Road Cycling
Helmet vs. curb, OK. Helmet vs. soccer mom, not so OK
It sucks to be you Miss Watermelon.”
While we all know that bicycle helmets are no miracle elixirs when it comes to protecting that oh-so-valuable grey gelatin between our ears, we still would like to think they offer some protection.
A recent test by the Bicycle Helmet Safety Institute has shown that helmets may not be as wonderful as we think. Sure, they should hold up pretty well against a fall when your noggin cracks against a concrete curb. However, cross paths with a cell-phone chatting soccer mom who’s running late to little Timmy’s practice and sees right through you at the intersection…it’s time to whip our your organ donor card.
Check out the results of Car runs over helmet.
Warning: Vegans beware. This test contains graphic footage of watermelon carnage.
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5 comments for “Helmet vs. curb, OK. Helmet vs. soccer mom, not so OK”
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I’ll opt to wear a helmet either way. Having one is still going to be better than not having one under almost any sort of injury inducing circumstances.
And besides, having a helmet saved Ryan Lipscomb’s life last year when a truck ran over his head and left him with only a minor concussion. The helmet was destroyed, but that’s better than having a flat head.
Blaine,
I agree. I’d much rather wear one than not. If you look at the report, you’ll notice that they mentioned stories of a person’s head being run over by a car and the helmet saving them. They believe that in those instances, the pressure on the helmet ejected the person out of the helmet before it was crushed. Kind of like popping a giant human pimple. ;)
As far as I know, helmets grip the road better than heads. They definitely give a larger target for the car wheel. At a rough guess these people weren’t saved by their helmets, rather they had an escape even narrower than they would have done without a helmet. I’d guess that if they hadn’t been wearing a helmet, they wouldn’t have been hit by the wheel at all (and so we wouldn’t have yet another helmet-saved-me anecdote).
Dude, either way your toast. With or without! I have been in 2 accidents that if I did NOT wear a helmet I would have brain injury. Currently on my second life cause of one of them. But must say John that if I were not wearing the helmet for the second (and first) I would have brain injury. We ride bikes and understand that there is a risk. They are not bullet proof and without them in traffic we would be vegetables if hit in the wrong way. I will never ride on the streets without one. They have saved my life once, and that’s all it takes to make then a top priority!
I’m not saying don’t wear a helmet. I always do and make my munchkins wear one. What I, and I believe the folks from the Bicycle Helmet Safety Institute, were trying to say is this: Just because you put a helmet on your head, doesn’t mean you are invincible.
When I first got into inline skating, the helmet and pads made me feel rather impervious to pain. Of course, I was soon proven wrong. ;)