helmets

[chestnut]

I'm brand new here, so I apologize if I'm bringing up an old, talked-to-death topic. I am not trying to start an argument, just curious and looking for input. Thanks!

I ride horses, and since there are obvious parallels I was thinking of riding a bike too, for more exercise and to strengthen my legs. With horses, I wear my ASTM/SEI-approved equestrian helmet whenever I ride, and replace the thing every couple of years just in case. I was assuming I'd go out and buy a bike helmet (I realize you can't cross over with the horse/bike helmets) but when I began looking into it, I found the the federal agency charged with bike helmet standards to be unimpressive, and the available research skimpy - ie, I could find plenty of news articles referencing how 'research' proves that bike helmets reduce injuries in cycling accidents, but not the research itself or even where or who did it. In other words, lots of claims, not much pure information.

Am I just not looking in the right places? With horses, I was able to check out quite a lot of very interesting research into riding accidents and brain injuries; I don't seem to find that sort of thing with bicycles.

[indysteel]

I can't really attest to what information is available on this site. I wear an approved helmet and haven't really wondered whether it's actually helpful. Most of my evidence is antedotal. I've had friends who've been involved in accidents. While their helmets cracked, their heads did not. That's enough for me.

http://www.helmets.org/index.htm#helmets

[arielmoon]

I have a dressage horse and I can tell that strengthening my legs has greatly improved my riding and balance.

Sorry I have no advice on the helmet situation.

[SadieKate]

I conducted my own research. Test A) Smacked my head on the pavement while wearing a helmet while going only about 18 mph. Observation: It makes a nasty sound and makes you dizzy. Conclusion: Don't try Test B.

[indysteel]

I conducted my own research. Test A) Smacked my head on the pavement while wearing a helmet while going only about 18 mph. Observation: It makes a nasty sound and makes you dizzy. Conclusion: Don't try Test B.

I'm glad you had a helmet on SK!!!!

[alpinerabbit]

The one time I crashed I had no helmet on. I did so in the vicinity of a lamp post. I don't want to do test B either.

Although - they argue over here against a helmet mandate by claiming a reduction in head injuries is not proven.

In a rare exception (i'm usually insisting on evidence) anecdotes suffice for me.

I guess you'll be safe with one of the major brands, they will have a certification sticker.

[OakLeaf]

That's goofy, "a reduction in head injuries is not proved."

(1) They know how much impact a human head can take before the brain is injured.

(2) They know how much impact is transmitted to the inside of a helmet, compared to the impact applied to the outside of it. (This is part of the Snell Memorial Foundation testing, and no I don't trust a helmet that isn't Snell rated.)

Are these real scientists who refuse to make the connection between (1) and (2)????

[Tri Girl]

Like SK, my only needed approved test was when I was thrown from my bike at 17 mph (thank you, tire eating road gap). The major crack on the helmet, and the fact that I didn't suffer any head injuries (no headache- nothing) tells me that helmets work. And I went down HARD- head first.

I don't need no stinkin' scientific studies to make me wear one. Common sense tells me that my skull is only so strong and any blunt force to it will cause injury- therefore wearing a helmet that may absorb said force and prevent my skull from cracking is a good thing.

[PscyclePath]

Over the past six years, I've tried Test A three times, and "honorably retired" a pretty nice (& expen$ive) helmet each time. A couple of my riding buddies wouldn't be here today if they hadn't been wearing a helmet as well. So I'm a believer.

It's true that helmets probably won't help you all that much if you get hit by a car, or a bus... but then there's that story of the fellow whose head was run over by a delivery truck early last year -- his helmet took the licking, and he kept on ticking. So yeah, they do help even then...

But 80% of bike crashes don't involve other vehicles. Most of the time we just flat fall off our bikes, and that's the kind of situation that helmets are really designed to work in.

Your brain can't heal itself when you hurt it. That's the big reason to wear a helmet. As adults, we also wear helmets to set a good example for children, who are even more vulnerable to these sorts of mishaps than we are.

Your equestrian helmet will probably protect you on your bike as well... just be prepared for some odd looks

Tom

[wolfak]

I conducted my own research. Test A) Smacked my head on the pavement while wearing a helmet while going only about 18 mph. Observation: It makes a nasty sound and makes you dizzy. Conclusion: Don't try Test B.

So back when I was 12, I recall riding my new mountain bike that I had purchased at Wal-Mart with my allowance. I had just started waving at some neighbors in their front yard-----

--12 hours and 1 out of body experience later--

--woke up in county hospital with severe concussion, unable to stand up without fainting and/or puking, later found out to be from the bruising my brain had undergone. About 6 hours after that and the 1.5 hour ground ambulance ride to the nearest MRI instrument, which showed the excess fluids inside my cranium and proved to be enough motion for me to puke some more.

Once at the larger hospital, I had received a mylar balloon with silver backing and was able to see the large black eyes I had received from my impact - imagine one half Jackie O. sunglasses, the other half John Lennon's and that's how my face looked.

Turned out that I had pulled an Endo and lost some memory prior to the event, which explains why all I remember was waving at my neighbors. Also, I had fainting and dizziness for several months following that.

Moral of story: Don't try B.

Also, that was back in 1992.

[latelatebloomer]

Your brain can't heal itself when you hurt it.

i work at a brain injury rehab. Wear your helmet. Most of our clients will never return to their jobs, families, relationships, many are incontinent and some will never again have the simple pleasure of drinking a glass of cold water when they are thirsty, due to swallowing problems. Wear your helmet. Our "high" achievers have part time jobs wiping tables at fast food restaurants - with a job coach beside them all the time - whose name they can never remember. Wear your helmet.

A lot of their injuries come from car crashes, true, but some are from astonishingly small hits - a fall while hanging off a basketball rim, or slipping on an icy parking lot. Wear your helmet. The cranium is only designed to protect your brain at human running speed - maybe 8 mph. And your wonderful, wonderful brain does not know how to mend itself. Wear your helmet!

[kermit]

I know of many people who would have been hurt alot worse without a helmet. That being said, people still don't wear them (idiots). I ride jumpers and after many horse crashes, and being kicked in the face and head, it's always been a must. The fact there is no research on cycling helmets is probably that most helmets are and have been made the same. The new equestrian helmets just came about after the standard hunt cap just came off and people started suing. Cycling helmets are all just styrophome/plastic, it's the fit that is important. Protect the melon I say!

[aicabsolut]

I'm an equestrian too, and I've smacked my head on the (relatively softer) ground a few times in the old style helmets over the years (that were basically pretty covered plastic shells). I got a concussion (but didn't need to go to the ER or anything) that was no fun when a horse I was on slipped and fell in a turn.

I wear whatever cycling helmet meets the safety standards we have in this country. I went down hard in a race on the pavement, with my head taking the brunt of my fall. The helmet shattered. My head was bruised, I was dizzy, and I had a killer headache for a while, but it wasn't as bad as that bad fall on the horse. My helmet was completely toast. I'm ok.

Helmet safety has been evolving in both sports in terms of design and materials. Getting something that meets the newest standards is probably best, though I will admit I balked at some of the older safety riding helmets about 10 years ago because of how high they perched up on the head. The fit was so compromised by the design, I figured it wouldn't do me any more good. Obviously, things have come a long way with equestrian helmets in terms of safety, style, fit, and comfort. The same is true for bike helmets. I remember the old thing I had as a kid that seemed like pretty cheap styrofoam. All I can say is that the cycling helmet really saved my skull. You may not be that impressed with how the standards are set here, but I think they're at least as reliable as the testing behind your equestrian helmet.

[7rider]

i work at a brain injury rehab. Wear your helmet. Most of our clients will never return to their jobs, families, relationships, many are incontinent and some will never again have the simple pleasure of drinking a glass of cold water when they are thirsty, due to swallowing problems. Wear your helmet. Our "high" achievers have part time jobs wiping tables at fast food restaurants - with a job coach beside them all the time - whose name they can never remember. Wear your helmet.

A lot of their injuries come from car crashes, true, but some are from astonishingly small hits - a fall while hanging off a basketball rim, or slipping on an icy parking lot. Wear your helmet. The cranium is only designed to protect your brain at human running speed - maybe 8 mph. And your wonderful, wonderful brain does not know how to mend itself. Wear your helmet!

My good friend and bike commuting partner just spent seven weeks in 2 hospitals (5 weeks in ICU, 2 weeks in rehab) after a bike accident WITH a properly fitting helmet strapped to his head. What happened - how fast he was going - is unknown. Without a doubt, he would have been killed without it. As it is, he appears to be making remarkable progress coming back. It's still too early to say if he'll ever be able to perform at the level he was at before (reviewing grant applications, chairing multi-day scientific meetings, etc). But he's home. He's coherent. And he shows that while wearing a helmet won't necessarily protect you from all accidents....yes...it's better than Test B.

[crazycanuck]

I'm an avid helmet wearer...Don't run into another cyclist (with little time to react) and hit your head on the ground..Can you say..ow..Benign positional vertigo..oww..broken helmet..etc etc..

My speed was 27km/hr & the other person..about 35km/hr..

It kinda ruins your weekend