Helmets, what's your take?

[QRTRHRS]

Yesterday, wearing a helmet while driving a cycle became optional in PA. Being wet and dreery early on, not much happened. Today, the skys cleared and bare headed bikers were everywhere. Would you go helmetless if you could? I would not and I even wear a helmet on horseback. But then my sense of balance in these situations is not that great.



Also, I was discussing this with another driver today. He feels if helmets are optional then why not seatbelts? I had no answer.



Anyway, the bikers looked like they were having a blast.

 

[Hammer]

My thoughts on bucketless is this.....



If they don't want to wear one then it should be their choice. After my 6'9" 450lbs body did a imitation of Superman a long time ago over the hood of a Corolla I'll not ride without one. If it wasn't for my Simpson there would be piece and quiet here today.



On a serious note my thoughts on lids are this after my accident years ago. If they feel like their head is worth nothing then don't wear one. Its not going to be a pretty sight when you meet the business end of a concrete sidewalk or culvert with no lid on.



Their head,their choice. Mine will have a lid on when riding... ... Andy

 

[JConley]

Its there choice, but why risk it? I wont ride without one. over 50% of riders that are 6 feet under because of head injury's would be alive today if they werent so cool riding without a helmet.



Personally I would rather be safe than an organ doner.

 

[Ncostello]

I've rode bikes for several years and always wore one. My friend is alive today because of one. His Simpson had a huge gash in the back of it after he lost it on gravel. I've seen lots of bloody heads from cycle crashes as I'm on the Vol. Rescue Squad. Limbs can be broke, cut, and scratched up real bad... but one little wack on the head and it lights out forever.



When I bought mine the dealer told me "if you have a $10 head then buy a $10 helmet". So to me riding helmetless is saying your head aint worth nothin. But its a personal choice. I ended up spending $400 on a fitted Simpson RX style helmet.



I once rode my ATV without one but I was only going slow... how could anything happen? I was stopped and leaning over slightly when I gassed it and the tire caught a 4" diameter tree limb and flung it around upright smacking me right in the side of the head. Felt like Sosa took a swing at me. I saw stars. If only I had worn my helmet. Its a must for me.

 

[klenger]

I always wear a helmet when I'm cycling (thinwheeling). I also always wear my seatbelt when driving. I think it's especially irresponsible of parents to let their children ride a bike w/o a helmet.



There was a poster for a helmet manufacture (Bell I think) that had a group picture of all kinds of athelets (baseball, football, hockey, motorcyclists, bicyclists, race car drivers, etc). The title was "All the pros wear them".

 

[Extreme1]

I've learned a lot about head injuries recently but not as much as my wife had to. I suffered a brain injury in the last snowmobile race of the year, it will be six months ago on the 9th. Stuff still ain't all right and most likely will never be quite the same.



I spared no expense on safety gear and that definitely saved my hide. One thing about helmets, it seems the different brands fit different heads. I had a Bell Star when I was a kid and it fit like a glove. I was away from helmet type sports for several years and now Bells don't fit, HJC's do and that was what I was wearing.



One thing that one of my therapists told me about helmets: If you get a severe brain injury and live, your family is stuck taking care of you. They end up paying the price for your "freedom".



I can't really argue in favor of required helmets but I think that if someone doesn't wear one (or a seatbelt), then the bad things that happen to their health (and their quality of life and family finances) is their fault, nobody elses NO MATTER WHAT. Of course, our good liberal attorneys will fight this because it takes away from their income and prevents that socialist evolutionary step.

 

[nickleinonen]

well... i don't have a helmet that i wear while riding my bicycle, but i do enough stupid things on it that i should have one... i ride about 1-1. 5 hours every day on it. i should get a helmet, but i also need to get a new bike, and i seem to be holding off getting one cause my melon is kinda big so helmets don't fit my head well... my brain is/was messed up when i was a kid anyways... when i got my first hand brake 6 speed bike, same day i managed to ride into a brick wall with it full tilt [panic'd and tried to pedal backwards to get the brake to work which my old bike had] that was in grade 1... .



my take on it is helmets are good, riding without them bad



but speeding is bad, breaking rules is bad, swearing is bad.....



and i do all of the above... you'll end up eventually doing things right, but something's gotta happen to provoke the change



[i think i kinda started off on a rant there. too tired at the moment, past my bedtime ya know... ]

 

[MCummings]

Originally posted by Ncostello

"if you have a $10 head then buy a $10 helmet".

Too funny. I like it,, I laughed out loud on that one.



Riding a bycicle. I've never ridden more than around my block, or in front of the house,, I feel much safer without a helmet as I can hear cars, and other people talking. I feel it's about the same as running without a helmet, as I was hardly ever going faster than that.



Now, riding a motorcycle/four-wheeler. I've ridden without one a couple times,, I'm even guilty of taking my four-wheeler to Thunder in Muncie, and riding helmetless there. Also rode helmetless at "The Clash of the Titans", but when I'm riding near my house, or in town, I ALWAYS wear a helmet,,, good thing too! I've onyl needed it twice in 7 years, but both times, I was pretty lucky to have it on. Neither time I used my helmet would I have gotten seriously hurt, but I have saved myself from numerous scratches, and branches to my head,, and probably alot of hearing damage from the motor.



My $. 02



Merrick Cummings Jr

 

[parcher]

According to the "Hurt Report", an involved study into head injury as it pertains to motorcycle riders, an impact to the head of as little as 13 mph can be fatal. The purpose of a helmet is to slow down the brains rate of decelerations. It is the second collision, the one you brain has with the skull that damages the brain. Also, the human brain is more tolerant of a frontal attack than one from the side. My friends little girl was in the wreck that killed her mother, she (the little girl) got world class knock on the head (from the side) that took away from us for nearly a year between the coma and lengthy recovery. After seeing what she went through, I will NOT ride anything without a helmet. At my age I'm sure I don't have the resilience of that little girl, I'd be out for good.

 

[Steve M]

I don't wear a helmet but I do admit I'm alittle weary of not wearing one. On the other hand, some of the superbike riders must get a feeling of false security by wearing one. They race on public roads and do wheelies on the interstate at 70mph (I"ve watched them) while wearing their helmets. So they have far out-weighed my level of risk even with the helmet on. The reality is, motorcycles offer no protection from an accident. If you're not a risk taker you won't be on one to begin with. Don't tell me I'm an idiot for not wearing a helmet and you do. We're both idiots for riding a motorcycle in the first place. But I enjoy it and that's the risk I'm willing to take.

The weight of Dale Earnheardt's helmet may have been what severed his spine from his brain. No, the helmet didn't kill him. His choice of career caught up with him and he paid the ultimate price.

 

[TPCDrafting]

Back in May I was out riding one of my wife's horses in training. She likes to put other people on them when they are near finishing so they have that experience as well. I always wore a helmet when riding new or green horses and it was good I did that day. I got bucked off the back and landed directly on my back and slammed my head on the rocks pretty good. It broke my equestrian type helmet (muck like a bicycle hemet). I got right up from it, but had short term memory problems and some amnesia from the last few days. The CAT scans and MRI came out clean, so I just needed a few days to heal. It took several massages and a couple trips to see quack the chiroprac to get me back in shape. I was luck to have a helmet on that day.

As far as motorcycle riding, I always wear my full face helmet mostly for noise and bugs. I don't ride like an idiot, but I would think a brain bucket would only help, not hinder me in an accident situation.

Yeah, I could stay in my home and be safe, but what's the fun in that?? Like Stranger's sig says, I plan to wrap things up by skidding in broadside, thoroughly used up, worn out and defiantly shouting "wow what a ride!".

 

[Shovelhead]

As most "accidents" are between Motorcycles and Automobiles involving the Car driver turning into the path of the Motorcycle, the use of Helmets in these cases only allow for an Open-Casket" funeral.



I wear a brain bucket because I am required to by law.



Seat belt use is also mandated by law, but how often will an officer pull over and cite a motorist for failure to wear one?



Kind of a double standard, ain't it?

 

[Tim1]

head protection

Do you know how dangerous golf is? Those balls fly at great speed. Now these folks need mandated head protection! Tim

 

[Extreme1]

Originally posted by Shovelhead

As most "accidents" are between Motorcycles and Automobiles involving the Car driver turning into the path of the Motorcycle, the use of Helmets in these cases only allow for an Open-Casket" funeral.

That idea gets a lot of people killed. If I wouldn't have had a helmet on and suffered a similar blow, I'd be rotting in a hole. There is no question about this, I hit a hidden stump at speed (nice course routing) and the guy I was passing (he was going 60 mph) said it looked like I was already out as I was flying by him 15 ft in the air. Then I landed (on the ice of Lake Superior) and tumbled a bit.



My helmet doesn't have any dents or deformations but it is very flexible compared to what it was.



I suffered bruised lungs and a brain hematoma. I had no short term memory for a week and recall of long term things was also affected. Every time I woke up in the hospital, I wanted to know what happened to me because I forgot. For the first day or so it was every few minutes because I'd forget that quickly. I still have some numbness on one side and my recall is still improving.



The deceleration that caused my injury nearly killed me and put my family through a very rough time but I'm back at work, earning money and carrying on with my life in a way that's getting closer to normal all the time.



I don't promote manditory use of helmets (seatbelts are another matter because of secondary collisions) but like I stated the first time, you shoud have to deal with the consequences.



I am just really glad the helmet worked. Oo.

 

[fkovalski]

Let those who ride decide!

 

[Shovelhead]

Originally posted by fkovalski

Let those who ride decide!

AMEN

 

[Rob Thomas]

quote:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Originally posted by Shovelhead

As most "accidents" are between Motorcycles and Automobiles involving the Car driver turning into the path of the Motorcycle, the use of Helmets in these cases only allow for an Open-Casket" funeral.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Originally posted by Extreme1

That idea gets a lot of people killed.

Extreme1, I think what Shovelhead is saying has to do with ON road riding, not off-road. When I had my dirt-bike I always wore a helmet, not because it was the law, but because I was banking on being whiped-out a half dozen times while riding it. Same goes with my quad, although it is nowheres near as quick or fast as the dirt-bike, I do get into situations where those mobile trees come outta nowhere. I've never owned a snowmobile, those are just to dangerous.



Road bikes on the other hand, depending on where I was riding, big city, or nowheresville played a big part in helmet wearing. Out of town, with little or no traffic I enjoyed not wearing one, the risk seems to be quite a bit lower, but as soon as the traffic picked up, the helmet went back on, but not that I was truly counting on it to save me in an accident.



Accidents will happen, that is a fact, once I was repositioning a ladder, and forgot about the sawsall I left on the top step... ... ... ... ... . if I only had my helmet on, it wouldn't have hurt so damn bad. Everything in life is a risk, that why it's so much fun!



Rob

 

[Fireman Dave]

Originally posted by Extreme1

I am just really glad the helmet worked. Oo.

Eric,



I'm glad it worked too. That was a heck of an experience for you. I feel bad that I didn't know about it before now. I could have been bringing you casseroles every night while you were recovering.



Glad you're on the upswing, buddy.



Dave

 

[Sled Puller]

Could care less about motorcycles.



Glad for the riders, though, small step, getting Big Brother off their backs.



The way I see it, Pennsylvania took a bold step in doing their small part in prepping canidates for the Darwin awards.



Now repeal seatbelts, and legalise drugs, sit back, grab a beer, and watch the show!



You cannot legislate stoopidity out of the world.

 

[fortunate1]

Take it or leave it...

99. 9% of the time, riding without a helmet will allow for the full feeling of freedom that motorcycles give the riders. But when the feces strikes the electric wind appliance (impending crash with an oncoming car/truck/bus/tree), it's too late to cry for Mommy and too late to strap on the old "brain bucket". It's for that 0. 1% of the time that I always wanted to be prepared and always wore a helmet. Plus, there was that helmet law and tickets thing.



Some states have repealed their helmet laws; I guess they have their own reasons in their own legislatures. I'd call it "Thinning the Herd".