2010/4/15 Bob W <[email protected]>: >> I don't understand why so many bike riders don't wear helmets. It's a >> vertical fall that often does in the bike rider. > > [...] > >> will be fast downhill sections, though I suspect that the >> risk/benefit window is narrower than people think. In other >> words, there is a narrow range of situations where there is >> significant risk and that the helmet would actually provide >> sufficient protection to make a big difference. > > They can also be a positive harm, turning what would be a minor bump, cut or > graze into a serious injury in some circumstances. > > Few people give any serious consideration either to the costs of wearing a > helmet or to the benefits they actually provide, as opposed to the benefits > claimed by vested interest groups such as health & safety busybodies, > insurance companies and cycle helmet manufacturers. > > It's one of those things that is intuitively obviously good - some > protection must be better than none - until you start to question the > conventional wisdom and look for some solid evidence both for and against. > When you do this you find that there is little agreement in the scientific > community about the pros or the cons. This means you have to make your own > choice; it also means one has no right to try and foist one's own views on > other people. > > Last year when I was cycling in France I clocked myself doing over 35mph > downhill. If I'd fallen off at that speed a helmet wouldn't protect me > against dashing my brains out. It might stop me from tearing my scalp off > (the old-fashioned hairnet style of helmet would help with that), but it > might also cause me to snap my neck or twist my brain away from my brain > case. Conclusion: don't cycle at 35mph. > > The only cycling accident I've had as an adult was falling off at walking > pace (don't ask how!) and breaking my wrist - I have, or had, slightly low > bone density. I also took a bump on the head, which didn't even bruise, but > it was the kind of bump that could have been aggravated by wearing a helmet > and causing a rotational injury. > > In addition to the above, the pro-helmet lobby implies that general utility > cycling is somehow an inherently unsafe activity. This is not supported by > the evidence as compared with other activities, such as walking, driving, or > running with scissors. > > You pays your money and you takes your choice. > > Bob
The longer I read what you say and what you link to the more I doubt my helmet beliefs and choices. I was aware of rotational injuries but was and am still under the impression that a helmet, preferably one with at least a chin bar, can also keep your head or parts of it clear of the edge of a curbstone which I see as the most critical threat around town. I have yet to find any clear statement on that. For now my feeling is precisely some is better than none but that may or may not be true... Cheers Ecke -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List [email protected] http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
