Dad is 76 years old,fit and strong. Last time he was on a bike was 20 years ago.

Came to visit for a boys weekend to spend time with my two young sons.

Set out today to pedal down to the beach to get some ice cream., 5 miles max. Youngest son (9) reminded us to put on our helmets. 10 minutes in, going little over 10mph Dad swerved to avoid one of the kids. Face plant into the tarmac.

Rode back to see him, thinking a minor off.

One eye closed, the other open, but only showing white. Blood bubbling out of his nose and mouth. Growing blood pool under his head. No reactions. Kids screaming by the side of the road. First motorist on scene – ran to him to get some help – shouted to ring an ambulance. He didn’t have a phone ….. then proceeded to manuveere around my Dads body and drove on. Came to my senses and got my phone out and rang for the ambulance. They got there within 5 minutes,brilliant as it was a Country road in the middle of no where. Kind passer-by got me, the bikes and the kids home, and we followed to the hospital.

He came to in the ambulance. Had lost the last 24 hours from memory. CT scan showed brain bleed, but small enough to wait and see. Eye socket fractured and 10 stitches. Tooth went through his lip, another 6 stitches.

Doctor said he would have been dead without the helmet. Been kept in for observation. Kids shocked and blaming themselves. Hopefully next 24 hours uneventfull.

Not sure why sharing, apart from shock and the hope that someone thinks twice before going out without a helmet.

That does not sound good at all and I hope he is fine.
Accidents happen and it is not the kids fault

Get a good nights sleep as it will be fine in the morning

Please no one do the helmet debate on this thread

Youngest son (9) reminded us to put on our helmets.

Smart kid, hope your dad makes a full and speedy recovery.

I’ve broken two lids after hitting a tree & a gate (don’t ask). Somehow I think my head may have been busted if I hadn’t been wearing a helmet (twice)
Wear mine for the shops even.

Hope Dad’s ok!

Couldn’t agree more. Hope your dads ok.

Had a number of crashes that would’ve been serious head injuries without one. Last incident cracked my hex helmet right through the polystyrene in two places! I’d have been in serious trouble without it.

Once went to lee quarry and forgot my lid, still rode but didn’t enjoy the day as i was taking it easy and it just didn’t feel right.

That’s a pretty tough days riding mate !

Get some sleep and in the morning remind your 9 year old over breakfast that if he hadn’t told the grown ups to put their helmets on then things could have been a lot worse ! Then tell the two of them he wasn’t swerving at the back but trying to pop wheelies, and after all that and when it’s all settled down think about yourself and wonder at what you will be doing when you are 76 and pray that you will still be riding…… Lastly remind the old fart its his round !

Take the bike out of the equation. Not hard to imagine. Would you still encourage everyone to wear helmets walking to the shops to get ice cream? If not, why not?

Serious injury from cycling is on par in probability to a jackpot win. The odds aren’t good enough to make me play the lottery.

Sorry to hear of his injuries and I hope he has a speedy recovery.

A little over 10mph is about 12mph which is just about the speed where your brain moves inside your skull if you come to a violent halt. The helmet slows the spike in G and spreads the impact load. It’s a simple device that regularly saves lives of those that choose to wear them.
Your life, your choice but not many people walk to the shops at 12mph.

Sorry to hear this and wishes for a speedy recovery.
When I’m 76 and have been off the bike for 20 years, I’ll probably wear a helmet

Just best wishes for Mr Mountainlight Snr from me mate, get well soon sir!

Hope he’s ok. Sounds like a hell of a shock. I can sympathise. I went OTB and face-planted in much the same manner. Smashed my face in pretty badly, and split my helmet up the front. The surgeon who stitched me up in A&E said, looking at the damage to my face, if I hadn’t helmet on I’d definitely have been looking at serious head injuries/fractured skull. Or worse…

It absolutely amazes me when I see people riding with no helmet on.

Your life, your choice but not many people walk to the shops at 12mph.

Surely it’s about the speed your head hits the ground at – which is completely different to the speed you are walking/cycling at?

At the moment I’m having a “discussion” with a bloke on Cycle Chat who claims that wearing a helmet is dangerous because the rotational leverage it exerts in an accident could break your neck. What a dick.

Hope he’s ok mate. Wife had a similar off, years back now – approx 20mph down a hill and the brake block (borrowed bike) wore through the front tyre & tube. Blow out, straight over the bars onto her head. If she hadn’t borrowed my helmet hate to think what state she would’ve been in.
Personal choice, but save more than they cause!

THIS IS NOT A HELMET THREAD
HAVE SOME RESPECT FOR THE OP
PLEASE
Resist, just for once, STW

globalti – Member
At the moment I’m having a “discussion” with a bloke on Cycle Chat who claims that wearing a helmet is dangerous because the rotational leverage it exerts in an accident could break your neck. What a dick.

Reading a thread at moment about an elderly person having an accident. Somebody swerves to bring up the helmet debate. What a dick.

Hope your dad is soon recovered and thatit doesn;t put your kids off riding bikes

Hope he recovers quickly and the kids too from their trauma of seeing it. It’s sods law that the most innocent of tumbles end up being the worse.

Wear your helmet

THIS IS NOT A HELMET THREAD

Ok 😆

Open face helmets do little for face plants into tarmac… just one of those things. Hope he heals fast and gets back on a bike.

First up, get well soon Gramps.
The thread title is “Wear Your Helmet” so surely that in itself would be a debate opener.

Surely it’s about the speed your head hits the ground at – which is completely different to the speed you are walking/cycling at?

I think you missed the point. The speed we are concerned with is the speed of deceleration. 12mph to zero is the crucial point at which the brain can move and damage itself.

Open face helmets do little for face plants into tarmac.

See my post above. I was doing a lot more than 10mph when I face-planted and made a right mess of myself. According to the people who put me back together, and who I suspect has seen plenty of this kind of thing … it saved me from serious head injuries, a fractured skull, or possibly being killed to death. He didn’t look like the melodramatic type, who was building his part up.

If thats nothing, then I’m extremely grateful for the ‘nothing’ my now smashed-in helmet afforded me

I just hope the OP’s dad makes a full recovery, like I did. And don’t forget to remind him that chicks dig scars! 😉

Please no one do the helmet debate on this thread

THIS IS NOT A HELMET THREAD
HAVE SOME RESPECT FOR THE OP
PLEASE
Resist, just for once, STW

Reading a thread at moment about an elderly person having an accident. Somebody swerves to bring up the helmet debate. What a dick.

WTF? Are there some wannabe mods on here who see it as their job (it isn’t) to tell people what they can and can’t say on a forum?

The TITLE of the thread is “Wear your helmet” ffs, it’s hardly OT if people post things about that very subject.

Can I suggest if you want to dictate what people and can and can’t post about, start your own forum somewhere.

Hope you’re dads ok – the anti-helmet brigade never cease to amaze me!

Hope you’re dads ok – the anti-helmet brigade never cease to amaze me!

Indeed, hope he heals up OK. I know several people who had what should of been relatively minor crashes that have done some nasty damage.

STW doesn’t have an anti-helmet brigade per se, more of a pro choice lobby who prefer their choices to be informed by evidence and not anecdote. That and we understand the design limitation of helmets and they’re not a catch all solution to hitting your head.

When Junky and I agree, etc….

Hope the old chap heals up well and fast, OP!

Take the bike out of the equation. Not hard to imagine. Would you still encourage everyone to wear helmets walking to the shops to get ice cream? If not, why not?

😆 deary me

Just wondering what this thread is about if it categorically isn’t about wearing a helmet?

I’ve had a fair off that resulted in concussion, blurred vision, cut cheek, black eye, broke helmet right through and took a piece off. Always wear my helmet now, even at lottery odds, the one time I do come off & land on my head, I’d rather have it.

Wishing your dad a speedy recovery.

Glad to hear your Dad is well, wish I could persuade my own Dad to use his all the time (63) but I know he doesn’t, this is especially annoying after several years of him trying to compel me as an arsey Yoof, and the missing 24 hours I got for not heeding his advice aged 17… I now practice what he used to preach without exception and apply the same to his Grandchildren…

Certainly heap praise on the kids for making you wear your lids I reckon the incident will help reinforce the whole wear a helmet thing with them, at least for a while, which has to be a bit of a silver lining…

The bump your Dad had OP sounds like precisely the sort of thing bike helmets are designed for TBH… The more Common, relatively “Low Speed” impacts between your noggin and something immovable…
Shield of invulnerability? no, but damage limitation, or at least moving the outcome of an accident from “fatal” to “Significant, but recoverable injury”, Glad it did its job…

Hope your Dad recovers soon, and can make light of it as time passes.
‘chicks dig scars’ etc…

Any news OP? Fingers crossed for a quick and complete recovery.

We came across an older age range chap who had been clipped by a car pulling out of the side road just after the roundabout by Bristol Airport about 2 months ago. He was heading in the Bristol direction and a car driver didn’t see him and pulled out of the Brockley Coombe Road. He had a glancing blow (took out the wing mirror) and went down hard onto his shoulder and side of his head.

We arrived very shortly after the accident so I pulled up and Kate (vet) went over to administer first aid and I set about managing the busy traffic with 2 other guys until Police arrived. He was concious and able to remember his birthday etc. We were glad he had his helmet on or it may well have been a much sadder experience for all involved.

What’s more dangerous – choosing not to wear a helmet if you don’t want to or a society that advocates diminishing freedom of choice and free association under the guise of security ?

I definitely think you should have the freedom of choice. Darwinism innit? It all helps with cleansing the gene pool

Hope your old fella makes a full recovery, make sure the kids are ok, keep reassuring them that it wasn’t their fault.

+1 Binners.

Best wishes to your dad and his swift recovery! And looking on the positive side, your kids are now ALWAYS going to wear their helmets 😉

RE: Helmet Debate: It’s personal choice, but to those who don’t wear one for some “made up reason or other” (see note) i invite you round to mine, where i have a nice 4foot long bit of 4×2 which i shall be using to wallop some sense into your, unhelmeted, head….. 😉

NOTE:
Reasons NOT to wear a helmet:

1) It might be a bit hot
2) you might look a bit silly
3) You can’t afford one

Reasons TO wear a helmet:

4) IT MIGHT WELL SAVE YOU LIFE

If anyone thinks (1->3) > 4, then you are frankly so stupid, we won’t worry too much when you get removed from the gene pool via fatal head injuries…………

Max, the same applies to wearing a helmet while driving or walking. I presume you wear a helmet for those activities, or have you just called yourself stupid?

Like everything there is a risk involved and I’ll wear a helmet while mtbing, but not when pootling around town.

Hope your dad makes a speedy and full recovery OP.

I’d normally advise wearing a helmet when cycling, however with a 2005 study showing that only 7.1% of hospital admissions were cyclists maybe we should be advocating helmet use 24hours a day. Won’t someone think of the children other 92.9%, hey if it saves just 1 life it’s gotta be worth it right?

Max, I don’t think those are the reasons when some one decides to NOT wear a helmet !

Before I get self proclaimed modders cutting and pasting my post please read up on the reasons for and against.

Title should be wear your full face helmet surely…