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Bicycle helmets do almost nothing to prevent concussions

gearfinder.bicycling.com

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Re: Bicycle helmets do almost nothing to prevent concussions

#11

Post by Doctor_Fegg »

monstermonster wrote: post #10
bumbledraven wrote: post #6

This is one reason I wear an airbag bicycle helment ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hövding ) It would be have been nice if the article mentioned this option.

I wear a car. Much safer.

Safer for you perhaps (in "not getting run over" terms, not in "dying of obesity" terms).

But certainly not safer for any pedestrians or cyclists on the road.

Re: Bicycle helmets do almost nothing to prevent concussions

#12

Post by danieltillett »

Of course they do. They discourage people riding bicycles and thus help people avoid concussion.

More seriously the people who ride bicycles on streets with cars are much braver than me. I have been lucky in life and seen few examples of serious accidents, but of those I have experienced first hand around 25% have involved people who were riding bicycles.

Re: Bicycle helmets do almost nothing to prevent concussions

#13

Post by ndr »

bumbledraven wrote: post #6

This is one reason I wear an airbag bicycle helment ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hövding ) It would be have been nice if the article mentioned this option.

You just need to be sure to keep its battery charged, turn it on before you go and accept to buy a new one once it fires.

Re: Bicycle helmets do almost nothing to prevent concussions

#15

Post by bumbledraven »

ndr wrote: post #13
bumbledraven wrote: post #6

This is one reason I wear an airbag bicycle helment ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hövding ) It would be have been nice if the article mentioned this option.

You just need to be sure to keep its battery charged, turn it on before you go and accept to buy a new one once it fires.

The battery is supposed to last 18 hours when the device is on, and 36 days when off. It charges quickly over USB. After I zip it up, I do have to remember to fasten a button to turn it on. It would be nice if it alerted me with a periodic beep or something when it was zipped up but not buttoned.

Bicycle helmets in general are not supposed to be re-used after a crash; a Hovding is no exception.

Re: Bicycle helmets do almost nothing to prevent concussions

#16

Post by danieltillett »

konstruktor wrote: post #9

Discussions of cycle helmets are usually very one sided, focusing on head trauma and completely ignoring other kinds of trauma as well as the positive health effects of cycling. Wearing the helmet doesn't just add a certain amount of padding to the head without any negative side effects: For example, motorists keep less distance while overtaking you [1] and making helmets mandatory reduces cycling by up to a third [2…

I would say the reduction in cycling is a pretty significant effect. I love cycling, but I am far too scared (or wise) to ever consider riding on a street shared with cars and trucks. In the end if anything goes wrong the driver will feel sad and I won't feel anything.

Re: Bicycle helmets do almost nothing to prevent concussions

#18

Post by ck2 »

Yes but they should have opened with this paragraph buried in the article:

The $40 helmet is one of the great success stories of the past half-­century. Like seat belts, air bags, and smoke detectors, bike helmets save countless lives every year. They do a stellar job of preventing catastrophic skull fractures, plus dings and scrapes from low-hanging tree branches and other common nuisances.

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