
Tell HN: Wear a Helmet - stevesearer
I started commuting to work on my bicycle earlier this year and was not wearing a helmet for the first few weeks. A coworker gave me a hard time about it and I finally decided I should get one.<p>My chain broke on my short ride home today for lunch leaving me quickly unbalanced and on the ground in a hurry. My helmeted head definitely hit the ground and would likely have been badly injured had I not been wearing it.<p>I am very thankful that my coworker pressured me to wear what I thought was fairly unnecessary due to my short commute and safe riding habits.<p>If you ride a bicycle, please wear a helmet.
======
kazinator
Please throw away your helmet and get a new one; they are only rated to be in
one accident.

Also, get a better bicycle for commuting; chains should not break after a few
weeks. This shows that the bicycle had been heavily used, or is an ancient
rust bucket, and may be a "bicycle shaped object" to begin with.

I carry a Park chain linkpin press tool for opening and closing chain links.
Though occasions for using that on the road are rare if the chain is well-
maintained and replaced regularly, not long ago I had a fairly new chain
derail off the front ring, and by some unfortunate combination of events get
itself into a tight kink which jammed and caused a link to bend severely.
Having the tool, I was able to splice out and discard the bent link, and be on
my merry way. I also carry a short piece of chain that was left over from the
original chain installation, because there is only so many links you can throw
away before the chain gets too short.

When you get a new chain, the rear gear cluster should be changed at the same
time, since they wear together. A new chain can slip on old sprockets even if
the old chain didn't. The front rings have to be changed maybe once every
three chain changes.

~~~
elif
I don't know who sold you a new cassette when you got your chain changed, but
they are nothing but a salesman.

I've never heard of chains slipping teeth, most notably because it would need
to slip all teeth in contact at once (8-20 of them).

If you are having your chain slip off, you need to adjust your deraileur.

~~~
pge
This used to be common advice (replace the chain and cassette at the same
time). Nowadays, the best pracrice is to replace the chain before it stretches
too much and starts wearing down the cogs. If you do that consistently, a
cassette should last a really long time. I ride about 2,000 miles a year
commuting and have been using the same cassette for 7 years, changing chains
about every other year.

~~~
WildUtah
Chains stretch over time and use. Oil them well and often and they last
longer.

Measure your chain with an old style American ruler (with 'inches'). Twenty
links should be exactly 10 'inches'. [0] If it's 1/8" 'inch' longer, replace
the chain. If it's 3/16 'inch' longer, replace the rear cogs and the chain
both. Consider replacing the front chain rings, too, especially if the chain
is longer or they're made of aluminium.

A stretched chain ruins gears. Ruined gears will ruin a new chain, too. Proper
maintenance fixes both problems. New quality chains cost about US$10-15.

[0] Wikipedia says one 'inch' is 2.54 centimeters, if you believe that.

------
chrismealy
In the Netherlands, where 30% of trips are by bike (compared to 1% in the US),
almost nobody where a helmet, and it's extremely safe. It's almost impossible
to go over the handlebars on a Dutch bike. You're sitting upright, you're
going slow, the roads are safe, and there are no hills to go zooming down.
Dutch cycling is basically at jogging speeds. Nobody expects joggers to wear
helmets.

However, when Dutch cyclists do go fast, they wear helmets. In Dutch there are
even separate words for everyday cyclist (fietser) and speed cyclists
(wielrenner):

[http://bicycledutch.wordpress.com/2012/05/28/lycra-on-the-
st...](http://bicycledutch.wordpress.com/2012/05/28/lycra-on-the-streets-of-
the-netherlands/)

I live in Seattle, where we have killer hills and shitty bike infrastructure.
I always wear a helmet, and I've had three minor crashes that would have been
major crashes without a helmet. When I finally move to the Netherlands, I'm
not bringing my helmet with me.

~~~
richardlblair
That's like saying "I don't wear a seatbelt because I drive the speed limit".

This is some of the worst logic I've seen on here in a while. I'll keep an eye
open for your Tell HN post "I should have wore a helmet"

~~~
limsup
I think there's something to say about it being safer to bike in general in
Netherlands vs in the US. Often in the US you are riding next to busy traffic,
while in NE the bikes are better protected. Along with other things too: like
a car driving population that is careful about bicyclists.

So, it's not exactly like saying I don't wear a seatbelt because I drive the
speed limit. Rather it's like saying I don't wear a seat belt because I live
in a different country where accidents are less probable.

~~~
georgemcbay
Accidents may be less probable, but if you happen to be one of the unlucky
ones who does have one you could still die or suffer severe brain damage, so
why not just wear the helmet? Sure it makes you look a bit goofier, but that's
a small price to pay to protect your melon.

I do a lot of downhill mountain biking, snowboarding, etc, so I'm not one of
these people that tends to be overly worried about safety, but whenever I get
on wheels or something that can easily slide out of control I wear a helmet,
period. I'm (pun intended) painfully aware of the amount of impact force a
rotational component can add to an otherwise relatively low-speed, low-
altitude fall.

Maybe the drivers are more cognizant of bikers in the Netherlands vs the US,
but I still wouldn't trust them, they are not infallible and it only takes one
of them one fuckup to mess me up. A helmet is a very effective (though non-
perfect) fail-safe for this that costs virtually nothing (amortized over time
of use before it is needed, hopefully never) and has no real downside other
than pure cosmetics.

------
rconti
There's some interesting research out there suggesting that head/neck injuries
are actually more common among helmeted bicyclists than the non-helmeted. The
factors include the extra weight of the helmet, the size of the helmet causing
the helmeted head to strike the ground when an unhelmeted head would not have,
and additional risks taken by helmeted riders (think: risk homeostasis).
Unfortunately I can't find the link that was making the rounds a few months
ago.

In my own personal anecdotes, I have had one major bicycle wreck where I
somersaulted into a car, one bicycle wreck where my chain snapped and I flung
myself over the bars onto the street, and a couple of low-speed (~10mph)
motorcycle offs where I collided with the ground but my head did not touch.
Though there was one motorcycle case where the side of my helmet dragged on
the ground slightly from about 5mph; it's arguable whether my head would have
hit.

That said, I have hit my head _incredibly hard_ snowboarding, after catching
an edge at very low speed ("last run of the day!" type thing), and always
always always wear a helmet every single time I ride a bicycle or motorcycle
or snowboard, just as I always wear a seatbelt in the car. It's just a habit,
and a good one.

~~~
exelius
I've seen this repeated many times, and people usually have this mixed up.
Helmets on bicycles DO save lives: the majority of bicycle accidents are low
speed (<15 mph) and they often don't involve severe trauma. I knew a guy in
college who fell off his bike while trying to navigate around pedestrians at
very low speed (walking speed). He wasn't wearing a helmet, and ended up with
a brain injury that robbed him of the 3 years of his life he spent re-learning
how to walk and speak. He's fine today, but still has a gnarly scar on the
side of his head.

The same is not true of motorcycle helmets. The forces involved in motorcycle
accidents are a lot higher, so fewer accidents are survivable even with a
helmet. Motorcycle helmets also make you feel fucking invincible, so I can
definitely see why people would take more risks.

~~~
imanaccount247
But by the same measures you can claim bicycle helmets are important, they
would be just as important for walkers as cyclists. Or people in cars.

~~~
rodgerd
> But by the same measures you can claim bicycle helmets are important, they
> would be just as important for walkers as cyclists.

Because, of course, walkers are elevated and moving at 20 to 30 km/h on an
inherintly unstable platform.

~~~
imanaccount247
It doesn't matter what they are doing, it matters if the basis for claiming
helmets are useful for cycling apply to walking. And they do. The testing
bicycle helmets undergo is in fact approximating the speed of a walking person
falling over on their head. Research has failed to support the idea that
helmets offer a net benefit for cycling. I suspect the same would hold true of
walking if people took the insanity to the next step and push helmets on
walkers.

------
gumby
I was struck by a car while biking with my helmet (which I generally wore but
wasn't super diligent about). Broke my arm, which I was quite bummed about.
Got back on my bike and rode one-handed to the emergency room.

At the hospital they reconstructed my accident and wouldn't you know: I fell
on my occiput; elbow shattered as a subsequent side effect. Since I had had
the helmet on I hadn't even noticed; without the helmet, well, I wouldn't have
noticed either. I went back and looked at the helmet and the foam was damaged
at the back of the head (it had absorbed a bunch of K.E.) and the back of th
helmet had grit embedded.

Needless to say I ALWAYS wear my helmet.

~~~
pbhjpbhj
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Occipital_bone](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Occipital_bone)
\- lumpy bit at the back of your skull where the bones are fused and, when
looking up, your head meets the fleshy part of your neck. The lump is called
the exterior occipital protuberance (in the image on Wikipedia it is anyway).

------
jessevdk
I'm Dutch, and used to biking everywhere since I've been little. It is true
that people in the Netherlands don't usually wear helmets, and the
infrastructure and general driving attitude (you do have to pay much more
attention to bicyclists when learning to drive) promote this. However, since
I've moved to Switzerland I've become accustomed to wearing a helmet. One year
ago I was in a pretty serious accident where I broke two vertebrae (one
compression fracture and one clean break) and... my helmet. I don't care what
studies say, I'm pretty sure that in my case the helmet saved my life.

On a side note, the situation in which the accident happened could have
happened likewise in the Netherlands, it was on the flat and I was on a driver
lane, except maybe that it was driver negligance that could have been avoided
if drivers where more accustomed to bicyclists.

~~~
jessevdk
I meant to say bicycle lane, not driver lane.

------
maerF0x0
Ive been hit three times, the third time the helmet mattered. If I had of done
false presumptions of "I've been hit before and it doesnt matter" I might be
dead or worse off now.

if you have a 0 dollar brain, wear 0 dollar head protection.

------
deutronium
Additionally if you ride a bike, grow your hair long.

Dr Ian Walker did some experiments with a bike fitted with an ultrasound
distance meter and found cars kept a greater distance to people with long
hair.

[http://drianwalker.com/overtaking/overtakingprobrief.pdf](http://drianwalker.com/overtaking/overtakingprobrief.pdf)

Alternatively, fit your bike with a flame thrower -
[https://www.eta.co.uk/2010/09/29/bond-bicycle-boasts-
ejector...](https://www.eta.co.uk/2010/09/29/bond-bicycle-boasts-ejector-seat-
and-flame-thrower/)

------
bbulkow
Honestly, I think you're .... oh, I don't want to be harsh .... being a bit
wishful by saying that you would have been badly injured had you not been
wearing your helmet. At least, there's no evidence in your post that shows it.
Probably, you have no idea.

Without a helmet, your effective head is "smaller", I know that in an accident
of mine - where everyone said "thank god for your helmet" am I certain that
the part of the helmet hanging out the back hit the ground, and without the
helmet, my head probably wouldn't have touched.

As a long-term bicycist and a long-term motorcyclist (serious crashes in
each), I am increasingly skeptical about the technology in current bicycle
helmets, especially compared to the technology in my current motorcycle
helmets. Bicycle helmets are simply not tested to the same standards. They use
very hard shells. They extend the "impact radius" \--- basically, your head
becomes bigger --- with only some decrease in crash absorbancy.

Reading the literature, it seems that the current bicycle designs are based on
voodoo more than good science. The designs look like what bicycle racers used
30 years ago (little leather padded strips).

Compare this to the motorcycle helmet industry. There are plenty of crashes to
analyze, mostly of motorcycle racers. There are numerous standards (like
SNELL) which measure levels of transient G force within the brain on a
simulated head.

We deserve better bicycle helmets, and people are willing to pay for good
science and proof of protection. I pay a LOT of money for my motorcycle
helmet, and glad to do so. I would pay 4x the price of a current bicycle
helmet to buy one with solid, verified science and an international standard
behind it.

In my suspicion, the lack of good bicycle helmet science is why the upper
level numbers are bad: helmets don't decrease injuries or deaths, except that
they cause people not to ride.

Really, we deserve better helmets.

~~~
revelation
I think we deserve cars not crashing into us. It's only in the US that people
suggest (implicitly or explicitly) somebody is at fault for his death because
he didn't wear a <400g soft shell around his head after a 4 ton truck ran into
them from behind (which is the majority in cases where people died).

~~~
mwarkentin
Canada too. :(

------
MrQuincle
You can do it, but you shouldn't advocate it. Arguments against widespread
use:

\- making people wear helmets will make less people bike, less people biking
on the road leads to more accidents with bikes, and more deaths [1]

\- a helmet may make people in general more reckless [1]

\- cars will pass closer to people when they are wearing a helmet than when
they are unprotected [1]

\- if people need helmets, cycling is apparent a dangerous activity,
attracting risk-seekers, skewing the statistics [1]

\- compulsory helmet use in Australia seems to support some of these (perhaps)
counter-intuitive arguments [1]

\- helmet itself is dubious [2]

Morale: sure, wear a helmet, but don't evangelize its use. It's a tragedy of
the commons if you will succeed.

[1] [http://hanlonblog.dailymail.co.uk/2011/07/should-my-son-
wear...](http://hanlonblog.dailymail.co.uk/2011/07/should-my-son-wear-a-cycle-
helmet.html) [2] [http://www.tbd.com/blogs/tbd-on-foot/2011/08/idea-of-the-
day...](http://www.tbd.com/blogs/tbd-on-foot/2011/08/idea-of-the-day-ditch-
the-bike-helmet--12152.html)

~~~
charlieflowers
I despise this train of thought. I've heard it before. In essence, it
translates to this: "We know it is safer to wear a helmet, but we need to lie
to other people about it, so that more people will bike."

You only need 1 highly publicized brain injury to someone who followed this
dishonest advice to undo all the gains in biking adoption you (think you)
created.

~~~
math0ne
People get brain injury's from car accidents all the time, why are we not
advocating for people being mandated to wear them while in an automobile as
well as on bicycles. As someone posted above:

"A UK study on the effects of cycle helmets found that if pedestrians and
motorists wore helmets it would save 12 times more lives than if cyclists wore
them."

~~~
cooper12
> why are we not advocating for people being mandated to wear them while in an
> automobile as well as on bicycles.

While I don't know how effective they are, cars already have a safety system:
airbags. Cars are also built to rigorous safety standards.

As for why pedestrians aren't mandated to wear them, they have infrastructure
in place to protect them from cars: traffic laws, sidewalk/street separation,
and crossing lights. Cyclists on the other hand are usually riding directly in
the streets or in poor excuses for bike lanes.

------
skierscott
Please, wear a helmet. The costs of not wearing a helmet can be severe and far
outweigh the minor inconvenience of wearing a helmet.

I'm a severe traumatic brain injury survivor. I was wearing a helmet (skiing
crash) but lived with the effects for two years. It was incredibly frustrating
-- I was surrounded by loving friends and family that cared enough to give me
some painful feedback.

I'm still skiing and researched helmets in depth before returning. There's
some interesting technology called MIPS[1]. The protect against moving
impacts, a large improvement. Current helmets are just dropped straight down
and these helmets are tested while spinning/moving/etc. That's how crashes
happen -- while you're moving, whether it be on skis or on a bike.

It's a little more expensive, but it's your _brain._ Please protect that.

[1]:[http://www.mipshelmet.com](http://www.mipshelmet.com)

~~~
hereonbusiness
Helmets that use MIPS may not be much better in a crash than normal helmets.

[http://www.bhsi.org/mips.htm](http://www.bhsi.org/mips.htm)

------
grecy
I was riding home last winter and a car blew a stop sign and t-boned me.

My helmet hit the ground hard, I was perfectly fine.

The ambulance guys were pretty sure I would not have been if not for the
helmet.

Please, wear a helmet.

~~~
harvestmoon
I was biking down a hill about 10 years ago. Hit a bump or curve or something
- either way, I flew off the bike about 5 feet forward and hit the ground
directly head first almost as if I were diving into a pool of paved road.

The helmet took all the impact and my head was perfectly fine (my knees then
hit the ground and got scuffed up a bit). Had I not been wearing it...

So yes - please wear a helmet.

~~~
Tcepsa
Upvoted for "diving into a pool of paved road". Glad you are still around to
share that mental image!

------
maxmcd
For all the usual discussion on HN about sample size, confirmation bias, FUD,
survivorship bias, etc... I'm surprised to see so many personal experiences
gaining upvotes. There are certainly quite a few linked studies and supported
arguments, but they are the minority.

Isn't anyone's personal account of risk and danger pretty much irrelevant?

~~~
JoeAltmaier
Not irrelevant against claims of zero risk or other absolutes. We can conclude
helmets save Some lives; the ones volunteering their stories here.

As a statistical measure, no they are not much use I'm afraid. But hospital
admissions etc can show the value of helmets.

------
beilabs
I was presently surprised moving to Australia to find that it was compulsory
to have a helmet while on a bicycle.

Many on my cycle run have been attaching go-pro mounts to their skull cover; I
wonder how ineffective it renders the helmet if you landed straight on it.

~~~
dripton
It's been alleged that having a Go-Pro camera on his ski helmet contributed to
the severity of Michael Schumacher's injury.

Of course, this is very hard to prove.

------
mooreds
And replace your helmet every five years:
[http://www.smf.org/helmetfaq#aWhyReplace](http://www.smf.org/helmetfaq#aWhyReplace)

~~~
nandhp
OP might also want to consider if they need to replace their helmet after
this.

> Helmets are one-use items [...] If the helmet has been involved in an impact
> while in use, replace it.

------
angersock
Also, never forget blinkers at night!

Headlights aren't a bad idea either.

~~~
openforce
Yes! And a slightly strong blinker. I have had to let some riders know that
their blinkers were too tiny/weak to be noticeable.

------
stevebmark
Glad you have a friend like that. Please continue the social pressure and
actively encourage your less self-preseverational friends with the same
message. I yelled at my non-helmet wearing friend (otherwise very bright) and
eventually he started wearing it. Social pressure can bring good change.

------
frandroid
There is one study that shows that car drivers give less space to cyclists who
look more "professional"/well-equipped than those who look like casual riders.
Of course people who cite this research say that the solution is to _not wear
a helmet_ , as opposed to take measures to make drivers give you more space
when you wear a helmet. In my case, I have an old large Coca-cola plastic
crate on my rear rack, plastered with reflector stickers, and that seems to
give me plenty of space. A female friend holds her U-lock in her left hand and
that seems to do the trick as well.

------
stronglikedan
Agreed. My front tire slipped to the left on wet slanted concrete. My helmet
hit the ground so hard that my glasses flew off my face and were flattened
upon impact. I just ended up with a little scuff and a headache. (and a broken
shoulder and knuckle)

There was nothing I could do to prevent the impact, as I've trained myself to
pull my money makers under me in a fall and let my body take the hit (the
broken finger got wrapped up in the brake lever on the way down). There was
something preventative that I could do in case of an impact, and boy am I glad
I did: wear a helmet.

~~~
mod
Your brain is your moneymaker--put out your hands!

~~~
stronglikedan
That's what the helmet is for! ;-)

I used to reach out my hands when falling, but now I tuck them in and lead
with my shoulder. that was my first major fall, but it's something that I
would repeat to myself in my head while riding. In the aforementioned case, I
was falling sideways and forwards. I suppose if I were leading with my head I
would try to break the fall with my hands. I don't know; it all comes down to
muscle memory, subliminal reaction, and how bad I'm freaking out at the time.

~~~
seestheday
Relying solely on a helmet seems like a really bad idea. I recommend learning
how to fall using your hands/forearms and not damage them at the same time.

Martial arts training (judo would be a good one) can help a lot here.

There are also a lot of context specific tricks you can pick up. Like if you
fall skiing or snowboarding make a fist when you put your hand down instead of
falling with an open hand. A fist vs. open hand won't make much of a different
on snow, and the fist will stop fingers/thumbs from catching and breaking. In
addition the wrist is less likely to break.

~~~
stronglikedan
I took safety one step further, and just haven't been back on the bike since.
I keep saying I gotta get it fixed up and start riding again, but I'm not in
too much of a hurry. I got a recumbent stationary bike for the house, and I
ride that in front of Netflix. I actually ride now more than I ever did!

On a side note, I've actually been thinking of taking up martial arts
training.

------
mod
If you're moving quickly and could impact the ground, is maybe a better
phrasing. Check out this skateboard wreck I saw posted on reddit a little
while back.

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b9yL5usLFgY](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b9yL5usLFgY)

A person in the thread (so value accordingly) said they worked in an ER and
their estimation of the result of the impact, were there no helmet involved,
was "likely death."

Also, as kazinator said, helmets are only good for one crash (or even drop
from very high off the ground). Get a new one!

------
kaybe
I can also recommend martial arts fall training, which saved my head in a
similar situation.

I got my handlebars hooked on a rail going downhill and flew over the
handlebars; my training allowed me to take the whole impact with my hip and
butt. Light graze on the forehead, I'm lucky my reflexes told me to tuck in
the head. (However, I couldn't walk that day. Cycling was fine.)

I'm wearing a helmet now, but I'm not sure the situation would have ended as
well if I had been wearing it then, because of the bigger head radius.

edit: spelling

~~~
elwell
For me, years of skateboarding have trained my subconscious how to fall/roll.
I got 'doored' once on my bicycle, and I think that training paid off. I was
really lucky my face didn't smash into the door though.

~~~
jarek
It's really frustrating to see cyclists who can't fall. I guess it comes down
to lots of practice falls during childhood and infrastructure that supports
safe cycling for children but...

------
kohanz
It always amazes me how many cyclists I see riding without helmets (and
anecdotally they seem to be the ones who typically ride in a less
safe/defensive manner as well).

My wife works in healthcare and has worked in settings looking after patients
with acquired brain injuries and she always tells anyone (even if she barely
knows you) to wear a helmet. She's met too many young people turned into
living vegetables or something similar to idly stand by and watch people take
that risk.

~~~
carlob
I'm not sure riding defensively is always the best thing to do. For example,
say you are in a narrow road, and a car behind you has barely enough space to
overtake you. A defensive rider would move as far to the right as possible to
be overtaken, which is very dangerous, while the correct answer would be to
ride straight in the middle of the road so that the car driver is not even
tempted.

~~~
markvdb
Defensive cycling 101: disambiguate. Your intentions as a cyclist should be
crystal clear to all other traffic participants. Make it very clear the
motorist will not be able to pass you.

~~~
kazinator
You should signal everything using Lisp S-expressions; no confusing infix
where the motorists wonder whether you're being left-associative or right-
associative, and what the precedence is.

------
mindcrime
I crashed while mountain biking a couple of years ago, and hit the ground
headfirst with all of that energy driving through my head and then my right
shoulder/arm. The impact was severe enough to split my helmet and knock me
unconscious for a couple of minutes. I expect that without that helmet I
likely would have been killed or very seriously injured.

So yeah, don't play around... just wear the damn helmet. That's my advice
anyway.

------
haldean
Weird coincidence; last night I was car-doored on my bike ride home from work.
I had my lights on and flashing, I was paying attention, and a guy opened his
car door about 20 feet in front of me, way too close for me to respond. Even
if you're careful, the people around you aren't always going to be. My helmet
saved me a pretty serious head injury last night.

------
MalcolmDiggs
When I was 18 I crashed riding home from the gym at night. I was jumping off
of a curb and my shitty front-wheel collapsed under the weight, bringing the
bike to a sudden halt and sending me over the handlebars. Wasn't wearing a
helmet. Landed face first and slid into San Pablo avenue. Concussion and
Ripped most of the skin on the right side of my face off. I was pretty
grotesque for awhile. Half my face was just an open wound.

If I had been wearing a helmet the cushion around my head would have lifted
most of my face off the ground. Probably would have ended up with nothing but
a chin scrape.

------
OmarIsmail
Glad to hear you're safe! And as a fellow bike commuter I echo the message to
wear a helmet.

Your head is arguably the most important part of your body. I'd like for it to
be socially acceptable to wear a helmet at all times.

------
ddispaltro
A bit OT: bicycle corridors are one thing in SF that is mostly good with a bit
of second order bad.

Good – if you know the routes you generally try to ride with other cyclists,
safety in numbers. Plus the wide green lanes help make it abundantly clear to
cars that this is a bike lane.

Bad – the other streets turn into crazy biking gambles. Every once and while I
see someone riding on Guerrero and want to yell at them to go one street over
(Valencia) and reduce your collision chances. It emboldens bicyclists to not
follow the law quite as well, or maybe since the sample size is high, I don't
know.

------
JoshTriplett
In my case, when I was much younger, I skidded on some gravel and went head-
first over the handlebars. I had a finger-thick dent in my helmet. I'm glad
that dent was not in my skull.

------
sidcool
Absolutely. Can't stress this enough. This image is worth a thousand words:

[http://i.imgur.com/cpgbU6o.jpg](http://i.imgur.com/cpgbU6o.jpg)

------
fsckin
I experienced a highside [1] dirt bike crash a few years ago. I hit the ground
with incredible force, which fractured my arm.

The following day, one side of my body was covered in contusions, and I had a
severe phone-shaped hematoma on my thigh.

I have every reason to believe that wearing a helmet prevented a serious brain
injury. Also, Otterbox makes a pretty good product.

[1]
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Highsider](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Highsider)

------
fendrak
The thing that made me start wearing a helmet was the realization that, even
if I'm the safest possible bicyclist there's ever been, there's no way to stop
the environment from acting against you!

I managed to go over my handlebars while riding down a quiet side street (with
no hands, like a badass :/ ), when a gust of wind blew me sideways and caused
me to overcorrect and crash.

The Lord protected me on that one and gave me a chance to be a bit more
proactive :)

------
joshmn
Some comments here suggest buying new. I didn't, and I'm perfectly fine with
it. Used bike shops are your friends, people. Find a reputable one and you'll
always go back.

In Minneapolis? Yeah, it's not in season right now, but bookmark
[http://oneononebike.com](http://oneononebike.com) \- not affiliated, but I've
recommended plenty of people over to Gene and they've always thanked me.

------
tunnuz
I second that. I started commuting myself four months ago when I got my
current job in a new city. After just two weeks I fell down from an elevated
cycling path, and hit my head (w/ helmet) on the tarmac. I had to replace my
helmet, but I walked away with just a small scratch on a hand.

Also, check regularly the tightness of your wheel spokes, and replace a wobbly
wheel if you can.

------
biggerfisch
A helmet has saved my father's life several times while commuting to/from
work. We have at least one of the helmets saved, complete with a crack down
through the entire side. It was a hard enough hit for him to be unconscious
for a few minutes. The EMTs said that without the helmet, it would have been
dicey odds of survival.

------
garyfirestorm
if cycling is the primary transport,you might want to consider this.
[https://www.youtube.com/embed/0aX-
WXBMI8I?start=29&end=33](https://www.youtube.com/embed/0aX-
WXBMI8I?start=29&end=33) [http://www.hovding.com/](http://www.hovding.com/)

------
lexap
Good news, and yes please wear helmets. A similar incident happened to a
friend of mine. Literally the day before his boss insisted he wear a helmet
"to protect his investment." Invasive managers aside, if it were possible for
companies to incentive employees to wear helmets, I would support it.

------
amjaeger
Just to echo the OP: Was biking with my brother and a friend in San Fran. The
friend crashed when his tire got stuck in the trolley track. Then my brother
crashed same way while looking back to see what happened. Always wear a
helmet; Especially in San Fran

------
masklinn
> My helmeted head definitely hit the ground and would likely have been badly
> injured had I not been wearing it.

Now buy a new helmet and go get your head checked (literally, a helmet will
protect against a skull fracture but not a concussion or other brain injuries)

------
elif
Some practical advice: Even if you don't ride a fixie, you should get
comfortable doing skid stops. Just because the rear wheel locks up doesn't
mean you have to lose balance.

------
TimSchumann
Glad to hear you're safe Stephen, thanks for the reminder.

------
btbuildem
Be on the lookout for symptoms of concussion - they can take weeks to
manifest. Take care especially if you're working long hours, it can make it
worse.

------
jsilence
Please "Stop forcing people to wear bike helmets"

[http://www.vox.com/2014/5/16/5720762/stop-forcing-people-
to-...](http://www.vox.com/2014/5/16/5720762/stop-forcing-people-to-wear-bike-
helmets)

"While they do protect your head during accidents, there's some evidence that
helmets make it more likely you'll get in an accident in the first place."

------
ariejan
As a Dutchman: lol, helmets.

------
cyclewisdomage
1 Bicycle cyclist riders save your brain!

2 * allegedly stupidity and dumbing down of the USA 3 increases and the 'i
wear a helment' is an example.

4 * At age 58.34 years, I still ride a bicycle. I have 5 survied various
adventures, including learning to 6 ride as a child in New York City, NYC,
USA.

7 *the WISDOM OF AGES to SAVE YOUR BRAIN

8 1.) fastest way to lose your career, and live in 9 the 'nursing home prison'
for a life sentence is 10 'bicycle cycling cyclist.'

11 2.) Do I have the best equipment like helmet?

12 3.) Do I assume that the 'impaired driver' or 13 old driver with OLD EYES
does not see me? 14 Do I assume that I am running Microsoft Windows 15 XP and
I have alreaady been 'cracked'??

16 4.) Do I practice FALLING OFF MY BICYCLE in a 17 controlled procedure? Do I
know how to tumble 18 and roll?

19 5.) Like driving a car, where is the escape route? 20 Like soft grass and
NOT lighting poles?

21 6.) Do I practice tumbling on 'hard ground'/ 22 DO THIS PRACTICE to
strengthen your neck muscles! 23 Push on your head with your hands, while
rolling 24 and rotating your head. 23 Push on your head with your hands, while
rolling 24 and rotating your head.

25 7.) Why does this work? The reason GRANDMA dies 26 SLOWLY is hip fracture
from falling down. 27 That's the reason why TAI CHI WITH WEIGHTS works. 28 It
'strengthens the BALANCE FUNCTIONS.'

29 8.) WEAR ALL PROTECTIVE GEAR. Ater a few falls, 30 and YES I AM STILL ABLE
TO WALK AND HAVE ALL 31 MY FINGERS, wear the 'dollar store cotton gloves' 32
and the knee covers and yes SAFETY GLASSES.

33 9.) Most sunglasses shatter. Blind for the rest 34 of your life and then
you go to the 'nursing home.' 35 Even MURDER in the USA has an average
sentence of 36 less than seven years.

37 10.) 1.) fastest way to lose your career case: 38 THE CENTRAL PARK JOGGER
with TBI traumatic brain 39 injury. When you LOSE YOUR short term memory, 40
your career, especially if you are a programmer 41 or white collar work IS
FINISHED due to TBI.

42 11.) A truck tractor trailor jack-knifes and 43 skids. The car crash and
'multi-car pilup' 44 cuts off your legs. What a pity! 45 Seeing in the old age
homes in Florida, FL, 46 USA, this is not a problem.

47 12.) Think of it this way. Would you rather have 48 dementia - Alzheimers
or 'wheelchair no legs 49 disease.' For me the choice is 'wheelchair.' 50
[http://theinvisiblegorilla.com/blog/2010/06/22/](http://theinvisiblegorilla.com/blog/2010/06/22/)
51 unexpected-bicycles-and-inattentional-blindness/ 52 "unexpected-bicycles-
and-inattentional-blindness"

53 14.) YOU ARE INVISIBLE for this is the USA - 54 United States of Attention
Deficit and 55 USA - United States of Amnesia. 56 Europe and even Asia -
cyclists are treated 57 with respect. In the USA, expect loose dogs, 58 even
wasp nests operating out of abandoned 59 houses, sand and slipperty stuff on
the roads 60 and drivers who don't care and can't see well.

61 15.) the most dangerous times are are dawn 62 and dusk. Simply test your
OLD FRIENDS with 63 OLD EYES who have a driver's license.

64 16.) How do we know this is true? The 65 rate of motorcycle accidents in
Florida 66 and Arizona is very high. The old driver 67 or teenager texting
says in the court: 68 " HE CAME OUT OF NOWHERE; NEVER SAW HIM."

PPPS. There is little penalty in the USA for 'manlaughter.' or Traumatic Brain
Injury. Let's take an alleged legal case in FL or AZ, USA, shall we??

the worst penalty for BAD DRIVERS that might happen is two (2) years in jail.
Florida, FL, USA protects the house. Civil courts cannot usually get the
'pension/annuity.' The worse that can happen to the GARBAGE TRUCK DRIVER is he
gets fired and usually the company will try to protect him. LIKE THE BIG
BANKSTERS, company fines are a 'small inconvience.'

PPS. Some of the garbage truck drivers may be hearing impaired, SO THEY DO NOT
HEAR YOUR WARNING BICYCLE HORN.

Have you ever seen 'rear view mirros' on GARBAGE TRUCKS and other commercial
vehicles THAT HAVE NO BLKND SPOTS??

plenty BLIND SPOTS.

~~~
peatmoss
I feel like I just took a trip to the time cube.

------
Luc
> If you ride a bicycle, please wear a helmet.

Or you know, don't, because you've got perfectly safe bicycle infrastructure
and you're never going faster than 20 km/h anyway.

What works for you is not a universal law.

You know how this bicycle helmet issue always turns into a shouting match on
the internet? I think it's to a large extent because people don't have the
empathy to see themselves in the situation of a bicyclist on the other side of
the world, in a different automotive culture, with different laws and history.

~~~
nathanb
Can you explain what you mean by "perfectly safe bicycle infrastructure" and
how this removes the need for a helmet?

~~~
jepper
In the Netherlands we have dedicated cycling lanes along larger roads and car
drivers that are comfortable with cyclists. Almost everbody cycles, nobody
wears helmets. And we haven't got a raised head injury mortality or paralysis
rate because of bike injuries. I've never had an injury and probably traveled
more kilometers by bike than any other means of transportation.

I do wear a helmet while road biking but that's a whole different topic.

~~~
JoeAltmaier
Look here, and search for "Netherlands" for the full horror storey of 'safe'
bicycle infrastructure:

[http://www.bhsi.org/stats.htm](http://www.bhsi.org/stats.htm)

~~~
dalke
I don't see a horror story. Could you explain it?

In the Netherlands, 1/4 of all trips, and 8% of all distances traveled, are by
bicycle, so the numbers reported there are hard to compare to other countries.

What level of fatalities and head injuries would count as "not a horror story"
to you? What level of fatalities by running or jogging would count as "not a
horror story" to you?

(BTW, the statistics only list "head/brain injury". I presumed that a scratch
on the chin would count as a head injury. Also, the text under "And more from
the same paper" does not exist in the referenced paper. The text says the
'estimates are partly based on research carried out in countries like the
United States and Australia', so don't really reflect the infrastructure.

~~~
JoeAltmaier
The first paragraph in the Netherlands section:

"67,000 casualties of cycling crashes are treated at a first-aid department
(Source: Injury Information System LIS), 8,000 cyclists are admitted to
hospital (Source: National Medical Registration LMR), and 190 people die as a
consequence of a cycling crash (Source Statistics Netherlands – Unnatural
deaths). Of the seriously injured bicycle casualties2 admitted to hospital, a
third were diagnosed with head or brain injuries (32%). "

We can assume 'seriously injured' does not include scratched chins.

~~~
dalke
I read those numbers. My point is that I don't know how to interpret those
numbers.

The Netherlands has a cheaper health care than the US. Do people go to the
first-aid department for minor problems more often than they do in the US?

For example, in college I cut my figure once while cutting a loaf of bread
with a hard crust. I was on the campus medical plan. I walked to the campus
medical center and got a single stitch. Had I had to drive some place, and pay
$100 in co-pay, then I would have waited longer and perhaps not gotten it.

The text says "Of the cyclists with serious injury who are admitted to
hospital following a crash with motorized traffic, almost half (47%) are
diagnosed with head/brain injury". It doesn't say that they _only_ have a
head/brain injury. Could be a broken collarbone _and_ facial injury? The
relevant Table 1 in the paper says "Annual number of cyclists admitted to
hospital with head/brain injuries as main _or second diagnosis_ ", emphasis
mine.

So no, we cannot, based on the presented data, assume that the head/brain
injury is the serious injury.

In the US in 2012, 4,743 pedestrians and 726 bicyclists were killed in crashes
with motor vehicles.
[http://www.pedbikeinfo.org/data/factsheet_crash.cfm](http://www.pedbikeinfo.org/data/factsheet_crash.cfm)
. Do those raw numbers mean that bikes are safer than walking, in case of a
car crash?

Certainly not. It needs to be scaled by amount of time that people are on a
bike, vs. walking. More people walk in the US than cycle. "There are 127
million walking trips and nine million bike trips in the U.S. every day (2009
NHTS)."
[http://www.pedbikeinfo.org/data/factsheet_general.cfm](http://www.pedbikeinfo.org/data/factsheet_general.cfm)
.

While in the Netherlands, some 25% of trips are by bike, and 20% by foot, and
8% of all distances are covered by bike. See
[http://books.google.com/books?id=apGsBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA352&lpg=P...](http://books.google.com/books?id=apGsBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA352&lpg=PA352&dq=Statistics+Netherlands+%E2%80%93+Unnatural+deaths&source=bl&ots=8CUjoNdcDc&sig=dShoZayOxbukd1RMmCBziHCaXEE&hl=sv&sa=X&ei=5sxrVOKXBabmyQPwt4KYDQ&ved=0CDMQ6AEwAzgK#v=onepage&q=Statistics%20Netherlands%20%E2%80%93%20Unnatural%20deaths&f=false)
.

Tell me how to combine all that data to get a horror story. Because it's
proved to be too complicated for me to figure it out based on what I can see.

My own experience in the Netherlands is that biking there is a joy. It feels
very safe compared to biking in the US.

~~~
JoeAltmaier
You are kidding, right? What non-serious brain injury do you suppose they are
diagnosing?

~~~
dalke
I have no clue. The information stated is "Head injury is the general category
and generally implies brain injury, but sometimes there is head injury without
brain injury."

I see nothing about if "generally implies" means 5% or 95%. Do you? I assume
it's "more than 50%", so I went to the referenced paper. That says:

> In Table 2 head injury is the most general injury category which may also
> include injury to the back of the head, face and brain (some studies
> consider facial injury as a head injury, other studies do not). Brain injury
> specifically refers to the brain, and facial injury specifically refers to
> injury to the face (chin, nose mouth, jaws, eyes, forehead, ears). Elvik
> compared the risk proportions of a specific injury occurring or not
> occurring

In Table 2, however, you'll see that brain injury appears to be less common
than non-brain injuries involving the head.

However, Table 2 is a metadata analysis with insufficient few brain injury
studies to "allow correction for publication bias", and not specific to the
Netherlands. (A copy of the paper is at [http://www.cycle-
helmets.com/elvik.pdf](http://www.cycle-helmets.com/elvik.pdf) .) Therefore it
can't be used to conclude anything about the situation in the Netherlands.

You'll also notice that point 3 of the conclusion in Elvik reads "When the
analysis is updated by adding four new studies, the protective effects
attributed to bicycle helmets are further reduced. According to the new
studies, no overall effect of bicycle helmets could be found when injuries to
head, face or neck are considered as a whole."

So, no, I don't know. I ask how you know when that information isn't available
in the papers you cited.

Where is the horror story?

~~~
JoeAltmaier
The horror story comes in when folks go to the hospital only when they are
seriously injured, the diagnosis IS brain injury, those 190 dead people could
have been saved, and we don't struggle to interpret all the data as naively as
we possibly can.

~~~
dalke
If you say that even 1 dead person is a horror story, then I'll agree with
you, and stop this discussion.

Otherwise, if some lesser number is not a horror story, then please explain
why 190 dead people _is_ a horror story. Roughly what level would not be a
horror story, but 'merely' tragic?

Is that level based also on the number of trips, or amount of distance
traveled bike? Or is it simply the absolute number of deaths? How does that
compare to the number of people who die by walking, running, swimming, or
kayaking?

We cannot eliminate all risk. What level is acceptable? You seem to suggest
that no risk is acceptable. The vast majority of the world seems to disagree
with you.

