I don't want your opinion on if you like wearing a helmet
~ I want to know pro vs con of wearing a helmet will it really save your life. I have heard that he might have lived if he would not have been wearing his helmet because the weight of he helmet snapped his neck.
I know some guys are like helmets are for the less manly but what is the final word any stories from crash survivors?

 

pros:
the asphalt is harder than your skull and the helmet is a nice buffer


cons:
helmets do get hot. and frankly, the wind in your hair/skin feels amazing

personally, i wear a helmet most of the time.

 

ambulance crew have a nickname for riders who go down without a helmet: DONOR cyclist (instead of motorcyclist) P.S. I work in the medical field so wearing a helmet is a no-brainer for me. Been in enough accidents and am still here to type this because I wear a helmet 100% of the time.

 

Nah, I don't like wearing a helmet.. But I'd be stupid if i didn't. Kind of like, I really don't like wearing my seat belts either. But I'd be stupid if I didn't. Those people don't know an Einstein from a Beerstein. Wear your helmet, the world doesn't need another vegetable. I can tell you this, you get in a fight with the pavement, I'd rather be wearing one that not. They may be right about the broken neck theory but they may have skipped over the fact that the persons head would have looked like a dropped watermelon if they had not been wearing one. I understand that in some states or countries helmet laws don't exist, but that doesn't mean you have to increase your odds of serious head injuries just to feel wind in your hair. If you don't want to do it for yourself, think about your family and friends and do it for them.

 

Doesn't matter for us in Cal. The government made this choice for us years ago.

 

Somehow, I think this thread will turn out exactly like that.

Pro: More likely to survive a crash.

Con: More likely to survive a crash.

I'd rather be dead than a vegetable on life-support.

 

In November I got rear-ended by some moron while I was cruising down the freeway at 65-70 mph. The witness who saw it happen said the car that hit me was doing 85-90 mph. I never saw it coming. It was 1:00 AM and hardly a car on the road. I got hit so hard it felt like a freight train had hit me. I was blanked out for a few seconds cuz after a blinding flash of bright light (the impact) my next awareness was sliding down the freeway on my back at 70 mph or so. My bike was out in front of me sliding on it's side making a huge shower of sparks. When i finally came to a stop I jumped up and ran to the side of the road. All I had was a patch of road rash on my lower left back cuz my jacket had slid up a bit due to how I was sliding feet-first down the freeway.

Looking at my gear afterwards there's one huge gash in the back of my helmet (a FullFace Icon Mainframe) and another gash on the high upper part of my back on my Fox Creek leather jacket. This indicates I fell free of the bike and landed on the back of my head/high-upper back at freeway speeds.

It's not likely I'd be here telling this story if it wasn't for that helmet. The next time you're cruising down the freeway at 70 just imagine letting go of the handlebars and falling back/free of the bike on your head. I did exactly that and got up and walked away.

I've seen a case where a guy was pushed out of the back of a pick-up truck doing about 20 mph and landed on the back of his head. He was dead a few hours after he got to the hospital.

Your head is like an egg. It's fragile. The rest of your body can take a major beating and you'll probably be OK if not a bit of a gimp. But your head you're either dead or worse yet a vegetable. Helmets don't break your neck. If they do it's a tiny percentage of the time that's silly to quibble about compared to how often they save your brain from massive injury.

To me wearing a helmet is a no-brainer. Kind of like driving without insurance for your car or not having homeowners insurance for your house. Yeah they're not perfectly comfortable compared to wearing no helmet, but there are some helmets that are well made and if they fit you correctly they're comfortable. My new helmet since the crash described above is a Shoei X-Eleven FF which ventilates extremely well and is very lightweight and comfy (when i have the vents open it feels like a cool breeze blowing over my scalp and forehead as I'm riding - excellent ventilation).

Good luck to you. Of course it's your choice to wear a helmet, but to me its just common sense especially if you have loved ones who care about you, kids who rely on you, etc.

Ride safe everyone...

 

Its a no brainer. If you think its an invasion of your rights well...Oh wait no opinions are allowed. If anyones saw the news recently where Natasha Richardson fell on a bunny slope at a low speed and hit her head. Died some time later from a brain hemorrhage.

 

I always felt the head snapping because of the weight of the helmet is bogus .. My skin aint as tough as asphalt or concrete .. I used to drag race Harleys , so for me the choice is a no brainer ..

The one thing I lean to more now , as I get further into middle age , is wearing a full face year round instead of cold weather only .. Tho I still wear them , half shells and 3/4 helmets offer very little or no facial protection .. They may help your brain survive the initial impact , but there is no face protection at all ..

Also good leathers or kevlar reinforced jeans and jackets are a great addition , not to mention gloves ..

 

I hit a deer about 4 weeks ago, I can say without a doubt that a helmet saved my life. My bike went down very hard to the left and slamed my forehead into the pavement. After you are on the pavement the tumbling is so violent that you have no control of any of your body parts. When I got done tumbling/sliding I was still in the right lane of the highway. Even if I had not been killed when my head hit the pavement I feel quite certain I would have been knocked un-conscious, leaving me exposed to be run over by a passing vehicle. I have thought of not wearing a helmet because ride alot in SC where hemets are not required. I still lay awake at night thinking if I had chose not to wear a helmet that night the outcome would have been alot different.

Mark