The case for ditching bike helmets
By Erin Beresini, Outside
Helmet advocates have been dealing with a PR crisis ever since a new study questioning the lids’ efficacy in preventing brain injuries received widespread attention this month. But it was Olympic gold medalist Chris Boardman’s BBC morning show appearance that truly set people off. Why? He refused to wear a helmet while giving cycling safety tips.
Boardman defended himself, arguing on the BBC’s Facebook page and later in an article on British Cycling.org that helmets “discourage people from riding a bike” and shift the attention away from what’s most likely to kill a rider — a car.
So is Boardman right? Yes, cars pose the greatest threat to riders (more on that later). But the science surrounding helmets is a bit murkier.
First up: the recent helmet study. Led by a trauma surgeon from the University of Arizona, Dr. Bellal Joseph, and published in the European Journal of Trauma and Emergency Surgery, the study reviewed 709 cyclists who came through Joseph’s trauma center.
“Bicycle helmets protect against bruising and scratching,” Joseph concluded from examining the cyclists, but not against intra-cranial bleeding — the bleeding inside the skull that ultimately causes brain injury and death. The non-helmeted cyclists in the study were more likely to have a skull fracture, but not any more likely to have intra-cranial hemorrhage than cyclists who crashed while wearing a helmet.
Like car seat belts, in the case of bicycle helmets the individual’s common sense should be the deciding factor not the government.
Do I wear a seat belt when driving? Yes because it makes financial sense that if I’m injured in an auto accident my earning ability might be reduced and seat belts do protect during auto accidents.
Do I wear a bicycle helmet? Not always. If I’m on an oval track traveling at high speed- yes. If I’m mountain biking where the risk of falling is high- yes.
If I’m riding around the neighborhood or going to the store or pleasure riding on paved trails- no. The risk of my falling and hitting my head is very low. If I’m hit be a car, the helmet is of no use anyway.
It should be my choice not someone else’s.
Professor Harry Hurt, USC, said the only good thing about not wearing motorcycle helmets is we produce a lot more organ donors.
Time to redesign bike helmets to correct deficiencies of the present design not discard them.
HELMETS DON’T WORK Numerous studies have shown that ski helmets are nearly worthless. In terms of preventing injuries, a good ski cap offers almost the same protection as helmets. The ski Industry has studied the problem and concluded that helmets have totally failed to reduce serious brain injuries. See details here: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/01/sports/on-slopes-rise-in-helmet-use-but-no-decline-in-brain-injuries.html?_r=0