No Helmets Needed?

Peter Clinch wrote:


As Steve Scharf suggests, this is probably about insurance. In the UK
various insurers have tried threatening cyclists with contributory
negligence claims when they've been injured while not wearing helmets,
but as yet none of these have been successfully pressed. The main
cycling organisation here, the Cycle Touring Club, has quite rigorously
acted against such claims.

Well, bravo I say! This reminds of the gall one damned bitch-on-wheels
had when I caught up with her after she swerved right in front of me to
cut into a parking lot: she didn't even try to defend herself, she
simply wanted to know why *I* wasn't wearing a helmet!

Had to put her down when she started to say "****"...I asked her,
pointing to her five kids in the mini-van, "you still want to ****?
You haven't had enough yet?"

Motorists don't know how lucky they are I'm only on pedal-power!

Depends what sort of falling off. A sideways slide on gravel is at
least as easy, where flying over the bars is very difficult. On average
I find I don't fall off any sort of bike very often except a mountain
bike, and that's more a function of the terrain I'm not doing a very
good job of than the bike!

Well, me too -- I fall off my bike like once every eight years (but
when I do, it's so stupid...going really slow, too! And I still manage
to draw blood...go figure) -- but, "all other things being equal," it
seems like by being closer to the ground one simply puts one's foot
down to stop any imbalance foreshadowing a fall.

Helmets will work by load spreading and energy absorption. The latter
will generally be far more effective than the former because there's
only so much head you can spread the load over, and the neck will often
take the whole lot at some point in any case. Polystyrene is actually
pretty effective as an absorber, but it remains the case that in the
sort of accidents that will get you killed it isn't good enough.

Hell, forget about killed -- I'd always maintained that at least then
my problems would be over! I'm worried about crippled, as in paralyzed
or brain-impaired!

Helmets have a track record of not doing anything much to rates of
serious injuries in cycling populations, though I certainly wear mine if
I go mountain biking because I expect to fall off and at the sort of low
speeds the EN1078 spec is built to actually tangibly help. If you think
you'll fall off wear a lid to prevent a nasty graze and a headache, but
don't assume there's much chance of it saving your life.

Natch -- didn't think so.

Stronger in the sense of ability to break it in your hands, yes, but
better capable of absorbing energy? Unlikely.

Great point.

Most helmets made of
tougher stuff have quite a bit of absorbing material as well as the
shell, or have a fair bit of extra room and a cradle to spread the
impact (like a site or climbing helmet, where it's a pretty safe
assumption a primary impact will come from above)

Which kinds are these? If I'm gonna wear a helmet, it might as well be
the best.

BTW, I can see myself wearing a 5-lb. K-Pot on a bike (US Army kevlar
helm). What's five pounds? I easily eat four or five at a rest stop.

Nothing stopping you organise your own rides, of course.

Sure -- I hereby announce the First Annual NYC ARBR Ed Dolan Memorial
'Bent Jamboree! You must bring a girl along, though, even if she's
only your sister. And last one out is a rotten eggplant!

One thing to bear in mind with 'bents is they have rather different
performance characteristics to typical uprights. You'll typically be
slower up hills, faster into headwinds and down hills. This can be a
problem for all concerned if you're on a group tour on a hilly, windy
circuit, depending on how much folk are happy to wait up and take it at
a slowest pace. Lower machines can make life a little more awkward to
speak to folk next to you, and the fact that other folk can't draft you
can be an annoyance to some, though it'll depend on the group.
Something to bear in mind if you're into group riding though.

Many thanks for the wonderful insight. I am into group rides, but I
don't do them since I don't wear a helmet and...I rather prefer to
already know the people.

Pete.
--
Peter Clinch Medical Physics IT Officer
Tel 44 1382 660111 ext. 33637 Univ. of Dundee, Ninewells Hospital
Fax 44 1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK
net http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/