Bike helmets

[marmeemarch1]

I have always insisted my two DDs 6 and 9 wear bike helmets. They have recently started meeting our oldest DDs friends and playing around the block. It's a very quiet area but does have some through traffic.

They like to go out on their bikes. I have said they have to wear helmets but their dad and our childminder frequently let them out without helmets.

They say they hurt their heads, make them sweaty and they are embarrassed to wear them as not all of their friends wear them. Our current compromise is if they don't want to go out with helmets they can't take their bikes, but can still play out with their friends.

I have worked with people with brain injury so am worried that my work experiences are clouding my judgement.

Wise mumsnetters what do you think

No ivy because we're encased in metal. What a weird comparison
Saying that, I refuse to ever go in a soft top/open top car.

ALso ivy a helmet is not going to save you in a car collision whether your in a car or on a bike... but you're more likely to survive if you're in a car.
A helmet is more for loss of control.... black ice, moss on road, steep down hill, stray animals/wildlife running out and general messing about on a bike. So should always be worn!

Of course a helmet would make a difference - formula1 wears helmets for protection

No helmet no bike in my house. Simple

Head injuries in cars could be drastically reduced if people wore helmets, in just the same way you are claiming helmets would protect you on a bike so why the difference?

Bloody embarrassing for me as iv done some pretty tough tracks @LegoShmego and this was just a fun leg spin with some pals . Gutted as it didn’t even get a decent scar lol.

Ouch your chin though that must have been excruciating. Did it heal fully?

Also ivy I can see how they could help whilst you are in a car accident but you are generally more protected to start with in a car. Seat belt, car frame you know. So I take it you wear a helmet everywhere?

Oh Lego I never saw what happened to your wee one hope they healed ok as well.

Why is everyone ignoring ivykaty? Doesn't fit with the agenda, does it, but it's true - if helmets are so fantastic, you should be wearing one at all times (I'd allow your children not to wear one only when in bed)

No helmet no ride in our house.

Both dh & I do a lot of mtb and we always wear ours, even if it's a potter around the lake.

I've seen a few nasty head injuries which could have been prevented if the kids had been wearing helmets.

Completely non negotiable in our house. DH cycles competitively and also cycles to work, DS cycles to School and was only allowed to do once he had done the Bikeability course at school and under the strict instruction that his helmet is worn.

No I don't wear a helmet everywhere, I'm just asking why people think wearing a helmet on a bike is non negotiable yet don't say it's non negotiable in a car. For some reason people have a misconception that due to being incased in metal they are safer- which is not the case. Cars travel faster ( you might be slow but someone crashing may be speeding)

There are just as many objects inside the car to bounce your head against which will harm your head and brain. Even in a low impact car crash your head can be seriously injured

To say that wearing a helmet wouldn't add protection is incorrect and parents get this idea that they are safer in a car without a helmet than on a bike and it's not the case.

Children in German and Nederland don't wear helmets cycling and cycle much more than English children yet don't suffer from more head injuries

I looked into this a couple of years ago and came to the conclusion that cycling helmets don't protect cyclists as much as people like to think. I usually wear one these days because it makes my partner feel better. If it makes parents feel their children are safer, that's probably a good enough reason to insist - but I don't think it's a good reason to judge bare-headed riders for setting a 'bad example'.

Most Brit drivers I know are not tolerant of cyclists impatient and rude to them maybe they are nicer drivers elsewhere so wearing a helmet feels less important. I’d always wear one on my bike I feel safer. If it was implemented or suggested for cars I’d do it.

I have been in pretty horrific crash in the car, car flipped several times and ended up crushed into a wall I broke my ribs, had pretty serious injury to my neck and bruising all over my body due to impact but my head was completely fine. I don’t think a helmet would have helped me any in that situation though.

This is Chris Boardman's take on bike helmets and it makes for interesting reading. And the safety standards for bike helmets are not exactly stringent - they are only designed and tested to withstand an impact equivalent to an average weight rider travelling at a speed of 12mph falling onto a stationary kerb-shaped object from a height of one metre.

If you were serious about avoiding head injuries you'd be making your kids wear full-face motorcycle helmets at all times ...

Mine only really cycle on paths or parks so I don't insist on helmets for that. They do wear helmets when they're playing on scooter ramps.

If we ride across town on the cycle paths and empty paths then we do wear helmets as they can go faster on the cycle paths.

I don't wear a helmet when cycling.

Far more likely to injured as a pedestrian but nobody says we should all wear helmets when out walking.

Anything that discourages children from safe physical activity is bollox.

If they get hit by a car a crappy bit of plastic isn't going to do much good.

People have a (totally incorrect) view that helmets = safe cycling.

Let them ride their bikes.

Cycling is a lot safer than being inactive.

Mustang - car crash sounds scary. My ex had a really bad crash on his bike when a woman went into him from behind. He went 60foot down the road over the top of her car and his injurys where extensive. He lived but wasn't wearing a helmet.

We all have stories to tell of incidents where an accident happened without a helmet and there was a happy ending

Facts and statistics tell a different story

But ivy f1 cars are open top.... their head could literally be dragged along the road if upside down, that's not going to happen in a normal car.
You can't protect against everything. The car give sufficient support that a helmet is not needed.
Walking is slow paced and you have your hands to break falls so again, although head injuries do happen, they are less common than on cyclists who fall of going 40mph down a hill.
I wouldn't wear a helmet on a flat easy road route, but I certainly would of there are hills and rocks about. Most of my riding is mnt bike though so it's 2nd nature to stick a helmet on.
On kids I think it's important as they are still developing their skills. My 3yr old rides her bike very well, but she does lack concentration and will randomly crash in to trees. Something I'm unlikely to do.... unless on a mnt bike trail!

Thanks mustang Healed okay and have a nice scar on my chin
My ds wasn't injured badly (just a cut in his hand) due to his helmet being worn, but I had to fork out for a new one!

This has really made me think about what evidence there is for or against helmets. I can across these articles which I thought were interesting

www.cyclesprog.co.uk/family-cycling-advice/should-my-child-wear-a-bike-helmet/

www.cyclehelmets.org/0.html

mustang what an awful accident ro be in!

I now wondering how wearing a helmet would impact my driving? I don't think I like the idea of having my head pushed forward as the helmet would rest on the head rest. And whether I could turn my head properly or quickly enough. Also, how would it impact your neck if you were in am accident and head was thrown back on to head rest? Would it be at a funny angle? I rwckon I'd cause more accidents wearing a helmet than not in a car tbh

I wear elbow and knee guards when I'm out on my bike though, so I would definately wear a helmet.

Also, why do all competetive cyclists, road and mnt bike wear helmets if there are so many arguments against?.... I'd rather follow their lead than those of statistics

If they fall flat on their face they will skin off half of their face without a helmet. If they get hit by a car they a far more likely to get seriously injured or die. With childminder it's fairly simple, just instruct that they must always wear helmets and threaten to sue if they get hurt (any hurt) as a result of them not wearing them. Also look for another child kinder, god only knows what else they do. As for DH show him some YouTube videos of people having accidents without helmets.

So why do rally drivers wear helmets then?

400 pedestrians a year are killed on the pavements in the U.K. By motorists driving onto the pavement dangerous

You can't protect against everything but your idea that being in a car gives protection is absorbed

It's the car itself that your head bounces against and due to the movement of your head not being in time with either the crashing car or the car you're in it makes a head injury more likely.

Your perception of a car and safety is badly misconcepted

Lego with due respect I doubt any child is going to be travelling at 30mph like a GT contender will in the tour