Strapless cycle helmets - great invention!

[mofurt]

Quite possible there are always going to be occassions when the safety kit causes more problems than without. you have to weigh up the probabilities.

Absolutely agreed. I always make a risk/benefit decision before riding. Sunny day gentle ride - likely no helmet, as I'll cook and there is little benefit. Sometimes on the road I'll wear a helmet because of conditions (slippy roads, or warmth - though in very cold weather I'll typically wear a warm hat or balaclava instead as being comfortable will keep my concentration up, and I'll be less likely to be involved in an accident). Out on the MTB - pretty much always a helmet, as there's more chance I'll have an impact within its design parameters.

Others will make a different assessment, and I'm not going to criticise whichever way they choose. Ultimately, wearing or not makes little difference in whole population outcomes. In individual incidents sometimes they'll be better, sometimes they'll be worse - but we don't get to choose which we'll have in advance!

 

[Ridgeway]

The new one I have on order has a magnetic closure vs a friction clasp mechanism. Should be easier to open and close and is claimed to be stronger than the regular clasp. Curious to see it in action.

 

[Pausim]

You could also blame it on the infrastructure and the attitude of drivers. In a cycle friendly country like the Netherlands, there is more 'for transport' type use because it's easier to get about by bike. And these 'non-sport' groups just ride in whatever they are wearing. This leads to more cycle km travelled, so then are drivers less likely to be blind to them because they expect to see them so frequently? It's hard to separate the effects.

Regardless though, if wearing a helmet had a massive effect, you'd see it in the stats. If there is a benefit, it's not massive.

What stats? I want to know what statistics you are referring to.

 

[Guigsy]

What stats? I want to know what statistics you are referring to.

Quoted above, where Netherlands cyclist ridden km (99.9% non-wearers) are 30 times safer than US ridden km (38% helmeted). Or in Australia or New Zealand where the introduction of mandatory helmets appears to have done almost nothing to injury rates per km travelled.

 

[Jim]

But the stats appear to show that you are far more likely to get into that situation if you wear a helmet.

Damned lies and statistics

So how do they know about those situations my lack of a helmet ensures I don't get into. Do I report these incidents that don't happen? How do I do that, when I don't know about them.

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[Pausim]

Quoted above, where Netherlands cyclist ridden km (99.9% non-wearers) are 30 times safer than US ridden km (38% helmeted). Or in Australia or New Zealand where the introduction of mandatory helmets appears to have done almost nothing to injury rates per km travelled.

I was hoping for UK stats because our road conditions and provision of separation for cyclists is very different from both the Netherlands and the USA. I have driven 50km in New Zealand and seen 2 cyclists and no cars, proving nothing but how quiet some of their roads are. I have also visited Amsterdam where the pedestrians need the helmets.

 

[Pausim]

I have just gone back to the 2006 BMJ article you linked to above. The first line says “ Case-control studies suggest that cyclists who choose to wear helmets have fewer head injuries than non-wearers.” Nothing that follows persuades me that this is wrong (and I don’t think it is trying to either).

 

[Guigsy]

I have just gone back to the 2006 BMJ article you linked to above. The first line says “ Case-control studies suggest that cyclists who choose to wear helmets have fewer head injuries than non-wearers.” Nothing that follows persuades me that this is wrong (and I don’t think it is trying to either).

That study was based on the cases reported to the emergency rooms and was found to have a lot of reporting bias.

It's not that they are bad (probably). Just they don't do a hell of a lot.

I was hoping for UK stats because our road conditions and provision of separation for cyclists is very different from both the Netherlands and the USA. I have driven 50km in New Zealand and seen 2 cyclists and no cars, proving nothing but how quiet some of their roads are. I have also visited Amsterdam where the pedestrians need the helmets.

The number of helmet wearers in the UK is roughly the same as the US. Our rider safety record per km is a bit better, but not even close to Netherlands. Basically helmet use doesn't have a huge impact on the injury stats.

 

[mofurt]

(sorry, messed up posting if you saw a snippet of this, then a blank).

Here's the full article in case you can't see it on the BMJ site.
Broken Link Removed

Effect of helmets​

Cyclists who choose to wear helmets commit fewer traffic violations,Broken Link Removed have higher socioeconomic status, and are more likely to wear high visibility clothing and use lights at night.Broken Link Removed Helmeted children tend to ride with other cyclists in parks, playgrounds, or on bicycle paths rather than on city streets, and (in the United States) be white rather than other races.Broken Link Removed Helmeted cyclists in collision with motor vehicles had much less serious non-head injuries than non-helmeted cyclists (suggesting lower impact crashes).Broken Link Removed Unless case-control studies record and fully adjust for all these confounders, their effects may incorrectly be attributed to helmets.

So helmeted cyclists not only have less serious head injuries, but also less serious non-head injuries - i.e. there's other factors at work.

A widely cited systematic review calculated the effect of helmets on brain injury from three studies of cyclists given emergency treatment, with a total of 347 concussions or other brain injuries (plus many superficial head wounds).Broken Link Removed The data I present are based on 10 479 head injuries severe enough to appear in hospital admissions databases. The lack of obvious benefit from helmet laws may be because helmets (which prevent head wounds) are not designed for forces often encountered in collisions with motor vehicles or other serious crashes that cause most head injuries requiring hospital admission. Helmets may also encourage cyclists to take more risks, or motorists to take less care when they encounter cyclists, counteracting any benefits.Broken Link Removed Cyclists compelled to wear helmets may take less trouble to wear them correctly and ensure they fit well, reducing their effectiveness.

Note "lack of obvious benefit... because helmets are not designed for collisions with motor vehicles"

Again, I'm not against them, but people need to be aware of their limitations and that there is no consensus that they have magical life preserving powers.

 

[kevenh]

Never see a lycra clad cyclist without a helmet but the old boy who occasionally cycles down a quiet village road for a short distance might never wear one.

The old boy who ignored a local road cycle club’s “mandatory helmet” rule because he’s always - in 70 odd years of cycling - warn a cloth cap, is dead now. Avoidable head injury on a club ride in August.
It was a crash involving another member of the cycle club. She was well enough to meet the cycle club later that day - but still in shock.

Like seatbelts in cars, you’ll find evidence of them contributing to an accident’s negative outcome but for the other 99.7% of scenarios, seatbelts or cycle helmets reduce an accident’s impact.

Though, on a towpath, I did have the cooling vents in an older cycle helmet “steer” a way would branch into my head. For a minor but bloody head scratch.

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[Pausim]

That study was based on the cases reported to the emergency rooms and was found to have a lot of reporting bias.

It's not that they are bad (probably). Just they don't do a hell of a lot.

The number of helmet wearers in the UK is roughly the same as the US. Our rider safety record per km is a bit better, but not even close to Netherlands. Basically helmet use doesn't have a huge impact on the injury stats.

I only quoted that old article because it was the only supporting evidence you provided. I have now done a bit more research for myself.

I agree that there are limits to the protection a cycle helmet can offer. However there are very compelling statistics showing that helmets provide some protection against serious and fatal head injuries.

I think this 2020 ROSPA document is easier to read and benefits from more recent research.

https://www.rospa.com/rospaweb/docs/advice-services/road-safety/cyclists/cycle-helmets-factsheet.pdf

I find these quotes from a Headway article very compelling.
“A 2019 study into the impact of cycle helmet use on severe traumatic brain injury and death in a national cohort of over 11,000 pedal cyclists, using data from the NHS England Trauma Audit and Research Network dataset, found that cycle helmet use was associated with a significant reduction in severe traumatic brain injury (TBI). 47.6% of patients who were not wearing a helmet sustained a severe TBI, compared to 19.1% of patients who were wearing a helmet (Dodds N, Johnson R, Walton B, et al, 2019).

A study from 2016 collected data from over 64,000 cyclists around the world, and found compelling evidence that wearing a cycle helmet reduces risk of serious head injury by almost 70% and fatal head injury by 65%. It is the largest review on cycling and helmets to date. The study also found that the risk of sustaining a general head injury is reduced by 51% and facial injury by 33%, when a helmet is used (Olivier, Creighton, 2016).”

 

[Tonks]

Not really. They aren't very good at absorbing impacts. They cope with minor stuff and abrasion, but they just aren't robust enough to do much against hard, heavy, fast moving objects.

If you look at data comparing the proportion of cyclists that wear helmets to the chance of them getting a head injury, the correlation is actually negative. There's reasons for that, but it does strongly imply that helmets can't be doing much to protect cyclists.

There are plenty of '999' programmes which show the damage to helmets after accidents, and in which case many people have avoided serious head injury or worse. Of course they can't save you from everything.
As someone who had a serious head injury as a child after landing head first on concrete without a helmet, I wear one unless I'm on soft grassy areas away from fences, walls or hard tracks.
Riding in the Netherlands on cycle tracks doesn't necessarily stop you from risking serious head injury since most are tarmac/concrete, neither of which is great to hit your head on. I wore my helmet when holidaying there, but I was certainly in a minority. That said, I survived a head injury once, and don't really want to go through the experience again.

 

[Richard n Ann]

Psychology plays a big roll..

Years ago I had a fast motorcycle, I rode it way too fast but had full leathers on so felt reasonably safe at stupid speeds..
I hopped on it after work once to ride to mum's for dinner, didn't bother changing out of work clothes because it's only 2.4 miles away... Boy did I ride sensibly

Risk perception is much higher when riding without safety equipment.. So overall it probably won't make much difference in safety, when we do fall off without it, injuries are terrible, but we fall off much less often.

 

[mofurt]

There are plenty of '999' programmes which show the damage to helmets after accidents, and in which case many people have avoided serious head injury or worse. Of course they can't save you from everything.

As above (brittle failure), you can't automatically equate a damaged helmet with saving you from anything. They have different failure modes; if it is simply cracked in two it did nothing. If the foam is fully compressed and it's in one piece, it worked to the extent of its design limitations so likely helped - unless it caused a rotational brain injury.

A badly damaged helmet doesn't necessarily mean a life was saved (though it might). This stuff really isn't as simple as you'd think, and unless the paramedic witnessed the accident and it was exactly the same as one with a person not wearing a helmet, they can't be sure what, if any, effect the helmet had.

 

[the1andonly]

Psychology plays a big roll..

Years ago I had a fast motorcycle, I rode it way too fast but had full leathers on so felt reasonably safe at stupid speeds..
I hopped on it after work once to ride to mum's for dinner, didn't bother changing out of work clothes because it's only 2.4 miles away... Boy did I ride sensibly

Risk perception is much higher when riding without safety equipment.. So overall it probably won't make much difference in safety, when we do fall off without it, injuries are terrible, but we fall off much less often.

Spot on
in 70s and 80s i used to ride my commando without an helmet , but, only on lincolnshire back roads (no chance of plod) horse manuare and mud the biggest issues. by the way i would never ride without gloves. (had a nice phone box holder on tank to rest helmet).
PS i used to live in Hayes around the corner from Fred Hill, and used to see him riding wearing a flying helmet on cold frosty february mornings.
Different times but the Psychology remains the same. Whilst working in the semiconductor industry the only time i seen one old engineer garb up fully i asked him afterwards and his responce was with most chemcals they used would kill you by touch on skin maybe a decent burn without gloves he would know about it and wash it off, too many people wearing ppe are too laxidasical, then you dont know if you are covered in water or acid. On this occassion he was using HF hydrofloric acid , you dont piss about HF. IT EATS BONE and you cant feel it on the skin. Armed with this info i have used HF on the bench but with ppe and an assistant 12 foot away (beyond splash distance). This attitude is not accepted in today's industry but how far should we accept a nanny state here and allow the relocation of problems to china and death due to no health and safety. sorry too big a question its a motorhome forum

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[ManTheVan]

If I have to have a crash on my bike, I’d far rather have one wearing a helmet than not. A keen cyclist I know took a year to recover from a serious head injury after coming off his bicycle. He wasn’t wearing a helmet and really wished he had been. Anything that might help to reduce the chance of a life-changing injury has to be worth it.

I suppose it’s the same as wearing a life jacket when on the water. I’ve been a yacht skipper and power boater for years, and have never fallen in. That’s not to say I never will, so I wear my lifejacket. As the RNLI say, “Useless unless worn”. The same mantra could apply to cycle helmets.

 

[dazandandrea]

Great photo and even better manipulation to be politically correct i this current health and safety crazed age.
Ps i ride a pushbike and never wear a helmet, rebellious or what

 

[Aji]

This is what I wear. I think it offers more protection than the type most people use.
Not had an off yet whilst wearing it, will report back when I do.

 

[MattR]

Some light reading...

Bicycle helmets reduce risk of serious head injury by nearly 70%, study finds

Australian researchers say the study’s findings support the argument for mandatory helmet legislation ‘from an injury prevention perspective’

www.theguardian.com

 

[MattR]

This is what I wear. I think it offers more protection than the type most people use.
Not had an off yet whilst wearing it, will report back when I do.


View attachment 678430

Why does it offer more protection than other helmets? They all meet the same standard.

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[Riverbankannie]

High speed collisions with vehicles and they likely make little to no diffence, but low speed stuff, they have to help and no study will convince me otherwise.

Unless of course the study presenter shows conclusivly with a demonstration that a collision with fence post, kerbstone or car, hurts him less with a bare head than when wearing a lid. .

My neighbour started wearing one when he started work at Bristol Headway, a brain rehabilitation unit.

 

[Landy Andy]

Don’t like wearing a hat, so don’t bother when on my bike, unless I’m choosing to take risks. But i also don’t wear a seatbelt, or keep three bit of me in contact when on a ladder.
Each person should choose what they want to do.

 

[steve69]

you dont piss about HF. IT EATS BONE and you cant feel it on the skin.

Damn right!....It also eats GLASS and can only be stored in plastic containers. I worked in a chemical factory during my student years. The lack of H & S back then was scary.

 

[Greasy Chap Butty]

Countries with low helmet wearing rates have more cyclists and lower fatality rates per cycle-km. Fig 1 shows that a non-helmeted cyclist in Denmark or Holland is many times safer per cycle-km than a helmeted cyclist in the US. This pattern is also reflected in injury statistics. US cyclists with 38% helmet wearing suffer 30 times as many injuries per million cycle km as Dutch cyclists with 0.1% helmet wearing.[2]"

I'd say this isn't due to the helmet watering though.
It's due to the mentality of other road users to them.
Holland is set up for cycling and they are a common sight on all roads. You'd expect it to be safer.
USA, less so. They'll either get knocked off by somebody on a 6 litre SUV, or shot!

So correlating the two and saying helmets = less safe can't be concluded from that.

 

[jumartoo]

I'll still be wearing mine when out riding. I've had one near miss when the side of my head (helmeted) hit the hard surface.

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[cyberyacht]

The other big plus of wearing a cycle helmet is that it provides a mount for your dash cam when engaged in litigation with careless motorists.

Some big wave surfers wear helmets although it's not considered "cool".

 

[SpeedyDux]

Just a few weeks ago, I spoke to a chap shortly after an incident whereby he had just removed his cycle helmet - having stopped by the kerb - when the rear-view mirror (one of the really sticky-out ones) of a passing van clipped the back of his head, knocking him to the ground. He was shaken but OK after a few moments. All I'm saying is your don't have to crash or fall off a bicycle to appreciate the usefulness of a helmet. Things can come at you from behind too.

True. I once acted for a pedestrian who was hit from behind by a car while walking along a pavement. He woke up in hospital knowing nothing about how he got there. Fortunately there were 5 eyewitnesses. I am also wary of walking too close to the edge of the kerb precisely because of the risk of getting hit by a van mirror.

I would feel a lot safer on a motorbike than a bicycle nowadays. A nurse friend who cycles to work was hit by a car and injured. Fully recovered now thank god. She always wears a helmet.

 

[SpeedyDux]

Psychology plays a big roll..

Years ago I had a fast motorcycle, I rode it way too fast but had full leathers on so felt reasonably safe at stupid speeds..
I hopped on it after work once to ride to mum's for dinner, didn't bother changing out of work clothes because it's only 2.4 miles away... Boy did I ride sensibly

Risk perception is much higher when riding without safety equipment.. So overall it probably won't make much difference in safety, when we do fall off without it, injuries are terrible, but we fall off much less often.

Rather like sailing a dinghy on a lake full of crocs. I was careful to avoid capsizing because I did notice quite a few pairs of beady eyes watching me.

 

[Derek’soldvan]

I came off my road bike once on a sharp corner as I was going to fast, got back on and continued my cycle home feeling a little sore. It's when I got home I realised how lucky I'd been, when i removed my helmet it split into two parts, I didn't even think I'd banged my head. I also dread to think what might have been if I wasn't wearing one.

I like you have had cycling accidents, I cycled for 20 years in London, mostly minor (over car bonnets, into non-looking car drivers doors, unwary pedestrians & quite a few due to my lack of concentration etc.
Sadly two unplanned, unconscious hospital visits, on both occasions hit/rammed in the rear(once a car & 2nd a lorry) over handlebars & head butted tarmac, on both occasions I was wearing a helmet, on both occasions it broke, I’m convinced they work, it still really hurt afterwards, I still cycle, I still wear one now, a good helmet is say £50/£60, for the sake of flat hair (I accept perhaps 50% of the readership here may not have full coverage , so discount the flat hair). I’d recommend,

 

[uzsnowdrop]

Not a study, but my neighbour has a huge gash on top of his (bald) head. Looks hideous. Fell off his stationary bicycle and hit the kerb edge. No helmet.

My simple non scientific brain says I’d prefer my grandchild to be wearing a helmet than not on her little bike.

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