"Les Earnest" <
[email protected]> wrote in message
news:
[email protected]...
> Here is an opportunity for the anti-helmet folks to get something through
> their thick skulls. Have fun, but I'm not sticking around.
>
> http://www.redorbit.com/news/health..._bike_helmets_work/index.html?source=r_health
Helmets works it says. And then they use a bunch of phony statistics and
gee - they don't give the actual methodology they used to TEST these things.
A brain isn't WATER. Cracked or not the impact is rarely the cause of death
and the spining of the brain in the skull that causes the blood vessels to
rupture and the brain to be crushed by the inflation of the skull with blood
pressure is.
Another two bit number - 70,000 head injuries a year. And yet 67,000 of them
are minor injuries TO THE FACE.
The fact is that if they HAD some scientific evidence that was worthwhile
they would print it instead of telling us that they did it and it was good
enough for them.
But of course the REAL numbers show no changes in head injury numbers before
helmets and now that essentially everyone but homeless poeple wear them.
http://www.magma.ca/~ocbc/kunich.html
See table "US Cyclist & Pedestrian Fatalities 1986 - 2000"
http://www.magma.ca/~ocbc/image18.gif
See table "Figure 2 Trends (pedestrians/cyclists scaled to 5.65:1 ratio) "
And as an added bonus:
http://press.psprings.co.uk/bmj/march/ac722.pdf
"Injuries to cyclists follow a clear "safety in numbers" relation; injury
rates per cyclist are lower when more people cycle.17 Data for cyclists in
collisions with motor vehicles (see bmj.com) show helmet laws increased the
risk of death or serious head injury relative to the risk for pedestrians
and the amount of cycling. This implies helmet laws are counterproductive."
http://www.pulsus.com/Paeds/09_05/mok_ed.htm
"The results indicate that risk compensation may modify the effectiveness of
PE (protective Equipment) for children engaged in sports and leisure
activities."
Look, it is plain that a helmet can add a certain level of safety. But this
level is extremely low. But the fact is that of those 70,000 "head" injuries
a year there are 20%-30% of them that a helmet could certainly modify from a
"minor" injury - meaning level 2 concussion or below - to little or no
injuries.
What I'm saying is that there is sufficient evidence that helmets are
worthwhile for those who CHOOSE to wear one because most accidents are minor
to begin with and helmet are effective in reducing the injuries in a minor
accident.
Sadly this last weekend at the Fremont Freewheelers century a 52 year old
man riding down the Palomares hill reportedly only 20 miles from the end,
fell off of his bike struck his head and died. Pretending that a helmet will
make up for good sense, care or ability is a recipe for disaster. I only
point this out because this was the IDEAL conditions in which a helmet
should have had a measureable effect if helmets were effective enough to
tout like they are being touted. No motor vehicle was involved and apprently
no other bicycle was involved aside from the possibility that he touched a
wheel.
Let us assume that a helmet COULD make some small difference in death or
serious injury rates - the statistics have about a 10% error rate so let us
assume that of the 700 deaths and 2,500 serious injuries we could save 70
lives and reduce 250 serious injuries to something less. To do so would have
cost us tens of millions of dollars in advertising, safety programs, posters
in every school, every bicycle shop, every place where a cyclist might see
it and actually pay attention to it.
Do you realize that of ALL of the deaths in the USA each and every year,
only 4% of them are due to ALL accidents combined? Are you aware that
bicycling accidents are SO small that the deaths related to bicycle
accidents aren't even listed in the accident statistics used by the
government?
Are you aware that there are some 20,000 deaths in the USA each and every
year by accidental overdose of illegal drugs? And there are plenty of people
here who think not one second about using illegal drugs often.
Are you aware that there are 100,000 deaths each year from the effects of
JUST alcohol? That's aside from the other 25,000 motor vehicle deaths in
which alcohol plays a less than major role.
So exactly what is with the people who feel the need to save AT THE MOST
some 70 people a year and reduce the level of injuries of perhaps another
250? And let's remember that 99% of the "serious" injuries return to
effective normal.
If you WANT to wear a helmet by all means do so. If you feel the need to
convince others to wear a helmet perhaps you ought to see a psychiatrist.
