Wear cycle helmets! then this won't happen.

[Hitman_Leon]

My son was riding home earlier with his friend who was going stay for the night. His friend was riding on the path and my son was in the cycle lane, his friend clipped a lamp post with his front wheel and then his head. He was knocked out cold; a guy pulled over and called an ambulance, another guy, a fireman stopped to help.

Someone took the two bikes to my son's grandmothers and my son went to the hospital with his friend because the lads own uncle refused to go
(kind of figures really because this so called 'uncle' is the new male friend of my ex, I guess scum-bags just gravitate together)

My son just got home a short while ago; his friend has a fractured skull and may have some bleeding, he's being transferred to the specialist unit at LGI.

This young lad is 17 and he's been staying with us this past week; he had an argument with his mum and she made him move out but he had nowhere to go. He had just gotten things smoothed over to live with his grandmother and was back to work on Monday after being laid off then this happens. He's a good sort and I really hope he's going to be ok.

The first thing my son said after he had finished explaining about his friend was "no way I will ever go out without my helmet on again". I think what my son witnessed told him more than I ever could about wearing a cycle helmet.

 

[Django x2]

Very true, and I'm guilty of often riding without a helmet. Oddly, the retrospective advice is that your son's friend shouldn't have been riding on the pavement and may have been safer riding in the cycle lane.

Hope he makes a full recovery

 

[Skillmister]

(kind of figures really because this so called 'uncle' is the new male friend of my ex, I guess scum-bags just gravitate together)

*identifies as Hitman Leon thread through ex issues


But yes, it takes some people a close encounter to actually put this piece of common sense into practice.

 

[elmarko]

Damn, hopefully he will be OK.

Props to you for having him to stay - not enough people are willing to help people out like that.

 

[Lysander]

I thought there was just as much argument for not wearing a cycle helmet than wearing one.

 

[Hitman_Leon]

Damn, hopefully he will be OK.

Props to you for having him to stay - not enough people are willing to help people out like that.

My son brought him back here when he got kicked out because he knew I would not see anyone out on the street and would help out if I could.

Doctor mentioned to my son that his friend would have had a bruised ego rather than a fractured skull if he had been wearing a helmet.

 

[Suarez7]

My uncle had a nasty accident on his bike years ago and fractured his skull, he's never been the same since and whatever damage he did has slowly ate away at his mobility and he can barely walk now at just 50 years old.

 

[PardonTheWait]

I thought there was just as much argument for not wearing a cycle helmet than wearing one.

IMO the only argument for not wearing one is personal choice.

I wakeboard (wear a helmet) and I've had two big smacks on the head on obstacles that I think would have had a fair shot at knocking me out if I didn't have a lid on.

After both of them I slid back into the water and I wouldn't want to be out cold and get dumped back in the water.

Same thing with snowboarding, I've got a mate who just refused to wear a helmet on the trip we were just on, she did relent at the end and say she's going to get one - I'm not sure how much me busting my shoulder up made her think about it. But I just don't understand why people have such an issue with wearing a lid.

You see it in all the wake/snow videos, all these pros, who people look up to, riding on obstacles and backcountry snowboarding with no helmets. Stupid.

BUT it's their head, it's their choice.

 

[[DOD]Asprilla]

IMO the only argument for not wearing one is personal choice.

I wakeboard (wear a helmet) and I've had two big smacks on the head on obstacles that I think would have had a fair shot at knocking me out if I didn't have a lid on.

After both of them I slid back into the water and I wouldn't want to be out cold and get dumped back in the water.

Same thing with snowboarding, I've got a mate who just refused to wear a helmet on the trip we were just on, she did relent at the end and say she's going to get one - I'm not sure how much me busting my shoulder up made her think about it. But I just don't understand why people have such an issue with wearing a lid.

You see it in all the wake/snow videos, all these pros, who people look up to, riding on obstacles and backcountry snowboarding with no helmets. Stupid.

BUT it's their head, it's their choice.

It's also your neck and back. Wearing helmets can lead to increased likelihood of spinal damage when you have an accident as the helmet tends to catch as you skid along.

On balance I think it's better to wear one so I do.

Of course, if he hadn't been on the pavement he wouldn't have crashed into a lamp post.

 

[Lysander]

IMO the only argument for not wearing one is personal choice.

I wakeboard (wear a helmet) and I've had two big smacks on the head on obstacles that I think would have had a fair shot at knocking me out if I didn't have a lid on.

After both of them I slid back into the water and I wouldn't want to be out cold and get dumped back in the water.

Same thing with snowboarding, I've got a mate who just refused to wear a helmet on the trip we were just on, she did relent at the end and say she's going to get one - I'm not sure how much me busting my shoulder up made her think about it. But I just don't understand why people have such an issue with wearing a lid.

You see it in all the wake/snow videos, all these pros, who people look up to, riding on obstacles and backcountry snowboarding with no helmets. Stupid.

BUT it's their head, it's their choice.

You're not talking about cycling though. There are specific reasons why wearing a cycle helmet can be more dangerous than wearing one. You see many HGVs alongside you while wakeboarding?

 

[davido_labido]

blimey leon, you lead an eventful life mate!

 

[VeNT]

You're not talking about cycling though. There are specific reasons why wearing a cycle helmet can be more dangerous than wearing one. You see many HGVs alongside you while wakeboarding?

this sadly.
helmets are epic at preventing damage when you are in very specific situations.
sadly for 9/10 accidents a road cyclist will have/encounter (not mtb, bmx etc), it's of no use. the speeds/forces are too high and the helmet will just fail.

 

[Lysander]

sadly for 9/10 accidents a road cyclist will have/encounter (not mtb, bmx etc), it's of no use. the speeds/forces are too high and the helmet will just fail.

Which is why it's better not to wear one at all on the roads, since research [as linked] shows that drivers are more likely to give a wider berth to a cyclist if they see he's not wearing a helmet.

Bicyclists who wear protective helmets are more likely to be struck by passing vehicles, new research suggests.

Drivers pass closer when overtaking cyclists wearing helmets than when overtaking bare-headed cyclists, increasing the risk of a collision, the research has found.

Dr Ian Walker, a traffic psychologist from the University of Bath, used a bicycle fitted with a computer and an ultrasonic distance sensor to record data from over 2,500 overtaking motorists in Salisbury and Bristol.

Dr Walker, who was struck by a bus and a truck in the course of the experiment, spent half the time wearing a cycle helmet and half the time bare-headed. He was wearing the helmet both times he was struck.

He found that drivers were as much as twice as likely to get particularly close to the bicycle when he was wearing the helmet.

Across the board, drivers passed an average of 8.5 cm (3 1/3 inches) closer with the helmet than without

The research has been accepted for publication in the journal Accident Analysis & Prevention.

“This study shows that when drivers overtake a cyclist, the margin for error they leave is affected by the cyclist’s appearance,” said Dr Walker, from the University’s Department of Psychology.

“By leaving the cyclist less room, drivers reduce the safety margin that cyclists need to deal with obstacles in the road, such as drain covers and potholes, as well as the margin for error in their own judgements.

“We know helmets are useful in low-speed falls, and so definitely good for children, but whether they offer any real protection to somebody struck by a car is very controversial.

“Either way, this study suggests wearing a helmet might make a collision more likely in the first place.”

 

[GTanny]

closest i have experienced to this was a group of 'youths' (12-18) riding around a street where i used to live on a small motorbike, it was a normal case of just ignore them as they normally got bored after an hour or so (not normally causing damage but not 'great' kids)

heard a loud bang a bit of a fussing then saw one run past with the motorbike shortly after blue lights arrived.

turns out they had been riding on the path and one had come off the bike and head first into the back of a car parked in someones drive, it looked as if someone had attacked the car with a sledge hammer.

i never did find out who the kid was or if he even survived but i never heard from the group again (we moved a few months after this for other reasons)

i know this is a completely different case but i agree and even as an adult will always wear a helmet to ride and my daughters and wife will be the same.

 

[grudas]

Riding on the pathway probably in dark.. ?! he wouldn't have clipped a lamp post if he was on the road like he's mean to he was doing something that's illegal, would you say "wear a seatbelt it'll save your life" to a drunk driver doing over a ton on the motorway? I bet you wouldn't.

I do feel bad for him but imo helmet is hardly the point of discussion here... don't mean to sound like an arse hope he gets better.

 

[PardonTheWait]

It's also your neck and back. Wearing helmets can lead to increased likelihood of spinal damage when you have an accident as the helmet tends to catch as you skid along.

On balance I think it's better to wear one so I do.

Of course, if he hadn't been on the pavement he wouldn't have crashed into a lamp post.

How much of that is down to the aero shape of most road bike lids do you reckon? Genuine question.

When I cycled on the road regularly I tended towards wearing one but if I'm honest, often I wouldn't. I don't know what it was but with cycling I just sort of felt like I was unlikely to get in an accident (I know that's not true). I knew I should be wearing it though, but I do sweat monstrously when I cycle and it just made it more annoying in a helmet.

With 'action' sports I just feel better in one, because falling off is the norm, not an exception.

I wouldn't wear one riding behind a boat as there's nothing to actually strike your head on, it's your head being stopped by the water that hurts you and a helmet makes your head bigger actually increasing the speed at which your head is slowed down on hitting the water.

The whole argument of more protective gear makes you more reckless, I've never been convinced by that. You get motorcyclists that will argue that they're more likely to fall off in full leathers than jeans and a t-shirt because they feel safer. Stupid imo.

I feel the same about people saying that if you wear a helmet you're more likely to get run over by a lorry. The page linked to won't actually load but I've seen it before and the gist's in your quote. Not convinced that's a compelling argument personally - possibly if you're a city commuter. But if you commute by bicycle in the city then you're at a very high risk anyway.

 

[Fuzz]

Sadly, somehow I see this uncle bloke and your ex finding some way of blaming you for it all...

Hope the kid makes a proper and full recovery anyway.


I'm thinking of changing my lid from one of those on top of the head highly vented styrene ones to one of the ones the BMX'ers usually wear, more of a right down round the ears job.
What are they called because lighter evening are not far round the corner and I'll be back cycling to work soon.

 

[CaptainRAVE]

Very true. I would not be here today if I had not been wearing a helmet.

 

[bobbyspangles]

I can't help but think forcing every teenager, or anyone any age that is uncomfortable doing so, to use the road is going to end in carnage.

I'm 22 and will admit that when I go out on my bike I still often use the pavement, simply because I'm not comfortable with my ability on the road.

 

[Chaos]

This guy was glad he was wearing one.