Helmet Saved Another Life- Post Your Story Here

[teamgomez]

Wondering how many 'There I was..." stories are out there for a helmet saving a life...I've seen a few blokes riding around my neck of the woods who evidently believe the helmet crushes their 'cool factor' (guessing they believe their thinning hair does not). I was recently pondering this fact while I was pedaling uphill and I noted another fellow bombing down the hill sans helmet and lo and behold a nice littly lady in a 330 pulled a U-turn from a parallel parked position right in front of him.

At the time, I was just as concerned that he was going to take me out as well (during the process of logging a .1 of 'flight time') and his vector was going to end up in a head-on with yours truly. To my amazement, his skills exceeded his common sense and he just barely brought his steed to a halt before lightly 'broadsiding' the 330...

Our group ride last week didn't end as favorably as one of our more experienced riders hit a patch of pavement repair at speed rounding a corner on a descent and
the result was an off-road excursion that placed him between a steel fencepost and a rock outcropping smack dab in the middle of a thick brush/bush pile. When dash two (also EMT) arrived to see how bad off he was, the immediate concern was puncture from the thick (and dry) branches. Seeing only lacerations and no neck injury, he removed the victim from the brush and was stunned to see a 1" thick branch protruding from the back of the victim's helmet. When he queried the victim about the javelin protruding from the back of his head, he grabbed it and it had penetrated the back of the Giro helmet and lightly scraped the skull (it took 40 seconds of vigorous pulling to remove the stick from the helmet). Had he not been wearing his helmet, it is probable there would have been another occupant in his sinus cavity and a helicopter trip to the hospital (or a ride in a zip loc baggie to the quiet house). A handful of staples mended the chap and believe it or not, the bike had no damage!

I've seen other spills and tumbles that cracked lids, but this recent one took the cake. Hoping there's enough effort to post a story here that raises the eyebrow of a non-believer and puts 'em under a skid lid. Either that, or Darwin will take care of the rest.

Let's hear it!

 

[dabac]

Wearing a helmet or not has for many become an article of faith more than anything else, and one thing that really tends to get those who don't like helmets are "a helmet saved my life"-stories.
And to some extent I understand them. The "science" is bad, there's no credible way of knowing how serious damage there'd been w/o the helmet.
We don't know if the helmet actually saved a life, if it prevented a concussion, or if it merely saved someone from a minor facial/scalp injury - or, if the helmet actually contributed to the injury in some way...

Maybe a thread about " a helmet saved my glasses/eyebrow/cheek bone would be less provocative and more reliable....

 

[Peter@vecchios]

Wearing a helmet or not has for many become an article of faith more than anything else, and one thing that really tends to get those who don't like helmets are "a helmet saved my life"-stories.
And to some extent I understand them. The "science" is bad, there's no credible way of knowing how serious damage there'd been w/o the helmet.
We don't know if the helmet actually saved a life, if it prevented a concussion, or if it merely saved someone from a minor facial/scalp injury - or, if the helmet actually contributed to the injury in some way...

Maybe a thread about " a helmet saved my glasses/eyebrow/cheek bone would be less provocative and more reliable....

Hear, hear. If ya want to wear them, do so. I do, don't really like it tho. May help, may not. Personal choice.

 

[teamgomez]

Wow. YGTBFSM- 'may not help'? While it won't stop a .45 inbound from the 'hood, one would have a hard time presenting a case supported by credible data showing that wearing a helmet is not a beneficial protocol. Sounds similar to our CA debate when the Harley boyz refused to don their lids (law notwithstanding).

Whodathunk it was such a senstitive topic? I'll stand by the Darwin comment- flame vest on.

 

[Peter@vecchios]

Wow. YGTBFSM- 'may not help'? While it won't stop a .45 inbound from the 'hood, one would have a hard time presenting a case supported by credible data showing that wearing a helmet is not a beneficial protocol. Sounds similar to our CA debate when the Harley boyz refused to don their lids (law notwithstanding).

Whodathunk it was such a senstitive topic? I'll stand by the Darwin comment- flame vest on.

The 'CA' debate was about personal freedom, NOT specifically about helmets.

There is a lot of 'credible' evidence that helmets 'may' help but they may not. That thin piece of plastic and styrofoam is not a panacea for head injuries. It's not a religion, no need to present it so. Wear it if ya want, but if you don't you are not a bad person.

Good article-

Why I Am Opposed to Mandatory Helmet Laws

His points are that cycling is NOT dangerous and head injuries are NOT inevitable. AND mandatory helmet laws are not the answer. The 'helmet saved my life' argument fuels those who want to make helmets mandatory. RIGHT after the motorcyclists, is what I say.

 

[alienator]

People also present their reasons for not wearing a helmet as a religion, too.

For me, normal cognitive and neurological function are much more important than any reason for not wearing a helmet.

 

[alienator]

Why I Am Opposed to Mandatory Helmet Laws

Nice religious article. Unbiased? No. Objective? No. Worth reading as a credible reference? No.

 

[teamgomez]

I'll not attempt 'to put 50 lbs of suction on a horse's **** to get him to drink', but I will offer the simple physics of kinetic NRG (Force=.5*mass*velocity^2) and if all that is btwn u and the asphalt is a few strands of hair, then you get what's coming to you.

NASCAR bit the bullet after Dale tried to eat his steering wheel in '99 after hitting the wall at Daytona (different decel trauma to the main artery in the base of the skull but decel is the key word here) and installed 'styrofoam' to increase the distance over which the occupant of an ill fated trajectory goes from hero to zero. Same applies to your noggin'...increase the distance for which those happy little neurons get to enjoy the decel and the likelihood you won't spend the rest of your life eating dinner thru a straw increases.

This isn't religion...it's science. Subjective and emotional assertions to the contrary fall off this wall faster than uncooked spaghetti.

 

[biker jk]

I'll not attempt 'to put 50 lbs of suction on a horse's **** to get him to drink', but I will offer the simple physics of kinetic NRG (Force=.5*mass*velocity^2) and if all that is btwn u and the asphalt is a few strands of hair, then you get what's coming to you.

NASCAR bit the bullet after Dale tried to eat his steering wheel in '99 after hitting the wall at Daytona (different decel trauma to the main artery in the base of the skull but decel is the key word here) and installed 'styrofoam' to increase the distance over which the occupant of an ill fated trajectory goes from hero to zero. Same applies to your noggin'...increase the distance for which those happy little neurons get to enjoy the decel and the likelihood you won't spend the rest of your life eating dinner thru a straw increases.

This isn't religion...it's science. Subjective and emotional assertions to the contrary fall off this wall faster than uncooked spaghetti.

I concur. It seems that those most opposed to wearing helmets base their argument largely on freedom to choose rather than on the science of whether it prevents injury. I also often hear the argument that compulsory helmet wearing laws in Australia have led to fewer people cycling, which is plainly rubbish. Sales of bicycles in Australia have risen significantly since the helmet laws were introduced (and were a record 1.4 million last year).

 

[dabac]

Wow. YGTBFSM- 'may not help'?

Read that as "may not help in a significant way", i.e. the helmet didn't save a life, it only stopped some facial scrapes and bruises that cleared up in a week anyway.

..Whodathunk it was such a sensitive topic?

You must be really new to cycling forums....

...While it won't stop a .45 inbound from the 'hood, one would have a hard time presenting a case supported by credible data showing that wearing a helmet is not a beneficial protocol.

Beneficial, sure - but to what degree? There are plenty of people out there who have ridden for years and years w/o ever bumping their noggin. (for them) The helmet isn't turning something dangerous into something safe, it's turning something that already is safe into something that's only a tiny bit safer - at the cost of personal choice.
It's a bit like arguing that even regular passenger cars should be fitted with full roll cages or maybe automatic fire extinguishers in the engine compartment.

.....one would have a hard time presenting a case supported by credible data showing that wearing a helmet is not a beneficial protocol.

But then there have been cases where a helmet has caught on something and seriously damaged the wearer due to the chin strap....

.....I'll stand by the Darwin comment- flame vest on.

To what result? The lines are already drawn, the trenches are dug. Your chances of swaying someone with cunning, reasonable and insightful arguments are zero, zilch. It's not posting, it's trolling. You'll get a tired old replay of stale arguments with the only new thing being the post that triggered it.

 

[Peter@vecchios]

Nice religious article. Unbiased? No. Objective? No. Worth reading as a credible reference? No.

I said it was a good article. Let me check...yep didn't say it was objective, unbaised nor did I say it was a credible reference but I think it's worth reading, as are many articles about helmets and their ability to protect the noggin. I worry about mandatory helmet laws, or other nanny laws in place to protect one from ourselves.

Helmets may help, will never hurt.

 

[dangerousbiker]

It could help but it doesn't necessarily mean it will save you..

 

[alienator]

It could help but it doesn't necessarily mean it will save you..

Who said it would definitely do anything?

 

[teamgomez]

It could help but it doesn't necessarily mean it will save you..

Nor would an ejection seat...but I prefer to fly with one strapped to my behind.

When the man on the top floor (or basement...) calls, you're goin' but no sense in rushin' the trip....

 

[Peter@vecchios]

Nor would an ejection seat...but I prefer to fly with one strapped to my behind.

When the man on the top floor (or basement...) calls, you're goin' but no sense in rushin' the trip....

You 'prefer' to ride on an ejection seat? If you really are in the fast jet, military community, you don't have any choice. Lots of aircraft, most in fact, don't have ejection seats, most pilots fly w/o parachutes.

AND if you are in the military, fast jet community, then that helmet you wear is a JOKE. It will do nothing to protect your noggin if ya auger in. It's there to recover your head(it floats) after the crash, a place to put the earphones, a place to hook the mask to. When I flew(USN Fighters), I would have rather had a throat mike, headset, sunglasses, baseball hat to turn around when I entered the fight.

 

[frenchyge]

Ironically, ejection seats fit right in with cycling helmets and airbags as 'safety' devices which are generally a good idea but also bring an inherent share of risk.

 

[ChicagoSteve]

[FONT=&quot]I am a huge helmet advocate after a helmet recently saved my life. I ride 7 days-a-week, including doing a 60-mile round-trip commute to work a couple of days each week. Last May, as I approached my office at the end of my morning ride, my attention probably was not as focused on the ride as it had been during the heart of commute. My front tire got caught in a groove on the road, and the bike went out of control (I later found out that the City of Chicago filled a crack in the road with a piece of smooth metal -- smart [/FONT][FONT=&quot]). The bike and I stopped when my head hit flush on a metal stoplight pole. At the time (according to the data I later downloaded from my Garmin), I was going 25mph. I suffered broken vertebrae in my neck due to the compression from the impact, but I had absolutely no head injury-- not even a headache. My doctor was amazed that I was not dizzy and had no loss of consciousness. He also said that without the helmet, he likely would not have been talking to me in the emergency room!

After spending 3 1/2 months in a cervical collar, I am now back to normal activity, including riding 7 days-a-week. Neither I nor any of my kids or loved ones will ever ride without a helmet.
[/FONT]

 

[teamgomez]

Hell yes I prefer to ride on what may be my last 'get out of jail free' card! Sure- eject with your thighs elevated off the seat and you'll have the pleasure of stuffing your femur back in the gap b/f trying to get away from the bad guys (or get in your raft) but it beats the alternative.

When I flew(USN Fighters), I would have rather had a throat mike, headset, sunglasses, baseball hat to turn around when I entered the fight.

Don't tell me...Tomcats.

And you'd have had my callsign stitched to the brim of that baseball hat in 20mm (forgot to call a left to left here...my bad ).

Surprised to hear all this from somebody who put his life in the hands of over 200 folks for every trap; guess that helmet even put a crimp on your game when you taxied up to the airshow.

Gate...buggin' east. Chaff/flares...

 

[Peter@vecchios]

Hell yes I prefer to ride on what may be my last 'get out of jail free' card! Sure- eject with your thighs elevated off the seat and you'll have the pleasure of stuffing your femur back in the gap b/f trying to get away from the bad guys (or get in your raft) but it beats the alternative.



Don't tell me...Tomcats.

And you'd have had my callsign stitched to the brim of that baseball hat in 20mm (forgot to call a left to left here...my bad ).

Surprised to hear all this from somebody who put his life in the hands of over 200 folks for every trap; guess that helmet even put a crimp on your game when you taxied up to the airshow.

Gate...buggin' east. Chaff/flares...

Phantoms for 10 years, THEN Turkeys, finished with Adversary F-16N, A-4s.

My squadron's motto was 'we're behind you all the way'. The catshot had my cahoneys in somebody else's hands. I was along for the ride, the trap was almost all me, with a little from my RIO, a wee bit with padddles.

You talk like USAF(flare to land, squat to pee). I've been behind more than a few Eagles and Vipers(Oh, I mean fighting falcons), in a 20 year old A-4F+. Loved it when they slowed down with me.

 

[alfa011]

Once my front wheel (with 22mm tires) got caught in a concrete road crack and I found myself landing on my back first and my head second. The BIB and jersey did little to avoid me painting the pavement in red and cracking a rib in my right side but my bell Ghisallo helmet cracked into two parts doing its intended function of avoiding the back right side of my head to ever touch the pavement.


I cannot scientifically conclude anything but I can have an intelligent guess that maybe I will not be writing this if I was not wearing a helmet.

Food for thought.

Velociclo