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Ok, so, to bring this topic back to the original question,

Everyone seems to agree that riding with a helmet is generally safer than without.

Hope that helps you with your query, DJGroove.

ZooTech wrote:

Mintbread wrote:Have you ever crashed a roadbike at speed?

. All I know is, showing me a helmet with some cracks or scatches on it tells me absolutely nothing about the protection it provided during that particular crash. It's much easier to keep your head off the pavement than it is to keep a heavy, bulky helmet off the pavement. In addition, I never feel more vulnerable while riding than I do while wearing my full-face thanks to the lovely blind-spots it causes, as well as the inability to turn my head to the side to check for anything my mirrors may have missed. Because of this, I feel more likely to get in an accident in the first place while wearing a helmet.

To each his own, do whatcha gotta do, your results may vary.

That has also been proven to be false, irrelevant and a poor excuse. But per your request, we'll end the debate. I know when some minds will never change and some have to learn the hard way.

The statistics are out there. Most deaths in motorcycle accidents are caused by head/brain injuries, and in most fatal accidents the rider was not wearing a helmet. Chest/Thorasic injury apparantly is not a major cause of death in motorcycle accidents.

Its hard to gauge real risk to a helmeted rider however since the fatality rates for both unhelmeted and helmeted riders are lumped together, and iirc ~%50 of riders dont wear a helmet.

As for the effectiveness of a helmet. They definately do work. A friend of mine who was in a crash 6 weeks ago would be dead if he was not wearing his helmet, he landed face first and slid for 50 feet. He is alive and well with his worst injury being a broken arm rather than being dead.

Meanie wrote: I have more respect for riders who would just come out and say "I know the consequences, but i chose not to wear a helmet" or "helmet laws are bullshit cause it should be the riders choice".

Same here. I wear a helmet to keep the debris out of my face and because they've always had a good reputation with me. Batting helmets, bicycle helmets, hardhats... I swear they've saved me pain before. As for the helmet pulling my head to the ground... when I wrecked my helmeted head didn't touch down. In that incident the helmet did nothing to make the situation better or worse. Even if I wasn't wearing one I'd walk away in the same condition. It doesn't matter to me if you don't wear one. I actually don't agree with the helmet/seatbelt laws. The only time I'd force a helmet on someone is if it's my passenger (my bike my rules). But there is absolutely no situation in which a proper fitting helmet is more harmful than good.

edit: To the original topic... I'd say it depends on the wreck. Statistics aside you'd have to give a specific scenario in order to determine if a helmet would help prevent death or not.

She's completely uninformed. A wreck by a Japanese rider in a 2004 motoGP race bounced on his head several times in a horrific crash and walked away ( I forget his name). Plus as an anesthesiologist I see many motorcycle accidents..the one's wearing a helmet have little if any brain injuries, it's the rest of the body, mostly lower legs and arms that suffer the extensive tissue and bone injuries.

People who don't think that their head is worth protecting by wearing a helmet are probably right.
I unloaded at 170km/hr, landed head first with a brand new Arai helmet and all I got was a concussion. The helmet shell was cracked severely and then shaved down from sliding on the pavement. How I would have been better off without a helmet is beyond me.... Of course, I'm not as intelligent as the average ABATE crusader so I'll just go along oblivious to the danger that I am putting myself in by wearing a helmet
And the Moto-GP example was spot on. How can anyone watch those crashes and not conclude that they were saved by their helmet / gear?
If you wanna not wear a helmet so you can be cool, just admit it. Don't justify yourself by claiming that it is safer.... Gimme a freakin' break!

I can't speak for anyone else, but I was not even attempting to claim that riding without a helmet was safer. I was just pointing out the obvious flaws in the statistical data, and how the margin of safety with and without a helmet is not as huge as it's made out to be. Nothing more.

Eh, if you're involved in an accident without wearing a helmet you're 40% more likely to sustain irreperable brain damage.

I for one like what few brain cells I have. And have been taking pains to retain them.

If you want annecdotal evidence BuzZz has a story about his best friend falling head first into the one rock on a dirt biking trail. He said it was the longest ride 5 minute ride he'd ever been on to get back and tell his friends parents that their son was dead.

I'll always wear a helmet.

Sure, I'll tell it again..... I think about it everyday....

Back when I was 12, my best friend and I both rode our dirtbikes pretty much anytime we could. We were out at Greg's parents cabin at the lake, waterskiing, but we both had our bikes with us. The beach was a few hundred yards down a trail from the cabin. Greg had an RM-100 that he just got, and he gave his old XR-75 to his little brother.

About lunchtime he wanted to go to the cabin and get something we forgot, so he jumped on that little XR and putted up to go get it. He left his helmet on the beach with us. He was gone for a long time. After about 30-40 minutes, I fired up my YZ to go see what he was doing for so long.

As you got to the cabin, the trail came out of the bush and turned onto the driveway. Just before this junction, the trail had a tight turn followed by a little climb up out of the ditch next to the driveway. You kinda planted your right foot, made the pivot and popped up onto the road.

I found Greg laying on his rightside in the middle of the little turn, still half sitting on the bike, also laying on it's side. He was dead, having smacked his head on the only rock bigger than an orange for miles. I didn't know that at the time, all I knew was he was seriously hurt(I hoped) or dead(I thought) and I was freaked. So I had to ride back to the lake and tell his folks this. You don't ever want to have to do this, believe me.

They didn't really like me much anyways, I had gotten Greg into riding in the first place and they didn't like that. After all Hell broke loose and the paramedics were called and the whole, awful truth was out, I had to ride home 2 hours with Greg's Dad and little brother. The worst ride of my life, by far.

Greg was a good rider, but not as fast as me, so he would always push it when we rode together. He had alot of trouble with his right knee getting wrenched trying to keep up with me, so it was always weak. So I am pretty sure what happened was... Greg went off on his old minibike without a second thought about crashing, the trail was 1st gear all the way, and hey... we were on 'fast motocrossers', this was his old minibike. When he got to the end, he planted his right foot and wrenched his knee, the one that is sore and tender to start with. So he goes down, probably half on purpose, to roll around and hold his knee and scream and cry, like you would do when you are that age. Only he never got to that part, he crushed the side of his head in and never moved again after hitting the ground. I am very sure if he was wearing his helmet, the worst he would have had was another sore knee.

Another time, I was 15 and at a different lake with my parents, my sister and her boyfriend. Dad had some quads and trikes that they used to ride the trails out there with. Sis's boyfreind wanted to go out on Dad's 83 Quadrunner, one of the worst designs ever produced.... way to much wieght on the rear, could stear the thing and it was dangerous on hills. The folks said go ahead, but you have to wear a helmet.

I had just bought a new Bell MotoIII and was pretty pleased with the whole affair, that lid was like Star Wars back then. Sis's B/F can't find a helmet to fit right in Dad's stash, so I very reluctantly let him use my new Bell.

They came back a few hours later. Dad's quad was a pretzel and my lid was cracked wide open. His ribs were very sore, but his melon was fine. He was climbing a steep hill, powered out in second, and just dumped it into first(love those auto trannys) and it reared up and over. On top of him. The front rack is what crushed my helmet, the bars are what hurt his chest according to Sis.

I was mildly happy he was alright, but I was extremely pissedoff about my helmet. I made him buy me a replacement.

All anecdotal garbage, I know...... but it sure made an impression on me. Especially combined with all the times I've crashed myself. You don't race off-road with any seriousness without crashing.... alot. Head first into jump faces, skidding for what seems like miles across gravel pits with a bike riding you, getting knocked down mid-pack in the first turn and run over by 15 bikes...... Never once did I regret wearing a helmet in such a situation. My couple of street crashes never whacked my head as hard as many dirt crashes I had, but I did grind one down a fair ways sliding down the street once. Again, anytime I've crashed on pavement, I've been dam glad I had my lid on. Thankfully, I haven't gone down on a raodbike more than a couple or 3 times.....

Does this mean helmets will save your life in any and every case? I don't know. I do know..... I never ride any bike more than 6 inches without putting mine on.