I don't know how many of you know that I published a paper on the ineffectiveness of helmets. While the numbers of deaths did not change from before to after the event of helmets a rough approximation also made it appear that they also didn't change the numbers of non-fatal bicycle head injuries.
Since the numbers are so coarse there is the possibility that helmets can reduce minor head injuries and because of that I wear a helmet myself. Though I think that it is extremely unwise to demand that children wear a helmet when cycling because it reduces the numbers of children riding bicycles to little, or no, effect.
Lately I wondered if the much larger numbers of riders on the road would smooth the figures out so that more could be discerned about helmet safety.
Unfortunately it appears to be pretty much the same; more riders means more deaths but in the same percentage ratios as pedestrians meaning that increases in fatalities are because of increasing speed limits.
The non-lethal head injury records are so difficult to be found that what I did find made it appear the same - if there is any safety to be gained by wearing a helmet it is pretty difficult to see.
Bell has lately invented a newer technology that from my guess might be a real improvement that could decrease minor head injuries from falls. It is contained in the Bell Zephyr helmet. It is composed of two Styrofoam shells. The inner shell is significantly softer than the previous grade so that initially the impact resistance on the brain is causing less deceleration forces and hence less tearing of the meniscus layer of the skull/brain interface. The second outer layer has a higher impact absorption layer. Since the head has been decelerated to a larger degree this can be harder. It continues to pass the helmet tests that were originally developed by Bell and then picked up by the Bicycler Helmet Safety Institute. Also they have developed a new cage system for holding the helmet on the head so that air can pass between the head and the helmet, aiding cooling. It also is designed in a manner to try and drain the sweat away from the eyes. All of this seems very encouraging to me until you see the price is $240. This pretty much limits its use and perhaps may even doom the technology.
But what is more important is speed and fatalities on a bicycle. If you are struck at 15 mph you have only a 10% chance of dying from the accident. If the collision speed increases to 25 mph the chances are 50-50. And at 35 mph you have a 90% chance of dying.
So if we want to save more bicyclists and pedestrian we need to force governments to lower speed limits to the safe limits of the road which is different to the usual method of trying to ease traffic as much as possible by setting the speed limits as high as possible without extraordinary amounts of collisions.
This in turn would force more and more industries to place themselves closer to their workers rather than worker having to commute any distance to work. If companies are closer to where people live, bicycling to work becomes a far more viable option. The more bicyclists there are, the fewer drivers and the safer the roads become.
You should think about this and if you can afford it perhaps the newest Bell top-of-the-line may save your life for real.
Since the numbers are so coarse there is the possibility that helmets can reduce minor head injuries and because of that I wear a helmet myself. Though I think that it is extremely unwise to demand that children wear a helmet when cycling because it reduces the numbers of children riding bicycles to little, or no, effect.
Lately I wondered if the much larger numbers of riders on the road would smooth the figures out so that more could be discerned about helmet safety.
Unfortunately it appears to be pretty much the same; more riders means more deaths but in the same percentage ratios as pedestrians meaning that increases in fatalities are because of increasing speed limits.
The non-lethal head injury records are so difficult to be found that what I did find made it appear the same - if there is any safety to be gained by wearing a helmet it is pretty difficult to see.
Bell has lately invented a newer technology that from my guess might be a real improvement that could decrease minor head injuries from falls. It is contained in the Bell Zephyr helmet. It is composed of two Styrofoam shells. The inner shell is significantly softer than the previous grade so that initially the impact resistance on the brain is causing less deceleration forces and hence less tearing of the meniscus layer of the skull/brain interface. The second outer layer has a higher impact absorption layer. Since the head has been decelerated to a larger degree this can be harder. It continues to pass the helmet tests that were originally developed by Bell and then picked up by the Bicycler Helmet Safety Institute. Also they have developed a new cage system for holding the helmet on the head so that air can pass between the head and the helmet, aiding cooling. It also is designed in a manner to try and drain the sweat away from the eyes. All of this seems very encouraging to me until you see the price is $240. This pretty much limits its use and perhaps may even doom the technology.
But what is more important is speed and fatalities on a bicycle. If you are struck at 15 mph you have only a 10% chance of dying from the accident. If the collision speed increases to 25 mph the chances are 50-50. And at 35 mph you have a 90% chance of dying.
So if we want to save more bicyclists and pedestrian we need to force governments to lower speed limits to the safe limits of the road which is different to the usual method of trying to ease traffic as much as possible by setting the speed limits as high as possible without extraordinary amounts of collisions.
This in turn would force more and more industries to place themselves closer to their workers rather than worker having to commute any distance to work. If companies are closer to where people live, bicycling to work becomes a far more viable option. The more bicyclists there are, the fewer drivers and the safer the roads become.
You should think about this and if you can afford it perhaps the newest Bell top-of-the-line may save your life for real.