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I may have found a good reason for a bike helmet!

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  • April 15, 2014 at 9:35 pm #21181
    pakennedy

    Well, apart from it being a good place to mount the camera which had a flat battery by this point, I have a feeling it saved me a trip to a hospital at the very least.

    Quick sum up – I got hit across the back of the head by a high mounted van wing mirror at a speed differential of around 40mph.

    Longer – I crested a hump back bridge towards the end of a long ride (for me) of 25 miles. The bridge is pretty narrow and double white lines adorn the roadway. I take primary when crossing it to avoid stupid passes. After the crest I’ll move over if I see nothing coming the other way.

    Today I was a bit slower than usual due to muscles claiming that 100 miles in 3 days is too much (I’m trying to work up for a 70 mile day towing a trailer in the summer). I moved over as I sped up and before I saw the Yaris coming the other way.

    A good thing I did. A van came over the bridge behind me at full revs and apparently trying to catch air. If any brain cells in the driver’s brain did engage, I can only assume they went “Oh S***” as he realised he was landing with no control head on into a Yaris or rear ending a bike.

    So he did the only *sensible* thing *cough*. He accelerated through the erm… gap.

    I got a very hard smack on the head from his wing mirror and the Yaris ended up taking emergency avoiding action onto the pavement.

    The lady driving the Yaris blew out a tyre and may have knackered some suspension.

    The van shattered his wing mirror and passenger window (the mounting sprang round on impact and caved it in.).

    I have the attached image of my helmet.

    I *think* that’s an imprint of the interior workings of the mirror where it hasn’t just gone to pieces vertically.

    I’m not an advocate of compulsory helmets. The chances of this incident are stupidly slim that this isn’t an argument in favour of wearing them all the time either (even when riding a bike!)

    I get the feeling that something taking lots of the impact, distributing the energy and breaking apart that wasn’t my skull was probably a good thing. It’s also occurred to me that the 12mph rating is into the ground. That’s a sudden stop. An estimated 40mph energy differential is a lot less energy given that the impacting item was sprung and only a few Kg in spite of what it was attached to.

    Tomorrow… I may not be out on my bike. I have a bit of a headache. The day after. I’ll be out. I won’t be wearing a helmet. I haven’t got a spare.

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  • April 22, 2014 at 9:42 pm #786941
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    OldRidgeback

    felixcat wrote:OldRidgeback

    felixcat wrote:
    OldRidgeback wrote:

    Regarding how safe things were back in the 80s though, they weren’t. The fatality levels on the UK road network peaked in the late 1970s and early 1980s. There were six times as many deaths from drink driving alone in 1979 than there were in 2012. The difference then was that crashes weren’t reported on so frequently, largely because they happened so often.

    The increase in cycling fatalities in the UK in the last couple of years is worrying and this is at odds with the overall decline in road fatalities in the UK (and which are now at about the same level as in the late 1940s). I see a lot of comment on this website about how dangerous the roads are for cyclists these days, but they were far, far worse in the 1970s and 1980s.

    It is strange how misinformed people were about casualty rates on the roads in those days. Deaths on the road were reported, rates were covered and anyway the deaths of acquaintances, friends and relatives would have been noticed.
    My parents must have been very neglectful to allow me to ride four miles to school at the age of ten in 1960, along a trunk road. Many parents were as careless of their children as mine. We did not wear helmets or hiviz. Its amazing any of us survived.
    No, I don’t agree that the roads were far far worse.
    How long have you been riding? Do you feel safer and safer as the decades pass? I don’t.
    Death rates are not a good measure of danger. The animal which kills most Australians is the horse. So best avoid riding, but swimming in the shark infested ocean, or the crocodile infested rivers seems to be much safer.

    Official data from the European Transport Safety Commission (ETSC):
    Since 1965, the number of road deaths in the 27 nations of the EU has fallen by 67%.

    And this:
    A study carried out by a researcher in the University of Nottingham reveals improving safety on British roads. The study focused on data from England and Wales and shows that fatality levels in 2009 were 41% lower than in 1960.
    The annual death rate on the road networks hit its peak in the 1970s and in 2009 this was roughly half of its highest point.

    Pretty much the same story applies to all the nations of the developed west. In 2012, road fatalities in Sweden were at the same level as 1944 (and remember there were few vehicles and even less fuel during wartime even in neutral Sweden). In the US, road fatalities in 2011 were at about the same level as for 1949.

    I’ve been riding a long time, not as long as you it’s true. But I get a lot of road safety statistics across my desk at work. There is plenty of research available showing how road deaths are declining in Europe and the US (as well as Australia and Japan) and you can find some of that relating to the UK at least on the DfT website, while the ETSC has plenty of stats on Europe.

    The death rate in 1979 from drink driving was six times higher than now.

    In the 1970s, road fatalities in the UK topped 7,000/year according to data from the pan-European police body Tispol compared with 1754 in 2011.

    You may have felt safer in the good old (bad old) days and I know I did, but you weren’t.

    The death rate on the road network in developing nations is however spiralling. The UN has a Decade of Action for Road Safety in a bid to tackle the problem.

    April 22, 2014 at 5:37 pm #786939
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    felixcat

    OldRidgeback wrote:
    Regarding

    OldRidgeback wrote:

    Regarding how safe things were back in the 80s though, they weren’t. The fatality levels on the UK road network peaked in the late 1970s and early 1980s. There were six times as many deaths from drink driving alone in 1979 than there were in 2012. The difference then was that crashes weren’t reported on so frequently, largely because they happened so often.

    The increase in cycling fatalities in the UK in the last couple of years is worrying and this is at odds with the overall decline in road fatalities in the UK (and which are now at about the same level as in the late 1940s). I see a lot of comment on this website about how dangerous the roads are for cyclists these days, but they were far, far worse in the 1970s and 1980s.

    It is strange how misinformed people were about casualty rates on the roads in those days. Deaths on the road were reported, rates were covered and anyway the deaths of acquaintances, friends and relatives would have been noticed.
    My parents must have been very neglectful to allow me to ride four miles to school at the age of ten in 1960, along a trunk road. Many parents were as careless of their children as mine. We did not wear helmets or hiviz. Its amazing any of us survived.
    No, I don’t agree that the roads were far far worse.
    How long have you been riding? Do you feel safer and safer as the decades pass? I don’t.
    Death rates are not a good measure of danger. The animal which kills most Australians is the horse. So best avoid riding, but swimming in the shark infested ocean, or the crocodile infested rivers seems to be much safer.

    April 22, 2014 at 5:02 pm #786937
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    shay cycles

    “logical fallacy” – a fallacy
    “logical fallacy” – a fallacy is either a mistaken belief or in a case like this a failure in the reasoning or logic of an argument. That being the case “logical fallacy” doesn’t quite make sense.

    Then neither does calling anyone a knob!

    Another article on here today involves an apology for calling someone a knob.

    I may or may not agree with what people say but there is no need to insult them for what they say, is there?

    April 22, 2014 at 4:01 pm #786935
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    drfabulous0

    Helmets should be compulsory
    Helmets should be compulsory for all forms of activity. Just last week my son fell off a chair and got a bruise on his head. This madness is happening everyday all over the country and has to end, we need compulsory helmets all the time and we need them now.

    April 22, 2014 at 3:31 pm #786933
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    Paul J

    fukawitribe,
    There are
    fukawitribe,

    There are numerous comments in this thread effectively saying this kind of accident shows why you should, oops *cough*, the commentators would wear a helmet, even if couched in “I wouldn’t force others”. A direct quote: “every little helps”.

    If asking people to apply the *exact same logic* to accidents involving pedestrians getting head injuries is being a knob, then I’m proud to be a knob. If every little helps, I trust these same commentators are also wearing helmets when walking? If not, then *why not*?

    April 22, 2014 at 8:19 am #786931
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    OldRidgeback

    pakennedy wrote:I’m not

    pakennedy wrote:
    I’m not saying they’re a daft idea. Wearing one should be a risk assessment that you take for yourself. I’ll be riding around for quite some time without one. There’s no point in putting mine on is there? I may be a pavement cyclist in some spots where I’d just have taken primary for a while.

    I clearly just avoided a potentially life threatening injury. I would like the roads to be safe for my 10 year old daughter to cycle over the 3 miles on her own to my place. They aren’t. I just don’t understand how to make things feel as safe as they did in the early 80’s when I got the start on my road craft

    The main thing is that you’re ok and you’ll be back on the bike in a bit. Secondly, it’s good the cops have found a suspect and from the sound of things, the driver is going to get some pretty serious charges (drunk driving, leaving the scene of an accident and probably driving without due care and attention at the very least). A guilty verdict would result in a ban, a heavy fine and an insurance hike once the licence is returned that will make the person think twice.

    Regarding how safe things were back in the 80s though, they weren’t. The fatality levels on the UK road network peaked in the late 1970s and early 1980s. There were six times as many deaths from drink driving alone in 1979 than there were in 2012. The difference then was that crashes weren’t reported on so frequently, largely because they happened so often.

    The increase in cycling fatalities in the UK in the last couple of years is worrying and this is at odds with the overall decline in road fatalities in the UK (and which are now at about the same level as in the late 1940s). I see a lot of comment on this website about how dangerous the roads are for cyclists these days, but they were far, far worse in the 1970s and 1980s.

    April 22, 2014 at 7:51 am #786929
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    fukawitribe

    Paul J wrote:All those

    Paul J wrote:
    All those commentators here who are so eager to draw the conclusion from the cyclist’s story here that helmets should be worn, will they also conclude that pedestrians should wear helmets? I’m pretty sure that whatever efficacy helmets have for cyclists, they must equally apply to pedestrians who get knocked on the head. So, by the logic of many commenting here, they surely ought to also be calling for pedestrian helmets?

    Sorry – edited. Lets keep it simple. No, they surely won’t be calling for that and it’s a logical fallacy you’re using. Don’t be a knob please.

    April 22, 2014 at 1:30 am #786927
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    PhilRuss

    Paul J wrote:A friend of mine

    Paul J wrote:
    A friend of mine had something similar happen. They were hit by the wing mirror of a Dublin bus. Though the mirror can move a bit, it was fairly rigidly mounted. He had to go hospital and suffered from a concussion for a couple of days.

    Thing is, this happened to him as he was waiting at a bus stop, as a pedestrian. The bus had pulled in toward the kerb to stop at the next stop, perhaps 20 metres further down. He was looking away, and he got clattered on the back of the head.

    All those commentators here who are so eager to draw the conclusion from the cyclist’s story here that helmets should be worn, will they also conclude that pedestrians should wear helmets? I’m pretty sure that whatever efficacy helmets have for cyclists, they must equally apply to pedestrians who get knocked on the head. So, by the logic of many commenting here, they surely ought to also be calling for pedestrian helmets?


    [[[[[ Spot on, squire!
    P.R.

    April 20, 2014 at 8:07 pm #786925
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    Paul J

    A friend of mine had
    A friend of mine had something similar happen. They were hit by the wing mirror of a Dublin bus. Though the mirror can move a bit, it was fairly rigidly mounted. He had to go hospital and suffered from a concussion for a couple of days.

    Thing is, this happened to him as he was waiting at a bus stop, as a pedestrian. The bus had pulled in toward the kerb to stop at the next stop, perhaps 20 metres further down. He was looking away, and he got clattered on the back of the head.

    All those commentators here who are so eager to draw the conclusion from the cyclist’s story here that helmets should be worn, will they also conclude that pedestrians should wear helmets? I’m pretty sure that whatever efficacy helmets have for cyclists, they must equally apply to pedestrians who get knocked on the head. So, by the logic of many commenting here, they surely ought to also be calling for pedestrian helmets?

    April 19, 2014 at 12:29 am #786923
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    PhilRuss

    [[[[[ I’ve just thrown me
    [[[[[ I’ve just thrown me right leg over the saddle, ready to move off from kerbside, and I’m clonked on back of head by wing-mirror of lorry passing at about 8mph. Lorry then stops 20 feet past me (traffic gridlock). No helmet, no injury, but I’m far king annoyed….I ride up alongside the driver, his window’s open, and I ask him if he noticed that he just hit hit my head. His eyes are unfocussed, his speech slurred. He thinks for a moment, and then says,” thash yer own fault, for riding backwards”, and drives away.
    I have several other true stories that are every bit as thrilling to read about.
    P.R.

    April 18, 2014 at 10:23 pm #786921
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    pakennedy

    Helmet replaced. I’m still a
    Helmet replaced. I’m still a bit wobbly so not out on the bike yet.

    April 18, 2014 at 11:57 am #786919
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    bfslxo

    pakennedy wrote:Just had a

    pakennedy wrote:
    Just had a phone call from the police. They stopped a drunk driver a few miles away. Damage is consistent with my incident. They’ve called in the lady who was driving in the opposite direction for an identity parade she didn’t get a good look at the driver either.

    They are coming to pick up my bike and what I was wearing for scientific services to look at too. The white paint on my pedal and possible bits of mirror in my clothing could be useful.

    If it is your guy then it looks like his day has just gone from bad to worse for been drunk as well, which probably will cause him more difficulty even he had taken u out completely (again assuming it is the same person) at least the old bill took it seriously (probably the fact another car was damaged really!!) but either way glad it worked out ok for u (well technically!) I believe the helmet certainly made a serious difference in how you are now.
    Good health to getting back on the bike

    April 18, 2014 at 8:36 am #786917
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    darrenleroy

    andycoventry wrote:pakennedy

    andycoventry wrote:
    pakennedy wrote:
    I clearly just avoided a potentially life threatening injury.

    Gets hit on head and accepts helmet “saved me a trip to a hospital at the very least”. Decision is not to wear a helmet in the future.

    That makes not one shred of sense to me sorry…….

    He didn’t decide not to wear a helmet for ever, just until he gets around to buying a new one I expect. It was a freak occurrence that will probably happen just once in his cycling history. If we take the argument to its logical conclusion the way to really stay safe and reduce the chance of head injury is to sell his bike and stay indoors. Forever.

    April 17, 2014 at 2:27 pm #786915
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    balmybaldwin

    Good news they are looking
    Good news they are looking into it properly

    April 17, 2014 at 2:10 pm #786913
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    pakennedy

    Just had a phone call from
    Just had a phone call from the police. They stopped a drunk driver a few miles away. Damage is consistent with my incident. They’ve called in the lady who was driving in the opposite direction for an identity parade she didn’t get a good look at the driver either.

    They are coming to pick up my bike and what I was wearing for scientific services to look at too. The white paint on my pedal and possible bits of mirror in my clothing could be useful.

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