How annoying..The media & helmets

[crazycanuck]

URGH Do articles such as these really turn folks off of cycling??

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au...-30417,00.html

AARGGHHHHH

[Di bear]

Well, one silly little study does not change the fact that I feel safer in my helmet, especially since I've actually had some accidents with some hard blows to the head and felt perfectly fine without causing any excessive "rotation."

[crazycanuck]

Di..yep.

I'm realllyyyyy glad i had my helmet on back in Oct!!!!! Hey, although noone likes having an "oops, oh dear", you get a nice new helmet

[Tri Girl]

They cause more harm than do good? WHAT??? That's the most ridiculous thing I've heard. I don't think my helmet caused me more harm than good when I went down hard doing 18mph on the road last year. In fact, had I not been wearing it, the crack of my skull on the pavement would surely have left someone a nice mess to clean up. As it was, I just had a headache.

Stupid article!

[OakLeaf]

I don't think it's the "media" per se, it's the idiotic organizations that promote this kind of stuff. Never heard of it in bicycling before, but they're all over the motorcycling world.

Just yesterday, our local paper made a point of emphasizing that a helmet had saved a rider from serious head injuries in a hit/skip.

[KnottedYet]

Was the Australian study looking at the helmets with the pointed "aero" back sides?

I've read things about how those can cause your head to rotate in a crash, but that's one of those very rare occaisions. Certainly flukey enough that no-one would damm all helmets because of it!

[Jolt]

I had heard something similar to this before, but I don't buy the statement that helmets do more harm than good. I think the issue is with some of the "aerodynamic" shaped helmets that have parts that can "catch" on the pavement in a crash as opposed to a more round helmet that wouldn't do that. If the helmet catches on the ground I can see where it would cause extra rotation. I think it was somewhere on www.helmets.org that recommended looking for a helmet with a very rounded shape to avoid this issue. As for helmets discouraging people from riding, I don't buy that either. Especially with as lightweight as helmets are now (my first helmet as a kid was one of those hard-shell Jammer ones that weren't all that well ventilated either, and things have improved a lot since then!). I think I'd be nervous riding without mine.

[Geonz]

Lots of people feel safer on sidewalks, too ... studies are good things.

I would say the study should inspire improvements in helmet design, not giving up on helmets.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

I have always felt that they should go back to the older bike helmet designs which were more rounded. I love my roller skating helmet!:
http://img.inlinewarehouse.com/ProductImages/PBH.JPG

Those pointy alien helmets are not really safe if your head is skidding on pavement at 30mph.

[OakLeaf]

studies are good things

Studies authored by the president of an anti-helmet organization are prima facie not good things. If they want to have some data to grind their ax with, fine, collaborate with a pro-helmet organization to co-sponsor an independent study, and agree to publish the results regardless of what they are.

[GLC1968]

It sounds as if the quote "they are causing more harm than good" wasn't actually in reference to the helmets, but to the LAWS requiring the helmets. The journalist appears to have twisted the quote to get a flashy headline.

Personally, helmets when I'm riding are like seatbelts when I'm in a car. I feel naked and vulnerable without them.

[bmccasland]

The worst thing my helmet gave me was bad hair. I haven't heard many cyclists complain about helmet hair either.

It did prevent me from having something worse than a broken nose when I did a face-plant into stairs. Durn learing curve for toe clips. Klutz.

[HillSlugger]

Journalistic integrity would have had it prominently stated that the author of the study is head of a group that opposes the helmet law! Can you say "conflict of interest"?

[TryToKeepUp]

how could anyone possibly think helmets do more harm than good. I am pretty sure a helmet has saved my life more than a few times.

[Grog]

In defense of journalists, I must say that the authors of news pieces are very seldom the people who choose the title to their stories. Some editor picks the titles, and it's meant to "sell," not to be truthful...

This being said, they should have given more information about who's the author of the study...