Page 2 | cycle helmets

Orangejuicemarathoner · 2021-10-04T20:28:26+00:00

I can't bear to see my nephew set off for school by bike in busy traffic, and poor visibility without a cycle helmet. I can't understand his parents allowing this. I know it's none of my business and there is nothing I can do, but I really wish this wasn't allowed

Macncheeseballs · 04/10/2021 22:12

more head injuries occur as a car passenger

coachmylife · 04/10/2021 22:12

No helmets when I was young. Terrible accidents do happen but it’s SO unlikely this will happen to your nephew. Most helmets are complete rubbish and there is evidence that they can cause additional neck trauma. I haven’t used one for 15 years - but have actually just ordered myself one this morning. I reckon my reactions are slowing and the balance has tipped for me.

Talkwhilstyouwalk · 04/10/2021 22:13

100% agree with you. No helmet, no bike/scooter in our household.....

DrinkFeckArseBrick · 04/10/2021 22:14

It might not be that his parents allow it or are happy with it. It might be that they are being pragmatic and know that, at 12, he will cycle round the corner and take his helmet off to go to school. Yanbu to be worried. Does he cycle on the road?

Original poster

Orangejuicemarathoner · 04/10/2021 22:15

@DrinkFeckArseBrick

It might not be that his parents allow it or are happy with it. It might be that they are being pragmatic and know that, at 12, he will cycle round the corner and take his helmet off to go to school. Yanbu to be worried. Does he cycle on the road?

yes, on the road, and its a very busy road, particularly around the school itself

OP posts:

notacooldad · 04/10/2021 22:23

Yabu. Cycle helmets are no use against being hit by a car.
Maybe not at speed but I've had 3 major accidents over 40 years and helmets have definitely helped.
I time I was cycling past a give way and the car pulled out on me at slow speed. My head hit the floor. The helmet saved my head.
2nd time I was giving way and a car turning right cut the junction resulting in me banging my head on his bonnet and then on to the floor.
3rd time was on a trial and it was absolutely my fault but once again the helmet saved me and I just needed a few stitches.

Of course they are going to be useless if a lorry pulls out on you but they really do have their uses.

Original poster

Orangejuicemarathoner · 04/10/2021 22:26

@Macncheeseballs

more head injuries occur as a car passenger

that's very misleading

a smaller proportion of car passengers get head injuries

OP posts:

Ohdoleavemealone · 05/10/2021 07:09

A kid on a bike ride into the side of my car as I was at a junction. Flipped over and landed on my windshield cracking it.
No helmet. When he got up he apologised and said his brakes weren't working well!

No brakes and no helmet. I know parents cannot force their kids to wear one but considering he didn't have one with him at all, and his mum didn't mention it when she came to get him I'd guess she didn't try hard.

Macncheeseballs · 05/10/2021 07:27

Despite safety measures such as seat belts, and its protective metal structure, the most common injury to car occupants in an accident is to the head, this is in a vehicle that can travel up to 100 miles an hour, so where is the outcry, why aren't we all urged to wear helmets in cars, and yet you are getting upset about the safety aspects of a vehicle travelling at 10/15 miles an hour

Nomoreusernames1244 · 05/10/2021 07:30

Despite safety measures such as seat belts, and its protective metal structure, the most common injury to car occupants in an accident is to the head

Could you link your source please? I am googling and can’t find stats which back this up.

Macncheeseballs · 05/10/2021 07:36

Nomoreusernames - aseasyasridingabike.wordpress.com/2012/11/26/helmets-expectation-and-inconsistency/

This is the first one I found when I had quick look but I am sure there are several more recent ones

Pemmican · 05/10/2021 07:44

I am going to have to live with this awful dread about it for the next 6 school years

Your nephew will be fine. You need to butt out and find something else to worry about. Ideally something that actually is your business.

Nomoreusernames1244 · 05/10/2021 07:50

Anything more up to date and less biased? Uk based?

NewPapaGuinea · 05/10/2021 07:52

@SnackSizeRaisin

Yabu. Cycle helmets are no use against being hit by a car. They are a thin bit of polystyrene tested with a 12 kg weight, cars weigh hundreds of kilos. Why do people think cycle helmets are some kind of magic forcefield to stop all accidents Anyway cycling is an inherently safe activity. He's much better off cycling than sitting in a car , both mentally and physically.

What a load of BS. No one thinks they’ll magically save you in every accident, but they can certainly increase your chances. I was knocked off my bike. Up onto the bonnet, cracked the windscreen and my helmeted head bounced off the road. I distinctly remember that without the helmet, I’d survived the car hitting me, but hitting the road may have been my undoing. I really struggle to get why you just wouldn’t wear a damn helmet.

Nomoreusernames1244 · 05/10/2021 07:56

Brain injuries in high speed car accidents are often caused by whiplash any way- the brain hitting the skull with force, then the other side of the skull as it rebounds.

Helmets would be absolutely pointless in those type of head injuries as the impact is internal.

gogohm · 05/10/2021 08:00

@SnackSizeRaisin

Rubbish! At slow speeds in town, wearing a helmet can save lives and perhaps more importantly reduce brain injuries. Tour de France riders all wear helmets for a reason, and they go far faster! My brothers helmet cracked in two when he was knocked off by a van - ambulance said if he hadn't have been wearing it the outcome could have been so different.

Macncheeseballs · 05/10/2021 08:07

Nomoreusernames, the UK is also mentioned in that study

Macncheeseballs · 05/10/2021 08:09

Of course cycling has its dangers but so do so many other things, I don't get why people obsess over the risks other people take with their body if its no risk to others, do you get upset seeing people smoking?

lockdownmadnessdotcom · 05/10/2021 08:13

@SnackSizeRaisin

Yabu. Cycle helmets are no use against being hit by a car. They are a thin bit of polystyrene tested with a 12 kg weight, cars weigh hundreds of kilos. Why do people think cycle helmets are some kind of magic forcefield to stop all accidents Anyway cycling is an inherently safe activity. He's much better off cycling than sitting in a car , both mentally and physically.

This.

Most people don't wear helmets correctly and they don't work at impacts of over about 12mph. They are worn to make drivers feel better, not to make the cyclists safer.

There will always be people who say they would have died if they had not been wearing a helmet but they don't actually know that as the helmet is much bigger than their head and the impact would be different.

I would wear one doing mountain biking because it's not great to hit a tree with your head. But the only reason I wear one on the roads is to be socially acceptable, not because it would help in any way if a driver squashed me.

lockdownmadnessdotcom · 05/10/2021 08:14

[quote gogohm]@SnackSizeRaisin

Rubbish! At slow speeds in town, wearing a helmet can save lives and perhaps more importantly reduce brain injuries. Tour de France riders all wear helmets for a reason, and they go far faster! My brothers helmet cracked in two when he was knocked off by a van - ambulance said if he hadn't have been wearing it the outcome could have been so different. [/quote]
They wear them because their insurance requires it, that's all.

lockdownmadnessdotcom · 05/10/2021 08:17

And the only time I've hit my head was when I stepped on some ice and slipped over. I had mild concussion. Yet nobody goes on about pedestrians needing helmets.

However cyclists AND pedestrians should definitely wear hi-vis. And no, it's not my fault, and I don't need to stop driving, if I can't see you easily without. Sometimes I only spot a cyclist all in black and with no lights because something on the bike glints. Get lights and wear hi-vis. And that goes for pedestrians too. Get bright coloured coats for winter, not black.

Nomoreusernames1244 · 05/10/2021 08:17

Nomoreusernames, the UK is also mentioned in that study

You didn’t link to a study, it’s a 2012 australia bloggers opinion piece.

None of the links work any more. I did try the link to supposed uk stats- but the link is broken and the address is another blog, not a study.

Macncheeseballs · 05/10/2021 08:28

Nomoreusername, is this any better? www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2214140518302731

Psychonabike · 05/10/2021 16:56

@Nomoreusernames1244

The "whiplash" forces you describe (you mean the effects of inertia really) that cause brain injury have been taking into account in new bike helmets that offer MIPS, or have crumple zones/linings which slow the skull more gradually.

You are making a really out dated argument here.

LadyGAgain · 05/10/2021 17:03

@SnackSizeRaisin

Yabu. Cycle helmets are no use against being hit by a car. They are a thin bit of polystyrene tested with a 12 kg weight, cars weigh hundreds of kilos. Why do people think cycle helmets are some kind of magic forcefield to stop all accidents Anyway cycling is an inherently safe activity. He's much better off cycling than sitting in a car , both mentally and physically.

What a totally stupid comment. Helmets can make the difference between a fatal or permanent brain injury and not. I'd worry too OP.