Comments on: Problems With Cycle Helmets

By: tejvan

tejvan — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 09:08:16 +0000

It seems to make sense about giving helmets to children for a variety of reasons. I guess, the other benefits of helmet use will always be difficult to precisely define

By: Dan H

Dan H — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 09:41:59 +0000

Making your children wear a helmet isn’t just about them being too young to choose. (This issue came up on the CCC mailing list discussion.) Children’s skulls are much thinner, so a bump on the noggin that you or I would walk away from and take an aspirin for is a potentially serious injury to them. Again, we’re not talking about getting crushed by a left-turning bus or lorry, which no helmet will protect against (and which I reiterate is more likely to happen off the bike than on), we’re talking about the low-impact accidents like losing control on slippery tarmac or leaning too far into a bend, which are comparable to falling out of a tree or coming off a skateboard.

One chap on the list (who I won’t name) said that he doesn’t wear a helmet because, having considered the evidence, he thinks they are no use, but he makes his children wear them for the reason above. He explains why he treats them differently, and hopes that when they are old enough they will make an informed decision for themselves. I don’t think you can argue with that really.

By: Stormfilled

Stormfilled — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 08:01:59 +0000

I looked at studies and things when I started cycling again and made the decision not to wear a helmet. Whether the reports and things are true or not, I was looking for an excuse not to wear one! In all honesty, I’m very vain. Not being particularly pretty, my hair is my best feature and if I had to wear a helmet, I simply wouldn’t cycle. Also, I hate having anything around my head. Sounds stupid doesn’t it? But it’s the truth.

I think cars make judgments on all kinds of things. I recently went out for a ride with a male friend on a mountain bike. I ride an old steel upright with baskets on it. The differences in the way that cars treated us was absolutely astounding. I’ve seldom felt unsafe on roads, but I certainly worried for him that day; they seemed to see him as a challenge.

In the studies I’ve read, the protection offered by a helmet seems mostly geared to if you just fall off. Certainly if any of the situations with my friend the other day had been more serious, there’s no way that a piece of headwear would have saved him. But if I had kids, I’d ask them to wear one, just in case they fell off. I think it has to be a personal decision. When my metaphorical kids were old enough to make their own informed choice, then that choice would be theirs.

By: Lutin

Lutin — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 06:31:40 +0000

I agree with Dan that I wouldn’t put too much trust in that study. Most biking accidents are lateral car/bike collisions and doors opening suddenly before a surprised cyclist. In both cases, an 8cm difference in distance with cars in front or behind won’t make a difference.
In the city I live, I’m more concerned of bad drivers (and there are so many here) having totally stupid and unpredictable behavior than of having more space while commuting on the street.

Although, after having fell down once at 35kph (a speed which I reach relatively often while commuting), I wouldn’t bet much on not wearing a helmet either. It was not even in an accident with a car; a small bump on the cycling path and me not paying enough attention. With the force my head hit the ground, I’m pretty positive it saved me at least from a concussion.

So, kids, be safe and wear your helmets!
^_^v

By: tejvan

tejvan — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 20:44:01 +0000

Thanks for comments Dan, you always have something interesting / useful to say.

By: Dan H

Dan H — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 18:09:47 +0000

When I say “on the Cambridge Cycling Campaign” I mean the mailing list. I tried to edit my comment before posting, but it had already gone.

By: Dan H

Dan H — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 18:07:46 +0000

I wouldn’t put too much stock in that study. Dr Walker found that the difference in average space left is single digits of cm, which is (1) much less than the standard deviation within each set of measurements, and (2) trivial compared to the several feet of clearance that almost all vehicles gave. A much more important issue is that if a multi-ton vehicle collides with you at high speed, the extra mass attached to your head causes any impact to be harder, increasing the chance of serious head injury.

On the other hand, pedestrians are more road-accident-prone than cyclists (per person per mile travelled), so if you don’t wear a helmet while walking to the bus stop or corner shop, wearing one on the bike is a bit of a waste of time. Mind you, as so few ped and cyclist accidents involve low-velocity upper head impacts (i.e. the kind bike helmets protect against), you can make a bigger contribution to your safety by always wearing a full-face helmet. Of course, this applies to commuting, not to racing. Riding at race velocities at the separations racers tend to keep, I’d want a helmet too.

Interestingly, there was a poll on the Cambridge Evening News website on bike helmet compulsion last week: the results were 80-20 against compulsion. It sparked, shall we say, a lively debate on the Cambridge Cycling Campaign – not about compulsion, which even the pro-helmet crowd agreed would be disastrous – but about whether helmets offer any benefit at all.