Poor bicycle helmet design & inadequate testing standards

[Pyro Tim]

It would be nice if they protected better, but I'd rather have a concussion than a fractured skull. I came off this week due to wet leaves and slick tyres. I landed horizontally on my right side. Right knee, hip, elbow and shoulder landed at once, my head a fraction of a second later. I was wearing a helmet, I got back up, dusted myself off, and rode on to work. I had a slight headache, sore pride, and some minor abrasions to said body parts, but not my noggin. I know it won't protect me against everything, but it will protect me to some degree.

I must get another helmet pdq

 

[GrahamJohnWallace]

It would be nice if they protected better, but I'd rather have a concussion than a fractured skull...

The strange thing is that you can have a fractured skull but no brain damage, not even a minor concussion. And you can have a life threatening concussion without any visible trauma to the head. And whilst a scull fracture can heal in a few weeks, the brain damage from a concussion can remain with you for with you for the rest of your life. Or even kill you outright.

Hi superstar1.
I find it very interesting that concussion in sports is a big issue in the US but not in the UK. However there was a recent TV program about concussion issues in rugby.

 

[Osella]

Re:

It's been a fairly big issue in Rugby almost as long as the NFL, and it only became an issue in the NFL as 1) no free healthcare, so injuries cost money, and 2) a litigious society where it was determined that Riddell (Bell helmets) should be blamed and sued; since this lawsuit came about, concussions have become a 'big' issue as the NFL can't afford to pay out for every long-term medical case and can't afford to lose Bell as a sponsor ('partner').

It's also a huge consideration in motorsport, particularly recently in Indycar and later in F1 & NASCAR. Dario Franchitti had his career ended by multiple concussions, where like a boxer/Rocky he had taken so many blows to the head that any one more could have left serious permanent damage.

None of this is relevant however to current cycle helmet crash design or testing.

 

[tufty]

Elements of the motorcycle helmet testing issue. Effectively, protecting the head against trauma caused by uncommon and usually fatal case, ignoring the protection that could be given in the vastly more common and less likely to be otherwise fatal case.

The long and short of it is, on a motorcycle, you're possibly better off buying a cheap plastic helmet if you can get one to fit than an expensive name brand fibreglass helmet. The former might not protect your head against a 100mph+ full frontal collision with an HGV, but it my provide better protection in the more usual "bouncing your head whilst skidding down the tarmac" case.

 

[GrahamJohnWallace]

Re:

There are some who believe that in some instances wearing a soft hat could provide better protection than wearing a helmet.

The idea is that a glancing blow to a helmet that is firmly strapped to your head could make the head to spin violently and cause brain damage. But something like a loosely attached woolly hat could stop the blow from gripping the head and causing it to rotate.

The idea being that the highest point of friction for the head is the first fraction of a second
when it impacts the ground or other object. So anything that could prevent the head or helmet from spinning as a result of gripping at that key moment should be beneficial.

 

[greencat]

A woolly hat under your helmet perhaps?

Oddly enough I tend to wear my helmet rather loose on similar grounds. It's not loose enough to come off, but it would move slightly on impact.

 

[RickTheUncivil]

Or a woolly hat over your helmet, a bit like a teacozy. I can see it now...

 

[GrahamJohnWallace]

A woolly hat under your helmet perhaps?

Oddly enough I tend to wear my helmet rather loose on similar grounds. It's not loose enough to come off, but it would move slightly on impact.

That's the principle behind the Swedish MIPS system. A low friction plastic lining between the helmet and the head. If they have got the engineering it may prevent the helmet from gripping the head but it only allows for about 15mm of movement before the chin straps or plastic lining retaining bands will prevent it from moving further. I can't see how this would be enough to do much good.


You can get helmet rain covers. I wonder these would help to stop the helmet from gripping a road surface etc.

Someone should be lab testing ideas like this. Or maybe they could use crash test dummies for even more realistic results?

 

[danson67]

Woolly hat over the helmet?:

And this one might even appeal to Geoff :

All the best,

 

[GrahamJohnWallace]

Re:

Thanks Dan,

Those don't look anything like as silly as I imagined.

Great for cold weather and maybe with an open weave fabric you could still get lots of ventilation in the summer.