Helmet Poll: First Hand Experience

Ozark Bicycle said:

I'm looking for three data points here:

1) My head struck on object (pavement, vehicle, another cyclist, etc.)
whilst cycling; I was wearing a helmet and I feel the helmet lessened
the extent of my injuries.

or

2) My head struck on object whilst cycling; I was wearing a helmet and
I doubt it either lessened or worsened the extent of my injuries (i.e.,
the helmet made no difference).

or

3) My head struck an object whilst cycling; I was wearing a helmet and
I feel the helmet worsened the extent of my injuries.

Please limit responses to the three scenarios as outlined above. As
simple or as detailed as you like. And, *first hand* accounts only
(i.e., it happened to you). And no responses of "studies show",
"statistics prove", etc.
(And I'm counting on everyone's honesty.)

I had 2 experiences of type #1, both times my helmeted head hit a tree
branch. Time 1 was in the woods, going under a (unseen) low branch. Time
2 was riding on the sidewalk (road was closed, bike crit in an
industrial park), turned around to wave to a friend, nailed by a low
branch again. Both hits were hard (#1 cracked the helmet), I'm sure the
helmet helped. I suspect the visor prevented the branch from appearing
in my peripheral vision in at least episode 1, maybe both.

I have never crashed on the road (many years, 10's of Kmi), crashed many
times off-road, don't recall ever hitting my head.

Ozark Bicycle said:

I'm looking for three data points here:

1) My head struck on object (pavement, vehicle, another cyclist, etc.)
whilst cycling; I was wearing a helmet and I feel the helmet lessened
the extent of my injuries.

1) My head struck the pavement while I was wearing a helmet; the
helmet broke; head didn't. This accident occurred while inline speed
skating, not cycling (unseen stick caught between wheels; wheels
seized; body pitch poled without warning; head and shoulder hit
pavement without time to brace fall with hands or arms.)

2) My head struck a misjudged low tree branch while I was wearing a
helmet off-road cycling; I was knocked off the bike; helmet broke,
head didn't.

Ozark Bicycle said:

I'm looking for three data points here:

NOOooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sorni said:

Ozark Bicycle said:

I'm looking for three data points here:

NOOooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sorry, Bill, but yes. There has been so much "studies show",
"statistics prove" stuff regarding helmet use, that I thought some
first hand experiences might help put things in perspective. Care to
add yours?

Sorni said:

Ozark Bicycle said:

I'm looking for three data points here:

NOOooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

PS: For '41' -- I wrote a scintillating, /brilliant/ reply to your question
about "dead weight" falls versus ones with bodies and limbs, but my damned
reader crashed as I was 3-4 paragraphs in to it and for the life of me I
can't find your post to start over.

The world laments its loss... <eg>

Ozark Bicycle said:

I'm looking for three data points here:

1) My head struck on object (pavement, vehicle, another cyclist, etc.)
whilst cycling; I was wearing a helmet and I feel the helmet lessened
the extent of my injuries.

or

2) My head struck on object whilst cycling; I was wearing a helmet and
I doubt it either lessened or worsened the extent of my injuries (i.e.,
the helmet made no difference).

or

3) My head struck an object whilst cycling; I was wearing a helmet and
I feel the helmet worsened the extent of my injuries.

Please limit responses to the three scenarios as outlined above. As
simple or as detailed as you like. And, *first hand* accounts only
(i.e., it happened to you). And no responses of "studies show",
"statistics prove", etc.
(And I'm counting on everyone's honesty.)

Dear Ozark,

1)

Touched front brake gently on rare rainy day, thinking to
dry rim off carefully and slow down in plenty of time from
usual 20 mph as I approached spot where straight bike path
crosses deserted road.

Front tire vanished instantly.

(Maybe brake stuck, maybe asphalt trail slicker than I
thought, but whatever it was, I might as well have grabbed
the brake as hard as I could on oiled glass.)

Wham on shoulder on rain-slick flat stretch of bicycle path
asphalt.

Side of helmet hit pavement instead of head.

Raised head and continued sliding quite a ways like that on
slick asphalt.

Felt that helmet kept ear and side of glasses from hitting
wet pavement, prevented nasty road rash, ripped ear, damaged
glasses.

Later became a helmet skeptic and began to wonder why I
failed to notice near-complete lack of road rash on
shoulder, hip, knee, and so forth--neither shirt nor pants
torn.

Still glad my ear didn't test slick pavement.

Still wonder whether helmet would have grabbed on dry
pavement and given me rotational injury. (But then I
wouldn't have fallen on dry pavement . . .)

Still wear yellow helmet, wondering if it's a net gain or
loss for crashes--hope big yellow hat makes me more visible.

Cheers,

Carl Fogel

Ozark Bicycle said:

I'm looking for three data points here:

1) My head struck on object (pavement, vehicle, another cyclist, etc.)
whilst cycling; I was wearing a helmet and I feel the helmet lessened
the extent of my injuries.

or

2) My head struck on object whilst cycling; I was wearing a helmet and
I doubt it either lessened or worsened the extent of my injuries (i.e.,
the helmet made no difference).

or

3) My head struck an object whilst cycling; I was wearing a helmet and
I feel the helmet worsened the extent of my injuries.

Please limit responses to the three scenarios as outlined above. As
simple or as detailed as you like. And, *first hand* accounts only
(i.e., it happened to you). And no responses of "studies show",
"statistics prove", etc.
(And I'm counting on everyone's honesty.)

1) Locked and jacknifed the front wheel on a mountain bike and went down
on damp pavement. Side of my head hit the pavement and skidded. Was
wearing a helmet. The impact was significant (other injuries: broken
collarbone on impact side, broken arm on other side) and I feel that the
helmet kept the possible head involvement from being any worse. As it
was, my hearing was affected for a couple of weeks, but it got all right
on its own.

I was just riding along on this sidewalk, kinda fast one day, when the
great slab jumped up and sllapped me on the head with a force that
caved in the polystyrene with a dent big enough to store a patch kit.
Next thing I knew, my bike was standing about ten yards behind me, with
wheels wedged into cracks in the concrete, my clavicle was crunched,
and I was singing the usual, obliigatory assurances to passers-by. (I'm
OK!)

When it connected with the concrete, my helmet made a loud smacking
sound the likes of which I'd never heard in decades of riding. From the
experience, I conclude I could have spared myself a lot of trouble by
simply not wearing a helmet. There would have been none of those
expensive, bothersome X-Rays of my shoulder nor any of the follow-ups
with the orthopedic people and all that. Helmets are just a way of
asking for trouble.

-- BG in Seattle

Ozark Bicycle said:

Sorni said:

Ozark Bicycle said:

I'm looking for three data points here:

NOOooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sorry, Bill, but yes. There has been so much "studies show",
"statistics prove" stuff regarding helmet use, that I thought some
first hand experiences might help put things in perspective. Care to
add yours?

NOOooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

:-P

(I already told about the time I endo'd in a rock gargen and totally rang my
lidded bell. Got up and finished the ride. Also hit a low-hanging
tree-branch so hard one time I saw stars; just kept pedaling. Pretty damn
sure I'd've gotten concussions at the very least both times, if not cracking
open my skull -- especially the one on the rocks.)

Bill "and he pulls me back in" S.

PS: Who knows? If I'd read certain STUDIES before these events, maybe
I'd've gotten pretty jacked up!

"Ozark Bicycle" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I'm looking for three data points here:

1) My head struck on object (pavement, vehicle, another cyclist, etc.)
whilst cycling; I was wearing a helmet and I feel the helmet lessened
the extent of my injuries.

or

2) My head struck on object whilst cycling; I was wearing a helmet and
I doubt it either lessened or worsened the extent of my injuries (i.e.,
the helmet made no difference).

or

3) My head struck an object whilst cycling; I was wearing a helmet and
I feel the helmet worsened the extent of my injuries.

Please limit responses to the three scenarios as outlined above. As
simple or as detailed as you like. And, *first hand* accounts only
(i.e., it happened to you). And no responses of "studies show",
"statistics prove", etc.
(And I'm counting on everyone's honesty.)

I had a Type 1: Riding off-road, went straight over bars at towards 20mph
(gully lined with paving slabs, going to fast to avoid, not good enough to
jump over it). landed on head on rocks rolling forward onto back. Head
fine. Helmet dinged. Sternum broken by following bike. If only I'd have
been wearing body armour!

Skippy
E&OE

Ozark Bicycle said:

I'm looking for three data points here:

As your measure is always the subjective 'feel' of the reporting
person you are not collecting data, you are collecting impressions,
i.e. noise.

--
MfG/Best regards
helmut springer

Type 1:

hit an immovable object--tore my thumb ligament and fell backwards onto
pavement -- head hit first
helmet shattered, slight concussion but no fracture of skull
Reasonable sure I would have suffered brain damage if I hadn't been wearing
a helmet

Jeffrey R Fischman, MD

"Ozark Bicycle" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I'm looking for three data points here:

1) My head struck on object (pavement, vehicle, another cyclist, etc.)
whilst cycling; I was wearing a helmet and I feel the helmet lessened
the extent of my injuries.

or

2) My head struck on object whilst cycling; I was wearing a helmet and
I doubt it either lessened or worsened the extent of my injuries (i.e.,
the helmet made no difference).

or

3) My head struck an object whilst cycling; I was wearing a helmet and
I feel the helmet worsened the extent of my injuries.

Please limit responses to the three scenarios as outlined above. As
simple or as detailed as you like. And, *first hand* accounts only
(i.e., it happened to you). And no responses of "studies show",
"statistics prove", etc.
(And I'm counting on everyone's honesty.)

Jeff said:

Type 1:

hit an immovable object--tore my thumb ligament and fell backwards
onto pavement -- head hit first
helmet shattered, slight concussion but no fracture of skull
Reasonable sure I would have suffered brain damage if I hadn't been
wearing a helmet

Jeffrey R Fischman, MD

Well, how smart can a /doctor/ be compared to the likes of the AHZs? LOL

Per Ozark Bicycle:

Quoted message said:

1) My head struck on object (pavement, vehicle, another cyclist, etc.)
whilst cycling; I was wearing a helmet and I feel the helmet lessened
the extent of my injuries.

You didn't specify bicycles-only sooooo....

Drunk clipped me on my Yamaha YDS-6 when I was doing about 45-50 mph.

Did a swan dive over the bars and through the air onto the asphalt.

Cracked a perfectly good Bell cop-style fiberglass helmet, saw flashes of light
intermittently for about 2 days, probably paid my dentist's kid's way through
college.

GF's employers put me up for a couple days and fed me something from Canada
called "2-2-2's". Aspirin-like tablets with like 2 milligrams each of
caffeine, aspirin, and codeine IIRC. Great stuff for getting a night's sleep
with road rash.
--
PeteCresswell

Helmut Springer said:

Ozark Bicycle said:

I'm looking for three data points here:

As your measure is always the subjective 'feel' of the reporting
person you are not collecting data, you are collecting impressions,
i.e. noise.

--
MfG/Best regards
helmut springer

Right, I'm looking for peoples first hand experiences/feelings. That is
data, no?

Per Ozark Bicycle:

Quoted message said:

3) My head struck an object whilst cycling; I was wearing a helmet and
I feel the helmet worsened the extent of my injuries.

Riding along a dedicated bike path. Took a mini-deadhead through the helmet
right above an eye.

Could go either way on that one.

On one hand, it could have been nasty if the branch had hit my eye socket and
not been stopped in the helmet. OTOH, maybe I would have seen the branch
without the helmet/visor on.
--
PeteCresswell

Quoted message said:

3) My head struck an object whilst cycling; I was wearing a helmet and
I feel the helmet worsened the extent of my injuries.

Windsurfing. Going a good 25 mph. Got catapulted by a gust, over the bars,
into the water sort of on the area between my shoulders.

Wound up laying in the water unable to feel anything in my arms for several
minutes. Messed up my neck for a number of weeks. I could feel the water
catch on the helmet and yank my neck.
--
PeteCresswell

Ozark Bicycle said:

Helmut Springer said:

Ozark Bicycle said:

I'm looking for three data points here:

As your measure is always the subjective 'feel' of the reporting
person you are not collecting data, you are collecting impressions,
i.e. noise.

--
MfG/Best regards
helmut springer

Right, I'm looking for peoples first hand experiences/feelings. That is
data, no?

Dear Ozark,

It's certainly data about feelings.

Unfortunately, there is no rec.bicycles.psychology.

Cheers,

Carl Fogel

Quoted message said:

Ozark Bicycle said:

Helmut Springer said:

Ozark Bicycle <[email hidden]> wrote:
> I'm looking for three data points here:

As your measure is always the subjective 'feel' of the reporting
person you are not collecting data, you are collecting impressions,
i.e. noise.

--
MfG/Best regards
helmut springer

Right, I'm looking for peoples first hand experiences/feelings. That is
data, no?

Dear Ozark,

It's certainly data about feelings.

Unfortunately, there is no rec.bicycles.psychology.

Automatons need not respond to this poll.