Wear that Helmet!!



K

Ken Pisichko

Guest
I just returned from a trip to the local ER at the hospital via
ambulance.

I was pedaling along and a fellow did not watch where he was going and
drove into my path. Came out from behind a bush and noticed me at the
last minute. I didn't turn left for that was the front of his car.
Instead I swerved left and hit his car at the front passenger windshield
with my bike taking out the passenger mirror and the bike sliding along
the passenger side of the sub-compact. I hit the car with my right rib
cage and fell onto the hood as I slid off the windshield.

Really sore right side. Turned out I just pulled some muscles. The ER
attending physician sent me for x-rays and after his examination he said
I was lucky. Amen to that! It could have been worse. While I don't
recall hitting my head the outer plastic helmet shell has a couple of
little pieces missing. I will replace the helmet just as a precaution.

Fortunately it was my $20 Chinese MTB. Maybe the car insurance company
will allow for a check-up/repair. Time will tell tomorrow. The local
police did not bother attending. The 10 speed Peugeot has it's panniers
ready and I will commute into the city tomorrow - with a spare helmet
that I bought last summer.

Ken
Winnipeg, Canada
 
> I hit the car with my right rib cage and fell onto the hood
> as I slid off the windshield.

So how did the helmet contribute?

> While I don't recall hitting my head the outer plastic helmet
> shell has a couple of little pieces missing.

I'm not seeing the connection between this tale and the
double-exclamation Subject line.

--
Robots don't kill people -- people kill people.
http://www.irobotmovie.com/
 
LioNiNoiL_a t_N e t s c a p E_D 0 T_N e T wrote:
>> I hit the car with my right rib cage and fell onto the hood
>> as I slid off the windshield.
>
>
> So how did the helmet contribute?
>
>> While I don't recall hitting my head the outer plastic helmet
>> shell has a couple of little pieces missing.
>
>
> I'm not seeing the connection between this tale and the
> double-exclamation Subject line.
>

Obviously you are blind. Pity. Although, the double !! may be a bit much
for those who were not there, I can agree that they might be used
because of the closeness to the poster. Like a gun shot down the road
and one right out your door are very different things.


jim



jim
 
[email protected] wrote:

> LioNiNoiL_a t_N e t s c a p E_D 0 T_N e T wrote:
>>> I hit the car with my right rib cage and fell onto the hood
>>> as I slid off the windshield.
>> So how did the helmet contribute?
>>
>>> While I don't recall hitting my head the outer plastic helmet
>>> shell has a couple of little pieces missing.
>> I'm not seeing the connection between this tale and the
>> double-exclamation Subject line.
>
> Obviously you are blind. Pity.

Apparently I'm blind too, then.

> Although, the double !! may be a bit much for those who were not there, I
> can agree that they might be used because of the closeness to the
> poster. Like a gun shot down the road and one right out your door are
> very different things.

Does the gun shot outside your door allow you to view the situation more
rationally?

--
Benjamin Lewis

Hey! I'm only fourteen, sickly 'n' thin
Tried all of my life just to grow me a chin
It popped out once, but my dad pushed it in. -- FZ
 
All the best guys. Today I was back at cycling with another bike and another
(unbashed) helmet. Take care out there :)

Benjamin Lewis wrote:

> [email protected] wrote:
>
> >... snip...
 
Benjamin Lewis <[email protected]> wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...
> [email protected] wrote:
>
> > LioNiNoiL_a t_N e t s c a p E_D 0 T_N e T wrote:
> >>> I hit the car with my right rib cage and fell onto the hood
> >>> as I slid off the windshield.
> >> So how did the helmet contribute?
> >>
> >>> While I don't recall hitting my head the outer plastic helmet
> >>> shell has a couple of little pieces missing.
> >> I'm not seeing the connection between this tale and the
> >> double-exclamation Subject line.
> >
> > Obviously you are blind. Pity.
>
> Apparently I'm blind too, then.
>
> > Although, the double !! may be a bit much for those who were not there, I
> > can agree that they might be used because of the closeness to the
> > poster. Like a gun shot down the road and one right out your door are
> > very different things.
>
> Does the gun shot outside your door allow you to view the situation more
> rationally?

Depends on which side of the gun you're on.
 
Ken Pisichko <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> the passenger side of the sub-compact. I hit the car with my right rib
> cage and fell onto the hood as I slid off the windshield.
> ...
> While I don't
> recall hitting my head the outer plastic helmet shell has a couple of
> little pieces missing.

Sounds like you'd have done better to wear a chest protector.

I was riding around last night when I stopped and chatted briefly with
another rider about our LED lights. He volunteered, without context,
that I needed a helmet. I just laughed at his presumptuous and
unsolicited advice.

I considered, but refrained from, telling him that he should wear a
cup if he makes a habit of prescribing helmets to others. But it
would probably do him more good than his foam hat!

Chalo Colina
 
Benjamin Lewis wrote:
> [email protected] wrote:
>
>
>>LioNiNoiL_a t_N e t s c a p E_D 0 T_N e T wrote:
>>
>>>>I hit the car with my right rib cage and fell onto the hood
>>>>as I slid off the windshield.
>>>
>>>So how did the helmet contribute?
>>>
>>>
>>>>While I don't recall hitting my head the outer plastic helmet
>>>>shell has a couple of little pieces missing.
>>>
>>>I'm not seeing the connection between this tale and the
>>>double-exclamation Subject line.
>>
>>Obviously you are blind. Pity.
>
>
> Apparently I'm blind too, then.
>
>
>>Although, the double !! may be a bit much for those who were not there, I
>>can agree that they might be used because of the closeness to the
>>poster. Like a gun shot down the road and one right out your door are
>>very different things.
>
>
> Does the gun shot outside your door allow you to view the situation more
> rationally?
>

Probably less, but stop and think for a second. Some of us, perhaps you,
have heard a gunshot go off somewhere in the neighborhood. It may be
startling or no great shakes depending on how often this happens. One
immediately outside your door is another matter. Wanna bet which one has
the greatest impact on you? which causes the strongest adrenaline jump?

Well, that6 helmet impact is like the shot outside your front door when
the helmet is on your head and it is the first time this happens to you.

Light shining somewhere in that darkness yet?


jim
 
[email protected] wrote:

> Benjamin Lewis wrote:
>> [email protected] wrote:
>>
>>> LioNiNoiL_a t_N e t s c a p E_D 0 T_N e T wrote:
>>>
>>>>> I hit the car with my right rib cage and fell onto the hood
>>>>> as I slid off the windshield.
>>>>
>>>> So how did the helmet contribute?
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>> While I don't recall hitting my head the outer plastic helmet
>>>>> shell has a couple of little pieces missing.
>>>>
>>>> I'm not seeing the connection between this tale and the
>>>> double-exclamation Subject line.
>>>
>>> Obviously you are blind. Pity.
>> Apparently I'm blind too, then.
>>
>>> Although, the double !! may be a bit much for those who were not there,
>>> I can agree that they might be used because of the closeness to the
>>> poster. Like a gun shot down the road and one right out your door are
>>> very different things.
>> Does the gun shot outside your door allow you to view the situation more
>> rationally?
>
> Probably less, but stop and think for a second. Some of us, perhaps you,
> have heard a gunshot go off somewhere in the neighborhood. It may be
> startling or no great shakes depending on how often this happens. One
> immediately outside your door is another matter. Wanna bet which one has
> the greatest impact on you? which causes the strongest adrenaline jump?

The latter, of course. I'm sure in that case my reaction would be
emotional rather than reasoned.

> Well, that6 helmet impact is like the shot outside your front door when
> the helmet is on your head and it is the first time this happens to you.
>
> Light shining somewhere in that darkness yet?

Yes, I think you've emphasized my point very nicely. Thank you.

--
Benjamin Lewis

TO ARMS! TO ARMS! Hooray! That's great
Two legs ain't bad unless there's a crate
They ship the parts to mama in. -- FZ
 
Let's not stop at a 'cup'! Full BMX (is it?) body armor! Were such legally
mandated, I'll bet we'd see a reduction in bicycle injuries just as when
hell-mutts are mandated. Ciao Chalo


"Chalo" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
| Ken Pisichko <[email protected]> wrote:
| >
| > the passenger side of the sub-compact. I hit the car with my right rib
| > cage and fell onto the hood as I slid off the windshield.
| > ...
| > While I don't
| > recall hitting my head the outer plastic helmet shell has a couple of
| > little pieces missing.
|
| Sounds like you'd have done better to wear a chest protector.
|
| I was riding around last night when I stopped and chatted briefly with
| another rider about our LED lights. He volunteered, without context,
| that I needed a helmet. I just laughed at his presumptuous and
| unsolicited advice.
|
| I considered, but refrained from, telling him that he should wear a
| cup if he makes a habit of prescribing helmets to others. But it
| would probably do him more good than his foam hat!
|
| Chalo Colina
 
"Menno" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Here are two interesting articles about wearing helmets.
>
> http://www.egms.de/en/meetings/dgnc2004/04dgnc0134.shtml#Text
> http://agbu.une.edu.au/~drobinso/velo1/velo.html
>
> It shows that helmets are not really the life savers that some people
think
> they are. It's more about using what's inside the helmet; your brain. In
> this case the car driver did not use his brain.
>
> Menno
> wears a helmet when appropriate.

Well, you'll change your tune the first time you shatter a helmet and come
out of the wreck with at least your head unscathed. I hit my head in a race
at 30mph hard enough that I didn't even feel my collarbone break. I guess
that suggests that we should wear shoulder pads too, but then we'd be big
wusses like football players.

For anyone who races or rides in competitive group rides the benefits
provided by wearing a helmet are probably much greater than those for casual
riders whose main threat is from intense impact with a car.

--Art
 
JimLane <[email protected]> writes:

> Some of us, perhaps you, have heard a gunshot go off somewhere in
> the neighborhood. It may be startling or no great shakes depending
> on how often this happens. One immediately outside your door is
> another matter. Wanna bet which one has the greatest impact on you?
> which causes the strongest adrenaline jump?
>
> Well, that helmet impact is like the shot outside your front door
> when the helmet is on your head and it is the first time this
> happens to you. Light shining somewhere in that darkness yet?

You mean the shining light that I should never leave home without a
styrofoam beer cooler on my head, whether I am riding my bike, walking
or driving? Of that I should probably wear it in the shower too,
since more head injuries occur there than on the bike?

Man, if I was as risk-averse as some folks I'd never get out of bed,
let alone go on a bike ride.
 
"Art M" <[email protected]> writes:

> "Menno" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
>> Here are two interesting articles about wearing helmets.
>>
>> http://www.egms.de/en/meetings/dgnc2004/04dgnc0134.shtml#Text
>> http://agbu.une.edu.au/~drobinso/velo1/velo.html
>>
>> It shows that helmets are not really the life savers that some
>> people think they are. It's more about using what's inside the
>> helmet; your brain. In this case the car driver did not use his
>> brain.
>
> Well, you'll change your tune the first time you shatter a helmet
> and come out of the wreck with at least your head unscathed.

Ooh, is that a threat? Are you gonna *make* me change my tune?

> I hit my head in a race at 30mph hard enough that I didn't even feel
> my collarbone break. I guess that suggests that we should wear
> shoulder pads too, but then we'd be big wusses like football
> players.

No, it just means one should learn how to avoid crashing in a race.
It was a lesson I took to heart, crashing once on the road and twice
in the velodrome in the 10 years I raced and avoiding many others.
The safest place is a solo breakaway, but I was never strong enough
to pull that off.

> For anyone who races or rides in competitive group rides the
> benefits provided by wearing a helmet are probably much greater than
> those for casual riders whose main threat is from intense impact
> with a car.

The fact of the matter is that precisely the opposite is true. The
faster you're going, the more forceful the impact, the less helpful a
bicycle helmet is. It's designed to absorb the impact of falling over
while stationary and hitting your head, not a 30 mph impact. Of
course, most crashes involve a glancing impact with the pavement.

I've been in crashes with and without a helmet. The helmet was
useful in preventing road rash on my head. That's about it. OTOH a
little over a year ago I was knocked off my bike and assaulted by
four "youths" and my helmet was helpful for that.
 
"Doug Huffman" <[email protected]> wrote:

> Let's not stop at a 'cup'! Full BMX (is it?) body armor! Were such legally
> mandated, I'll bet we'd see a reduction in bicycle injuries just as when
> hell-mutts are mandated.

Aye Doug, coming soon to a nanny state near you.

But I was thinking that sooner or later someone might bounce his
marbles in return for his presumptuous "advice".

Chalo
 
"Menno" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...
> Here are two interesting articles about wearing helmets.
>
> http://www.egms.de/en/meetings/dgnc2004/04dgnc0134.shtml#Text
> http://agbu.une.edu.au/~drobinso/velo1/velo.html
>
> It shows that helmets are not really the life savers that some people think
> they are. It's more about using what's inside the helmet; your brain. In
> this case the car driver did not use his brain.
>
> Menno
> wears a helmet when appropriate.

The article by Dorothy Robinson attempts to measure the efficacy (or
not) of mandatory helmet laws. It says nothing about the reduction in
risk of head injury given that an accident has occurred. These are
separate issues.

FWIW, the study showed no significant (or any at all, really)
improvement in head injury statistics after the introduction of MHL in
Australia.

Ritch
 
On Tue, 13 Jul 2004 15:39:57 -0500, Tim McNamara
<[email protected]> wrote:

>> For anyone who races or rides in competitive group rides the
>> benefits provided by wearing a helmet are probably much greater than
>> those for casual riders whose main threat is from intense impact
>> with a car.
>
>The fact of the matter is that precisely the opposite is true. The
>faster you're going, the more forceful the impact, the less helpful a
>bicycle helmet is. It's designed to absorb the impact of falling over
>while stationary and hitting your head, not a 30 mph impact. Of
>course, most crashes involve a glancing impact with the pavement.
>
>I've been in crashes with and without a helmet. The helmet was
>useful in preventing road rash on my head. That's about it. OTOH a
>little over a year ago I was knocked off my bike and assaulted by
>four "youths" and my helmet was helpful for that.

Oh boy, do you need to do some research. Look at the medical data on
the subject of head trauma in bicycle accidents, both with and without
a helmet.

The chances of fatality in a "head hitting hard object" drop
significantly when wearing a helmet. They do so much more than just
protect your head from road rash.

For those naysayers who say "after my accidents, I didn't see any
damage to the helmet so it's useless," that's how the helmets are
supposed to work. They absorb some of the impact - and the damage to
the helmet starts on the inside. The damage is rarely visible from
the outside.

I'm not advocating mandatory helmet laws. If you don't want to wear a
helment, then don't. Just don't coming knocking on my door when you
need help paying for the respirator after your unhelmeted head hit the
pavement and now has massive brain trauma. Society shouldn't have to
pay for that.
 
NobodyMan wrote:
> On Tue, 13 Jul 2004 15:39:57 -0500, Tim McNamara
> <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>
>>>For anyone who races or rides in competitive group rides the
>>>benefits provided by wearing a helmet are probably much greater than
>>>those for casual riders whose main threat is from intense impact
>>>with a car.
>>
>>The fact of the matter is that precisely the opposite is true. The
>>faster you're going, the more forceful the impact, the less helpful a
>>bicycle helmet is. It's designed to absorb the impact of falling over
>>while stationary and hitting your head, not a 30 mph impact. Of
>>course, most crashes involve a glancing impact with the pavement.
>>
>>I've been in crashes with and without a helmet. The helmet was
>>useful in preventing road rash on my head. That's about it. OTOH a
>>little over a year ago I was knocked off my bike and assaulted by
>>four "youths" and my helmet was helpful for that.
>
>
> Oh boy, do you need to do some research. Look at the medical data on
> the subject of head trauma in bicycle accidents, both with and without
> a helmet.
>
> The chances of fatality in a "head hitting hard object" drop
> significantly when wearing a helmet. They do so much more than just
> protect your head from road rash.
>
> For those naysayers who say "after my accidents, I didn't see any
> damage to the helmet so it's useless," that's how the helmets are
> supposed to work. They absorb some of the impact - and the damage to
> the helmet starts on the inside. The damage is rarely visible from
> the outside.
>
> I'm not advocating mandatory helmet laws. If you don't want to wear a
> helment, then don't. Just don't coming knocking on my door when you
> need help paying for the respirator after your unhelmeted head hit the
> pavement and now has massive brain trauma. Society shouldn't have to
> pay for that.
>
If you choose to not wear an approved helmet you should be mandated to
be an organ donor. Organ donation needs more visionaries.
 
Ahhh, so! Another wannabe tyrant. Which is worse, one tyrant a thousand
miles away or a thousand neighbor-tyrants that are one mile away?


"mrbubl" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
|| If you choose to not wear an approved helmet you should be mandated to
| be an organ donor. Organ donation needs more visionaries.
 
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