Posted on 06/01/2014 8:12:08 PM PDT by Huntress
Road safety campaigners have accused a leading neurosurgeon of putting lives at risk after he claimed cyclists who wear helmets were wasting their time.
Henry Marsh, who works at St George’s Hospital in Tooting, London, said many of his patients who had been involved in bike accidents had been wearing helmets that were “too flimsy” to be beneficial.
Mr Marsh cited evidence from the University of Bath which suggested that wearing a helmet might even put cyclists at greater risk.
It showed that drivers got around three inches closer to cyclists who wore helmets because they perceived them to be less fragile.
But campaigners said his remarks, made during a discussion with Ian McEwan, the author, at this year’s Hay Festival, were “disappointing”.
Kevin Clinton, head of road safety at the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA), said helmets were an important part of cycle safety. But said they should not be compulsory in case it put would-be riders off.
(Excerpt) Read more at telegraph.co.uk ...
his thinking is that a driver seeing someone without a helmet will stay farther away...
imo , another point is that helmets, just like on motorcycles, can interfere with hearing and sight and manuverability...maybe just enough so you don't catch the speeding car trying to get around you....
as with all our modern culture, we hold certain beliefs as "sacred" and not to be questioned, ala global warming, ala red meat, ala carbs, gluten,fatty oils, etc...
If you have a $10 head, wear a $10 helmet.
Anyone remember the days when as a kid you could ride in the back of a pickup truck. Those were fun days.
Ask Gary Busey if he should have worn a helmet when he crashed on a motorcycle in 1988.
http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20120285,00.html
Bicycle or motorcycle you should wear a helmet. You are on 2 wheels and a few pebbles can throw you off the bike.
http://i157.photobucket.com/albums/t57/Thomzilla/FarK/busey_two.jpg
I loved playing on those as a kid! :-)
I think they called the one at school a Jungle Gym.
I don’t remember that many girls playing on it though...
Yup, the neuro guys conclusions are poorly reasoned.
Somehow it just seems safer to wear a helmet, it’s a simple common-sense notion that I have.
It’s a population reduction technique derived from Darwin’s theories. Further, it has a bit of a Eugenic side: Stupid people will use this as an excuse not to wear one, and will be less likely to reproduce.
Interesting take on helmets, to conclude that the drivers of the cars around the cyclist give less room to helmet-wearers and thereby raise the risk of injury. I’ve already read that (likely non-professional/non-serious) cyclists who wear helmets apparently ride more carelessly and thus counteract most of the benefit afforded by the helmet. I imagine that those who cycle “seriously” as in the spandex/overpriced-components crowd probably don’t change their habits much, but kids and casual cyclists probably do infer more invulnerability from the helmet.
As to helmets on motorcycles, while I’m not a big fan of coercing riders to wear them, I cannot really understand the appeal of riding without one. I’ve had to do it a couple of times, when my helmet became unavailable for one reason or another, and it was miserable. The air rushing past my head drowned out all sound including the bike’s motor, my eyes watered so much I could barely see, and my face was constantly bombarded by dust/sand, bugs, and other assorted crap.
I remember the Navajos in NM always riding in the back of trucks, and we went from NW Arkansas to Springfield MO with my brother and me in the back of Dad’s old truck.
He did have stock racks on so we wouldn’t fall out.
I noticed the bed of my Dodge Trucks have places to put a 2x8 boards for seats if need.
In Illinois when helmet laws went away, eye protection was still required. I rode with nothing but eyeglasses on my head sometimes. It’s still tricky; wind getting around the lenses can get the eyes teary.
Folks who think helmets work don’t understand brain trauma.
Ok what about all the trauma of the head skidding against pavement.
Even if the helmet doesn’t prevent all brain injuries it is effective in preventing a lot of the out side of your head from being scrapped off.
Remember he is only seeing the people that come into the ER not the many more that just get up from a crash look at their banged up helmet and walk away.
I was taken down in a race from a rider who hit me from behind shattered my helmet lots of road rash (none on my head) other then that no damage.
I am a firm believer in them.
what a bunch of pansies...when I was growing up, metal monkey bars were on concrete.
Take away the coercion, and people do the right thing
I conked a helmet on the the ground once, not very hard. But it removed any doubt that I’ll always wear one when riding.
I remember first learning why they put those lycra “panties” on the foam Gyro helmets: “It’s to protect your head on the second bounce.” (Because the helmet turns into packing peanuts on the first strike, and keeping them around your head actually helps.)
I understand that every day in this country legions of psychiatrists and clinical psychologists visit hospital wards in which there are many, many young men (it's almost invariably young men, young women seem to have better sense) who have had motorcycle accidents and are lying in hospital beds and will never walk again. Some have lost the use of their hands and arms, too.
They are there to counsel these men on how to adapt to never walking or in some instances, never being able to do much of anything ever again.
Yep, motorcycling is a great sport.
Legions, huh? Actually there are multitudes more young people who are paraplegics from auto accidents. Much less football, soccer, bicycling, swimming pools.
Best to hide in a closet.
Having ridden (briefly) sans helmet, then extensively with a full-face helmet, I will always ride with the helmet. June bugs in the face HURT!
There’s certainly a range of prices there. Any suggestions (I think I need to replace my 15 y.o. helmet)?
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