I “made” my kid wear a helmut when riding his bicycle... he really disliked it, especially when he considered the fact that nearly every other kid in town did not wear one. In time, he became confortable in a helmet and eventually, grew to embrace the security of the protective shell encompassing his head. What was the catalyst? I had watched a daytime tv show, where the program consisted of preventable childhood tragedies being discussed by parents that had lost their children in such fatal “accidents.” One woman described how her twelve year old daughter stopped her bike at a stop sign, lost her balance and toppled over, only to have her head strike the curb. Just that quick, a blow to her head killed her.
Tough as nails bull riders are starting to recognize the value in head protection.
As a helmet wearing skydiver, I’d definitely want a helmet when going up against a tree. In a twisted admonition to be safe, skydivers remind one another that if you kill yourself skydiving, you’ll look like an idiot to your peers and you won’t be able to ever skydive again. Reminds the brave to be ever cautious in the pursuit of their endeavor, or be prepared to pay the ultimate price.
A beautiful life has been snuffed out, and perhaps, just perhaps, in this instance, an ounce of prevention might have delivered a pound of cure. Easy to say all of this from the command and control center of a keyboard warrior’s observation post.
Blunt trauma affects more than just the head....it can be just as destructive to internal organs and the circulatory system.
Helmets may not prevent death in 60mph man vs tree encounters. Certainly can’t hurt though. Where helmets do come into unquestioned utility is less dramatic head trauma. As an intern a long time ago, I took care of a beautiful 25 yo woman who fell while bike riding in Catalina Island. Not a high speed event. Just lost her balance and tipped over. No helmet. Head struck ground in the worst possible place, right over the temple. Small skull fracture there ruptured the middle meningeal artery (which runs right under the temple part of the skull) leading to a massive subdural hematoma and eventually brain death. When it came to be my turn to have kids, they never got on bikes without helmets.