WANTED: Cracked, Crashed, Smashed Helmets..

Hey All-
I'm developing a program out here at the schools promoting helmet use/ bike safety. I'm calling it "Don't be a Squiddd... Wear your Lidddd"

For my presentation I would like to show some examples of cracked or otherwise squished helmets.
If you have been unfortunate (or fortunate because it did save your life) enough to have a helmet that has been "altered by impact" and would be willing to donate it, I would really appreciate it.
I will reimburse you for the postage, and I'll also send you back some cool AZ themed cycling swag for your efforts.
Also I would like to have a picture (optional of course) of you and a short story that I could read to the kids. Maybe a bit about yourself and how the accident occured, how the helmet saved you etc. Whatever you would like to say to the kids.
I think it would be nice to give them the whole story, but if you would just like to send the helmet that would be fine too. Anything will help.
I am going to offer up this program to all the local schools.
So if you can help me with this in any way, I please send me a PM.
Thanks!
Denise
P.S. Even if you don't have a helmet but can send me a story and pictures that would help as well. I know people prolly don't keep their cracked helmets around.

i have my helmet that saved my life. But I"m not willing to part with it.

I do have some very good pictures and will write you my story in a few days.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...g/100_0515.jpg



http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...g/100_0517.jpg

I'll send you mine from yesterday's wreck, it's in bad shape....so is my face:(

Thanks Silver!

And Jenn- I just PM'd you. Please heal up! OUCH!! :(

I have one, but the visible damage is fairly minimal - but it could be a good example of why you have to examine carefully and you always throw away a helmet that you've crashed and hit your head in. You could even put it out and see if the kids can tell its been crashed in before you tell them and show them the damage. If you look closely there is a crack in the back. If you want I can send you a photo of the damage to see if you want it.

I have one that has just a teeny teeny white dot from where my head scraped the pavement when I was going about 20 mph in a paceline. My husband went down in front of me when the guy in front of him slowed unexpectedly. Then I went down.
I will PM you later. Would love some AZ bike shwag. My husband has an ASU jersey, but I guess my alma mater doesn't think they need to make women's cycling jerseys....

Eden- Yes that is a GREAT Idea!!! I'll take it! I'll send you a PM with my addy.
Thanks all! I knew I could count on you girls to come through for me!

Now I just need to find an artistic person to help me with my graphics. I want to have my motto on the top of the bike safety stuff I hand out to the kids. I think I might even develop a website if this gets big enough. But I want a cartoon character type squid wearing a helmet. I think that will catch the kids eyes. I'm aiming for the younger set. K -5th grade.
WOW! Thanks again!

Denise

I couldn't attach this to a pm I guess so I decided to put it here..
my smiling and 99% intact face -thanks to my helmet! after hitting the ground a few minutes before.

Denise -
I almost didn't post here because a lot of the women here (at least some of the women who were here back in 2004) have seen my story before - but I think the story of my crash fits well with your request.

Almost exactly three years ago, during National Ride Your Bike to Work Week, I crashed on my way to work. I believe I flipped forward (as in over the handlebars) and my bike followed. I landed on my head. My injuries included a skull fracture and a severe brain injury - and that was with the cushioning of my helmet. I do not believe I would have survived that accident if I hadn't been wearing a helmet.
The story of my crash and recovery is in this article that I posted on crazyguyonabike.com: What do you mean I can't ride my bike?

In case you don't want to read the entire article (or in case you just don't have time:

A description of my accident is on this page: The crash: A couple of missing days.

Some photos of my bloody and cracked helmet can be seen on this page: Please, please, please: Wear your helmet!. And I've also included a picture below.

I crashed on May 20th. The first picture below was taken on May 22nd or 23rd (and I've been told that the non-showing side of my face was actually in worse shape, yuck!). The second one was taken on June 4th. Amazing what some healing time can do...

http://Denise.smugmug.com/photos/11118865-S.jpg http://Denise.smugmug.com/photos/11118864-S.jpg

This helmet definitely did it's job!

http://Denise.smugmug.com/photos/26829314-L.jpg

Let me know if there's something here that you think could be helpful in your project. The article was written under the assumption that the audience would be adults, but if you can give me some guidelines I would be happy to try to rework a small piece of it for your kids.

--- Denise

I would be happy to send you the helmet that at least kept me out of the hospital, if not saved my life...the damage doesn't look like much, but I hit the side of a moving car straight on with my head when my bike skidded and slipped in some sand at an intersection, about 2 years ago. I did not have any head injuries, but I eventually ended up receiving chiropractic care for my neck and upper spine. I think the lack of visible damage proves how well they are designed to protect us, because I hit that car pretty hard (and scared the poor woman driving it half to death!). I am very fortunate.

Just PM me with your address, and I'll get it right out to you.
Carolyn

This is a really scary/interesting thread.

It reminded me of something that my BF had from Bell (he's a sales rep for them)-- he had a spiral bound book of letters sent to the company from grateful survivors of bike crashes. The booklet was about 1 cm. thick and the letters were all just from last year. I gave it to my mom, who is an RN/EMT who survived a head injury resulting from a moped crash 28 years ago (no helmet-- she was only going about 5 mph., just around the block.) She is now a huge proponent of wearing helmets, due to her own head injury as well as all of the accident scenes she's been at.

And my BF who is now a sales rep for a helmet company-- he has a picture of his busted face on our fridge taken 15 years ago when he crashed his Vespa and wasn't wearing a helmet. I think there's still gravel in his forehead from that...

I hope I never have to rely on mine, but I wear it religiously.

Ride Safely!
Kate:)

Wow! There are people who have not broken a helmet??

I've broken three, but we don't have any of them left. 2 were returned for new ones (I love how they do that!), and the third, the full face bell ballistic chrome helmet that was tension cracked all over the one side - and I had only slight bruising on my face and neck - we just threw away just over a year ago. We were moving - we had to reduce what we moved!

I've never thought it was unusual to have gone through three helmets in 10+ years of riding, but maybe I really am a spaz. :eek:

I think it's great that you're doing this project! Let us know how it goes.

Hugs and butterflies,
~T~

WOW!! I'm at a loss for words! Just WOW!! I wasn't a part of TE back then so I had no idea. I will DEFINTELY use your story and pics in my presentation.
Well, maybe just for the older kids. Don't want to scare the kindergartners. Though maybe thats not such a good thing. Maybe scaring them is what they need? But then again I don't want them having nightmares and mom and dad coming after me! :eek: But I will use the stories and some of the pics for sure!!

I wish I could tell you my last major accident but I can't. I have no memory of the day of the accident or the week or so in the hospital. Just flashes of what I think happened like a fleeting memory like a dream when you wake up.

The few thing I was told:

I was having a really bonked day of riding so I broke off the training ride. One of the guys from the "A" group came back after being called on the cell phone from our group. We rode our bikes back to the car and on the way back is when I crashed.

The paramedic in the ambulance called my home and told my partner that I kept on losing consciousness in the ambulance and told her that it was bad and to meet me at the hospital.

Other recollection is sort of dream like and don't know but I think I was wired up to some monitor and an alarm going off beep-beep-beep. The sound is something I sort of recall not sure... Then I sort of recall of being fussed over by people when I just wanted to sleep. Sort of remember it was dark like at night time... I just don't have any clear memory of my stay in the hospital or even the first few days home. In fact very little of my hospital stay. I do have one memory was the shock of realization that I had no short term memory and crying about it. Funny that's the only real thing I remember...

The cat scans I have no memory... I wish I could tell you my story but its not there. And even today after nearly 6 years, my memory isn't as good as it used to be. My short term memory is still a problem on occasion. Sometimes, I have to write a note or make a conscious effort to remember. Stupid things like 4 items I have to pick up at a grocery store...

I try not to dwell on what if it didn't happen. Only regret about the accident is I wish it didn't happen. I wish I was like before with near photographic memory and I wish ... but that is neither here nor there.

The only thing I want the kids to learn is that its called an accident for a reason. We don't plan on it. We don't think about such things. And boom out of no where it happens. It doesn't matter if you are beginner going slow or experienced rider going slow or fast. Accidents don't care who you are, it happens to ALL of us. It happens when you are not thinking about it.

Over the years, helmets have saved my life from downhill racing to cycling. I think its pretty cool to be wearing a helmet. BTW, wear a helmet and hit it really hard. You can't crack it. you can't dent it but on these crashes, the helmets crack, dent, and break into pieces. Think about what your head would have done in its place.

I threw away my crushed helmet and few other items from the accident. I have too too many reminders from not just this crash but from others as well.

I have been told to hang up my cleats by my neural surgeon but its hard. He told me that there will be no next time for me. I've used up 8 of my 9 lives. When you have 9 out of 9 lives left it doesn't seem like a big deal but when you are down to your last one. It is a big deal.

Anyway, I wish I could tell you the story but this is the best I could do. Talking about it makes me really sad...

I am a terrible writer so please re-write to make it readable.

thanks,
Shawn

PS it makes me really angry when people young and old don't wear a helmet!!
It save my life several times over and at least 6 of my friends.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by smilingcat

I wish I could tell you my last major accident but I can't. I have no memory of the day of the accident or the week or so in the hospital. Just flashes of what I think happened like a fleeting memory like a dream when you wake up.
......................................
The only thing I want the kids to learn is that its called an accident for a reason. We don't plan on it. We don't think about such things. And boom out of no where it happens. It doesn't matter if you are beginner going slow or experienced rider going slow or fast. Accidents don't care who you are, it happens to ALL of us. It happens when you are not thinking about it.
......................................
PS it makes me really angry when people young and old don't wear a helmet!!
It save my life several times over and at least 6 of my friends.

---

Shawn -
You are so right about this. I don't know what happened to me either, and I've accepted that I will never know the cause of my accident.

Funny though, I had a discussion with someone I knew in passing (not a friend, just someone I had met), and she was sure that I should sue the town that the road was in. And I just can't accept that kind of attitude. I believe my wheel got caught by something in the road - but that wasn't a justification for suing or a reason to blame someone else. Just as you said, it was an accident. No blame to be laid - I'm just thankful that my helmet allowed me to continue to live a full life.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Running Mommy

Maybe scaring them is what they need? But then again I don't want them having nightmares and mom and dad coming after me! :eek: But I will use the stories and some of the pics for sure!!

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Denise -
Maybe scaring mom & dad would be a good thing though - just enough that they don't allow their kids to head out without their helmets.

I saw a child in my neighborhood riding without a helmet. Her dad was outside, so I stopped to talk with him - to recommend that she wear a helmet. He said she didn't like it and he thought if he forced the issue that she would stop riding her bike. My response to him was that it would be better for her to stop riding than to die or to be severely injured by a helmet-less head hitting the ground. I also talked to his daughter (in his presence). I pointed out the still-red spots on my face, bruises that I think will never go away - thinking that maybe that would make an impression on the child. Nope. (Of course the bruises that live on my face to this day happened when I was wearing my helmet - but I figured that she wouldn't realize that. Anything to attempt to convince her that a helmet is a good thing.)

Unfortunately our conversation did nothing to change the child's behavior.

--- Denise

you might want to check out this story...amazing!!! the guy's head was literally run over!!! :eek:

http://www.madison.com/tct/news/index.php?ntid=133934

Quote:

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thinking that maybe that would make an impression on the child. Nope. Unfortunately our conversation did nothing to change the child's behavior.

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Denise...don't discount your effort. Perhaps it didn't make a difference that day, but people can take a long time to digest concepts that initially don't agree with them. Maybe you did make a point. Don't give up trying (though I truly doubt you would).

This thread has been really interesting in a scary sort of "wake up" mode. I've always been a helmet believer and shudder when I see helmetless heads--particularly on kids riding on the wrong side of the street <grrr />. I did crash while wearing my helmet. I got knocked out and was only coherent after arriving in the ER. I have no recollection of the ambulance ride although I was told I rode in one. The helmet kept my injury to a small concussion.

When I read the postings here, I realize that in comparison my injury was minor. Still, without that helmet it wouldn't have been.

ever crash twice in a helmet you didn't think was damaged the first time? tell you what, you really feel crash number two! do make sure to show crashed helmets with no visible damage--sometimes this is just as powerful as overwhelming damage. makes it a little more relatable for kids who have had small injuries but cannot fathom something really horrific. perhaps company reps can help you out with analyses of such helmets on a microscopic level.

I'll see if I can at least get you some pictures of my helment. I have been planning to use it for my own little bicycle saftey class though. Most of the back of the helment behind my right ear was so badly damaged that it fell apart by touching it. The only thing left holding it in place was the plastic shell over the top.

My accident came with help from some ones dog. So please keep your dogs confined.

I was riding with a friend when a dog started to chase him.
The dog crossed into my front wheel, and sent me out of control. I saw it coming though and grabbed my brakes so I only hit the ground at 17mph not 20 or more. I remember uncliping as it happened so I could bail from my bike. I really didn't want to endo, (afraide I would hit my head, its happend before the bike came around with the handle bars almost breaking my nose. different bike and accident).
So I leaned to the side and hope to land on my side. Oops I landed on my head anyway. I was in the air and saw my water bottles falling from there cages and that when I realized I was upside down as well. I closed my eyes and waited for the impact. It felt like I hit really hard on the right top of my head. Sorry I'll continue this in a momment

Ok, I'll continue. I'm at the local library and they only give you so long to be on line at a time.

Right after that I rolled onto my side and skidded a few feet. I remained alert the whole time. The first thing I did after I stopped was to check and move each limb. The way I hit I was really worried about being paralized more then anything. After that I wanted to get up but that little voice on the inside told me to stay down until medical help got there. My friend came back and called 911 for me and stayed with me until I left in the ambulance. The best part was my brother was one of the EMT's that picked me up. Infact he rode in my abulance. So at least I had my family with me. His supervisor wanted him to stay with me at the hospital but I sent him back to work.
At the hospital they sent me to get two cat scans and I had to wait like four hours to be released. They found nothing wrong with my head or neck but I had really bad vertigo for a few weeks after that. They sat me up in bed at the hospital and I thought I was going to fall out of the bed the room was spinning so fast. Apparently I had a death grip on the rails of the bed. I also walked into things for about two week or so after the accident. The vertigo would hit and I would walk diagonally across a room thinking I was walking straight.Which ment I had to go in for another CT becuase I was shownig signs of a possible brain bleed. But by the grace of God and wearing my helment I have no permanent injuries.

This is a wonderful idea and a great topic. Too bad I just threw away my helmet last month. I was finally able to let it go even though I crashed 3 years ago. I'll see if I can at least hunt up some pictures of it.

I was commuting to work early in the morning. As I was coming down a hill, a landscaping truck drove pass me. The truck was pulling an improperly hitched trailer that popped off at the bottom of the hill. The trailer wiped me out from behind. I went flying over my handlebars and did a headplant into the curb. I don't have any memory of the impact except for waking up in the middle of the street covered in grass clippings. The only reason I know my head hit the curb is because there is a big red paint transfer on my white helmet. There was no other source of red on the street. My helmet had two cracks. One big red crack directly on top of my head and one on the back of the head.

I felt fine until I arrived at the hospital by ambulance. By then, the adrenaline had worn off and my whole head was ringing. (Here is a good tidbit of advice. Don't assess your injuries until after the adrenaline wears off.) I ended up with a concussion, whiplash, and a very deep palm sized patch of road rash on my butt/hip. No broken bones. No sprained joints. However, I did develop back pain from my compressed neck. Physical therapy took care of that. My injuries would have been much worse without a helmet.
-Shimpie

Hey! did you get a squid yet? How about this one :D

Thanks for teaching safety to kids! I'm always hollering at kids that I ride by, WHERE IS YOUR HELMET??? I'm sure they just love the old lady bellowing at them :cool: :p

I had an employee hit 4 months ago. He WAS wearing a helmet and it DID save his life... he had severe head trauma, was blind for 8 days before he began regaining his sight, lost short term memory for over a month, lost 7 teeth, severly damaged his right arm and hand and thank god they were able to save 2 fingers. They discussed amputating. Our company reps visited the hospital since his family is in Mexico and he couldn't remember their names or anything about them... we couldn't leave him there for a month completely along. When he regained his memory he was able to let them know what happened.

He has not returned to work yet, and I doubt he will for some time. But frankly, the fact that he MAY return at all someday is a miracle. Without the helmet, I am sure he would have died.

just a Bump for a worthwhile cause!

Eden? what squid? no attachment!

really? I can see it -very odd.....
just in case I'm the only one here it is again

still no pic! Could be where you're linking from. You may need to copy it to someplace like photobucket and link from there....

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Fredwina

still no pic! Could be where you're linking from. You may need to copy it to someplace like photobucket and link from there....

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weirder and weirder - I'm not linking, I'm supposedly uploading so it should be stored here?? maybe I should try sticking it on my website and linking it instead.
http://www.pseudophyle.com/squid.jpg
hopefully that works!

I should not have been reading this two hours before I take off for home on my bike. I've got my helmet, as always, but all these stories make me want bubble wrap. Lots of bubble wrap. Maybe I can stop by the mailroom on the way out...

nope.
what appaear to be happening (bear in mind i'm not I web browser expert) is that your PC has the image in its cache - an area of memory - that way, if you're going back and forth between TE and say, hotbicyclestudmuffins.com you don't have to download the same images (like the lady at the top of the page). Your Browser is smart enough to grab the image from the cache instead of the other site when it's displaying the TE page. since I've never been to your site, my Browser will attempt to grab the image from site x.
Here's where my knowledge ends somewhat. Some sites (like Blogger, if your site's URL is *blogspot.com) will figure out that your'e trying to display the image on site that's not there and block it. I found this out the hard way. and it's hard to figure out, since your impulse to to verify the image is on site X before checking TE(mainly to protect copyrights), which handly sticks in to your cache.... I store images on Photobucket, since they don't do that
Makes you wish for an exciting career in IT, doesn't it?:rolleyes:

I'm going to have to say its likely something else... the first two times I actually uploaded the image to the TE website, so it should be stored on the server here... I usually do small images this way. The third I tried to link to the image from my personal site, so that one could be in the cache, but I'm thinking there must be something up with the image itself. I think I'll try to resave it.
trying with a gif instead of a jpg... (the colors are brighter in other formats..)

sucess! :)

Oh yeah! I LIKE that!!! Can I steal it? can I, can I (asks the excited kid)???

Oh- and THANKS EDEN!!! I got my first helmet today. My husband who is out of town 90% of the time had no idea what I was up to. He was like "what do you mean you just got your first cracked helmet??"... Actually I think he thinks I'M CRACKED sometimes!! lol... His wife and her hair brained schemes... :p
But this one is going to help save some kids lives, so it's important.
I yelled at a total of EIGHT kids today on my one hour ride about not having helmets on. I think I'm becoming known as the helmet nazi! lol

I've got another squished helmet in the arsenal. And she wrote a cool story to the kids. I can't wait to share it with them!!
Thanks carolyn!

I'm glad it got there safely...the post office guy kind of lobbed it into the bin when I mailed it, and I got a mental image of you opening the box with the helmet in a million pieces, and you thinking, "how did that woman survive that crash?!?"

I wish you much success with your project!

I would be glad to send my cracked helmet to you (no postage refund needed) if it convinces kids to be safe! My recent crash was not nearly as dramatic as many described above but was still potentially dangerous.

I wrote briefly about it in a recent thread: ( I was riding into a seasonally closed rest area near where I live, one where the wire which holds warning signs has been sagging on the ground and where I have been riding over the wire where it is on the ground. You know what's coming---yup, I wasn't paying attention to my turning radius and hit the wire where it was about 10 inches off the ground---instant endo, cracked helmet, road rash on knees and head, and stiff neck, but otherwise OK. The price of stupidity and lack of attention! )

So pm your address to me.

I have a cracked helmet and I have photos of cracked helmet. To start, I can send you photos because I MAY need helmet as evidence for a "hope not to happen" court case. Once any possible litagation is over, I can send you helmet.

The helmet is not dramatically cracked, but it is cracked in several places. Better it than my head. Helmet crashed on May 19, 2007. Sample photo attached. Others available. Let me know -- you can PM me.

photo of helmet ...

I think what you are doing and the name for it are great!!! Part of the message might be that helmets are not only for bicycling; had an experience with my son's friend on roller blades. He told me that his parents never made him wear a helmet while roller blading, I told him if he was going with me, he was. So, he put it on and did not hook the strap, because it 'hurt'. I adjusted it and told him he had to deal with wearing it correctly or not roller blade when he was with me. He and my son started down the hill, he flipped back, landed on the back of his head and shattered the helmet. His head was just a bit bruised. Later that day, his mom stopped by, gave me a big thanks and money to get him a really good helmut that he would now be wearing anytime he went roller blading.