Forum menu
fanatic278 - MemberI'm not sure why this had to turn into a helmet debate. I wish we'd just concentrate on what an amazing effort the guy put into keeping Andy safe until the ambulance came. We could all probably learn a thing or two from his performance.
+1!
[quote=fanatic278 ]I'm not sure why this had to turn into a helmet debate.
Probably something to do with the inflammatory title of the article and the thread. I watched the vid expecting to find no evidence of the helmet having saved his life and wasn't disappointed.
no helmet :
[img] 
?oh=9d852eb2fa5fbbe566f1c466412d32d7&oe=56E50867[/img]
aracer
. I watched the vid expecting to find no evidence of the helmet having saved his life and wasn't disappointed.
Like all these things, unless you ask the victim to go back, this time without a helmet, and do EXACTLY the same thing again, there is no way of knowing what his helmet did or didn't.
(and in this case, the filming doesn't actually capture the impact in any detail)
But anyway, massive [b]Thumbs Up[/b] to the guy filming, staying calm and doing a great job imo! Deffo the sort of guy you want to have around when the head hits the ground........ 😉
I posted this mainly to highlight the efforts of Tim and his mates in keeping the guy safe.
Well as the subect was helmet saves life it's hardly a surprise when people talk about helmets.
Exactly, the title should have been "Tim saves cyclists life" (as the onsite assistance provided was the story here and what made the difference)
My mate lost a couple of fingers in a car door, should he wear crush proof gloves for driving?
You could always just wear two hoodies, if you preferred.
https://beyondthekerb.wordpress.com/reference/lifesavers/
My mate lost a couple of fingers in a car door, should he wear crush proof gloves for driving?
No, because losing a couple of fingers is liveable and the risk is low. He should be wearing a helmet though.
[quote=kerley ]
should he wear crush proof gloves for driving?
He should be wearing a helmet though.
For driving? I presume you weren't suggesting one for lower risk activities.
I have a similar pic to Turnerguy on my old phone, mate turns up at mine on a nice day at the weekend in his bike....'fancy a blast and then we'll go for a pint?'.....sounded good so off we went, just jeans, trainers and t-shirts....went hammering down a long steep road we'd ridden loads that has a sharp right at the bottom.
Turned into that right bend, mate ahead made it through....i didn't despite having ridden it loads of times....diesel on the road?...oil?....who knows?!....ended up on my side attached to the bike sliding along the road, at some point my clothing must've snagged and I went onto my back using the rear and top of my head as a brake against the tarmac....the mess it made of my scalp wasn't pretty.....thankfully it was all superficial, no fractured skull, no neck injury etc....but I clipper my hair short and scared children for the next few weeks until things healed....it also hurt quite a bit!
Point is you never know when the surface is going to change and spit you on your arse, I always wear a helmet on the road now for that reason alone....i know it won't protect my feeble body from being crushed by an HGV, I know it won't stop a car wheel from crushing my cranium.....but to be honest if you've ended up in one of those situations you've been the instigator of your own stupidity. I wear the helmet for my cock ups, not the actions of others I have no control over.
My favorite riding is uplift days, had a fantastic 2015 at FoD, BPW, BMCC, Antur Stiniog etc....i wouldn't ride those runs with half the commitment i usually do if my dome was uncovered, the thought of smashing down onto the rocks at Antur without a helmet terrifies me....it would be a boring day as I tip toed down the runs feathering the brakes and not getting near my limits purely in order to make some kind of statement about not wearing a lid!
Each to their own, I go without a helmet plenty of times however, usually high summer when I want some sun on my face/head and go for a pootle with the dogs at barely walking speed through the local woods....before anyone says it, yes I know freak accidents happen and I could still fall and fracture my skull at nodding pace but it's about your own personal assessment of risk.
When I go for a road ride I'm actively trying to maintain a high average speed, I'm looking to belt downhill and see what numbers come up on the computer....at an uplift day I'm trying to get faster ready for my next pitiful attempt at racing....when I'm pulling the tail of the tiger like that it seems daft not to protect my faculties.
I've come off my bike loads over the years, I know it hurts and over rough ground it can become an inherently unstable activity....i've never in my 38yrs shut my hand in a car door, fallen over in the shower, fallen down stairs or any of the other accidents some people have suggested wearing protective gear for...in my experience they're low risk so no helmet for me, coming off my bike however happens several times a year when I'm trying something new or pushing on...so for me the risk is considerably higher.
Thats fine and you have assessed the risk for yourself based on the fact you have fallen off of your bike much more than come to any harm doing anything else.
A lot of people have been in car accidents where a helmet would have helped greatly so why is there not the same discussion on wearing helmets in cars? (and proper helmets that are proven to work i.e. motorcycle helmets, car racing helmets etc,.)
One interesting thing is that the OPs video actually shows one factor that i think is quite important.
Namely, when riding a bike, even at low speeds and not doing anything heroic, the tendancy (for a lot of people) is not to let go of the handle bars if you fall off! This tends to rotate the body forwards, and slap your face/head into the ground with some force!
People say "you don't wear a helmet when you walk through the park, you're just as likely to fall over on foot" and whilst that could be true (especially for the infirm or elderly) i've yet to go OTB whilst just walking.
Watch the OPs video, the unfortunate rider totally misjudges the jump, the front of the bike plummets (he possibly also grabs some brake at the last minute maybe), he fails to let go of the bars (it's instinctive to try to "ride it out") and he eats dirt. He wasn't going that fast in reality, but the revolution around the back wheel was enough to cause a pretty hard slap down.
@kerley car safety development has been focused on design issues like brakes, crumple zones amd airbags. Somthere has been a lot of effort put intomsafety. When driving in higher risk areas like circuits helmets are compulsory.
I really don't see how anyone can argue against helmets on mountain bikes off road and frankly on-road too.
kerleyA lot of people have been in car accidents
not really. Most people i've met have never been in any kind of serious car accident (serious enough to warrant a helmet). Also, modern cars have a lot of system designed to protect you (airbags, crumpe zones, pre-tensioners, door bars, active seat / body supports etc) In effect, these ARE you virtual helmet, sat there waiting to protect you if you need them!
ie
...i wouldn't ride those runs with half the commitment i usually do if my dome was uncovered,
= Risk Compensation.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Risk_compensation
So wearing a helmet makes you more likely to crash in the first place.
not really. Most people i've met have never been in any kind of serious car accident (serious enough to warrant a helmet). Also, modern cars have a lot of system designed to protect you (airbags, crumpe zones, pre-tensioners, door bars, active seat / body supports etc) In effect, these ARE you virtual helmet,
The fact remains that in 2013 785 car occupants were killed versus 109 cyclists. Why not try and "save the lives" of those 785? And despite the "virtual helmets" 50% of the dead car occupants had skull fractures.
http://www.forensicmed.co.uk/wounds/blunt-force-trauma/patterns/road-traffic-collisions/
I really don't see how anyone can argue against helmets on mountain bikes off road and frankly on-road too.
But you can see how they can argue against them in cars. And presumably also when, for instance, walking on the pavement and crossing the road? And going out and getting drunk? If you wear a helmet for those things then I salute your consistency; but if you don't, yet still think it's unreasonable to ride round a park without a helmet, then I would seriously question your approach to risk.
The fact remains that in 2013 785 car occupants were killed versus 109 cyclists. Why not try and "save the lives" of those 785? And despite the "virtual helmets" 50% of the dead car occupants had skull fractures.http://www.forensicmed.co.uk/wounds/blunt-force-trauma/patterns/road-traffic-collisions/
br />
Good post - exactly what I was getting at.
That pic is horrific and says it all for me quite frankly, I'd be very interested to know how the poor guy is doing now!!!