoIt's a harsh realization for some that not all risk can be abolished. Life is risk and it is impossible to enjoy much of it if you're not prepared to take any risks. What weirds me out is that it is always other people who wish to put limits on what kinds of risks one can take, after all, nobody stops them from wearing a helmet if they so desire and that should be all there is to it, but no, you too have to wear a helmet.
- JoeAltmaier 11y agoI'm actually going to wear a helmet. Because, its all I've got.
- frabbit 11y agoIt's amazing to see the splurging of anecdotes again about this topic. For anyone that has an interest in an informed opinion from someone that knows a small bit more about risk, please take a look at this Spiegelhalter paper: http://www.bmj.com/content/346/bmj.f3817.full?ijkey=I5vHBog6FhaaLzX&keytype=ref http://www.bmj.com/content/346/bmj.f3817.full?ijkey=I5vHBog6...