[aclinjury]

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/...ling-is-the-top-sport-for-head-injuries/?_r=0

pretty good article, especially to anyone who still thinks cycling without a helmet is a nonissue, or those who even say stuff like "a helmet acts like a lever to twist your head during a roll, so therefore a helmet is not safe"...

well.. numbers don't lie, and the stats on cyclists killed while not wearing a helmet is quite grim

However, I also wonder if many of the cycling helmet out there, especially the superlight ones, are actually not as safe as they could be if made a bit heavier, with more material.

 

[lazybean]

However, I also wonder if many of the cycling helmet out there, especially the superlight ones, are actually not as safe as they could be if made a bit heavier, with more material.

From helmets.org
"Current bike helmet standards include:

CPSC: Every bicycle helmet sold in the US must meet our national standard.

ASTM F1447: Identical to CPSC.

Snell B90-S: Essentially identical to CPSC."

 

[aclinjury]

From helmets.org
"Current bike helmet standards include:

CPSC: Every bicycle helmet sold in the US must meet our national standard.

ASTM F1447: Identical to CPSC.

Snell B90-S: Essentially identical to CPSC."

but being in compliance does not necessarily equate to being as safe as can be. But wearing a helmet in compliant is most likely statistically safer (my guess) than wearing one under compliant, or not wearing one at all.

 

[Roland44]

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/...ling-is-the-top-sport-for-head-injuries/?_r=0

pretty good article, especially to anyone who still thinks cycling without a helmet is a nonissue, or those who even say stuff like "a helmet acts like a lever to twist your head during a roll, so therefore a helmet is not safe"...

well.. numbers don't lie, and the stats on cyclists killed while not wearing a helmet is quite grim

However, I also wonder if many of the cycling helmet out there, especially the superlight ones, are actually not as safe as they could be if made a bit heavier, with more material.

Thanks for this! I have to show it to my bro who thinks not wearing a helmet is cool..

 

[Randy99CL]

"According to the American Association of Neurological Surgeons, cycling accidents played a role in about 86,000 of the 447,000 sports-related head injuries treated in emergency rooms in 2009.

Cycling was also the leading cause of sports-related head injuries in children under 14, causing 40,272 injuries.


Bicyclists are also at high risk of colliding with motor vehicles, and when riders are not wearing helmets, such collisions frequently result in serious head injuries. For example, about 90 percent of bicyclists killed in the United States in 2009 were not wearing helmets. A majority were middle-aged men."

I had heard somewhere that kids were the biggest percentage of cycling fatalities; guess that was wrong.
The majority were middle-aged men??
I think the majority of motorcyclists killed these days are middle-aged men too. Also not wearing helmets.

Cycling helmets are a lot better than they were 20 years ago; they fit better and are cooler and lighter. I like the way the newer ones cover more of the back of your head too.
Could they be safer? I don't know for sure but I think we all want sexy helmets that don't make us look like eggheads.

 

[Kerry Irons]

"According to the American Association of Neurological Surgeons, cycling accidents played a role in about 86,000 of the 447,000 sports-related head injuries treated in emergency rooms in 2009.

Cycling was also the leading cause of sports-related head injuries in children under 14, causing 40,272 injuries.


Bicyclists are also at high risk of colliding with motor vehicles, and when riders are not wearing helmets, such collisions frequently result in serious head injuries. For example, about 90 percent of bicyclists killed in the United States in 2009 were not wearing helmets. A majority were middle-aged men."

I had heard somewhere that kids were the biggest percentage of cycling fatalities; guess that was wrong.
The majority were middle-aged men??
I think the majority of motorcyclists killed these days are middle-aged men too. Also not wearing helmets.

A lot of those middle aged men killed in bike accidents are riding bikes because of too many DUIs and associated lost licenses. Bike statistics have to be carefully deconstructed if you want to relate them to what most of us would call "cyclists."

 

[InfiniteLoop]

A little perspective is important. There are likely 50 people riding a bike each day for each person playing a sport. The rate of head injuries and deaths for cyclists is considerably lower than for sports such as hockey, football, cheerleading, soccer, and many others.

Correlation does not equal causation. Many of the people who consistently wear helmets are more serious cyclists who also ride much safer. Many of those not wearing helmets are likely not riding as safely, are more likely to be intoxicated, more likely to not have lights at night, more likely to ride on the wrong side of the road, and more likely to dart in to traffic.

 

[Randy99CL]

You are both right; I see those people every day.
Old beat-up mountain bikes. No helmets, no lights, hell most of them wear dark clothes so that you can't even see them at night! I've almost hit them myself!

There was a lot of press here about a 50s man hit by a car on January 1st. Turns out it was 3am, the roads were snow-covered and he was drunk. Had already lost his license for DUIs.

When people tell me that motoing or cycling are dangerous I say "Yes, they are, so I do all that I can to make myself as safe as possible."

 

[kmak]

I found this article very interesting:

SENSELESS | Bicycling Magazine

Basically, the helmet standards were developed long ago, and are designed to keep your skull from fracturing, with very little to protect the brain from concussion or injury.

I know it looks goofy but after reading that article I bought a helmet with MIPS technology from POC, Trabec Race MIPS - POC Sports (at least I took the visor off).

 

[Hooben]

Wearing a helmet has always been one of those things where some will violently oppose or support it. Sure, riding without one may feel cooler on a hot summer day, but a helmet can also help shade the sun. There will always be two sides to this story. Fellow cyclists that I know are so pro helmet, that there is no way I could ever ride anywhere without one. The pressure from my peers to wear one is just too great.

 

[skitorski]

I found this article very interesting:

SENSELESS | Bicycling Magazine

Basically, the helmet standards were developed long ago, and are designed to keep your skull from fracturing, with very little to protect the brain from concussion or injury.

I know it looks goofy but after reading that article I bought a helmet with MIPS technology from POC, Trabec Race MIPS - POC Sports (at least I took the visor off).

Same thing as the SNELL standard for motorcyclists. It' total bull and kills people that would survive with a non-SNELL helmet. The stupid test is a drop steel ball from 8 or 10 feet, on the exact same spot two times. The helmet has to resist penetration. The Fed standard measures energy transferred to interior contents enclosed by the helmet. The SNELL standard allows way to much energy into the egg omelet. But they collect their royalty from every sticker.

 

[froze]

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/...ling-is-the-top-sport-for-head-injuries/?_r=0

pretty good article, especially to anyone who still thinks cycling without a helmet is a nonissue, or those who even say stuff like "a helmet acts like a lever to twist your head during a roll, so therefore a helmet is not safe"...

well.. numbers don't lie, and the stats on cyclists killed while not wearing a helmet is quite grim

However, I also wonder if many of the cycling helmet out there, especially the superlight ones, are actually not as safe as they could be if made a bit heavier, with more material.

I've posted that site and others including a Snell site all saying the same sort of thing with statistics to back up their claims on a helmet thread and all I got was scoffers, mostly from the bareheaded brigade of course who say that FARS is falsely reporting information...which of course means that the insurance companies, doctors, EMT techs, hospitals, lawyers, law enforcement officials, etc are all in cohoots to report false information so we all run out and buy helmets!!

 

[Mr. Versatile]

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/...ling-is-the-top-sport-for-head-injuries/?_r=0

I also wonder if many of the cycling helmet out there, especially the superlight ones, are actually not as safe as they could be if made a bit heavier, with more material.

Of course they could be made safer, but there are trade offs. Heavier weight, less ventilation, more bulk, hotter to wear, harder to buckle, harder to take a drink when riding, etc. If you really want state of the art protection try a Shoei full face motorcycle helmet or maybe something like Indy Car or Formula 1 drivers wear. I'd feel very safe in one of those (no sarcasm) but I'm not willing to put up with the trade offs. Now, let's move on the clothing...

 

[Floppybike]

8 years ago, I had major head trauma from a bike accident--hospital for a month and rehab for a year---I was wearing a helmet... thanks to God, I am riding my bike again, but I see people riding without helmets and I think they are taking huge risks. The helmets today are light and very well ventilated so it feels comfortable to ride with a helmet. I recently bought a KASK helmet--the helmets used by Team SKY. It has a non traditional design but a very high safety rating while still be race quality... KASK Cycling Helmets | KASK Bike Helmets | Tour Cycling

 

[tednugent]

imo... cycling & head injuries don't compare to East Coast skiing/snowboarding, where crashing on ice as well as terrain parks... where many of the cool kids don't wear helmets.

Some of the ski patrollers refer to the terrain park as "vegetable gardens"

my local mountain just finished building their emergency treatment clinic.... right across the road, from the terrain park side of the mountain.

 

[RoadrunnerLXXI]

I found this article very interesting:

SENSELESS | Bicycling Magazine

Basically, the helmet standards were developed long ago, and are designed to keep your skull from fracturing, with very little to protect the brain from concussion or injury.

I know it looks goofy but after reading that article I bought a helmet with MIPS technology from POC, Trabec Race MIPS - POC Sports (at least I took the visor off).

I don't think it looks goofy...looks more futuristic like it came from Star Trek.

 

[Dave1442397]

I bought a Scott TAAL helmet with MIPS after reading the article in Bicycling magazine. It can't hurt, and it fits way better than the Specialized helmet I bought when I got my bike two years ago.

 

[InfiniteLoop]

I found this article very interesting:

SENSELESS | Bicycling Magazine

Good article. Thanks for posting. One thing I might quibble with is the author's assertion, with regard to linear acceleration, that "Today's helmets do an excellent job of preventing catastrophic injury and death by attenuating that blow." There is no study that I'm aware of that has come close to proving this and many studies seeming say the opposite, that helmets are good at low impacts (below the level of any kind of head injury other than a lump on the head) but completely useless for higher force impacts. For higher force impacts you need an extremely solid shell and inner cushioning - eg, a motorcycle helmet.

 

[BikesOfALesserGod]

And in other news, swimming is the leading cause of sports related drowning deaths.