Helmets Part 1,489,348 - To Wear Or Not To Wear

[Chalo]

Yes you should probably wear a helmet when riding an e-board. But that's like saying you should be up to date on your vaccinations when fistfighting brown bears. The safety failure has already occurred.

 

[stuntmanmike]

Wow! ...Gnarly scar, Sorry bro, I know what you mean, its so easy to become complacent and forget how fragile we really are...I'm guilty of never wearing a helmet, ever, but after seeing this, I'm gonna start today. I hope you heal up quick & feel better.

 

[swbluto]

I wear a helmet, leather gloves and I'm thinking about beginning to wear knee pads on my longer distance trips. This is not purely because I'm "safety conscious"(Even though I am), it's because I have a LOT of experience falling down.

(I ride upto 100 miles at a time, so it seems like I get into accidents a lot more often than back when I was pedaling 2 miles at a time on my non-electric bike.)

And, yeah, my helmet and riding jacket have saved me from a lot of lacerations from tree-branches and greenery, though not intentionally.

 

[Spacey]

The one time I did not wear a helmet last year i woke up with sever short term memory loss in hospital. Will always wear my helmet!

Looks like a close call, glad you are ok.

 

[neptronix]

Wow, thank the cosmos that you are still alive and able to type. Hope you heal ok. Thanks for the 'scared straight' moment nonetheless!

 

[whilechukwuzout]

Wow, thank the cosmos that you are still alive and able to type. Hope you heal ok. Thanks for the 'scared straight' moment nonetheless!

yeah, as unlucky as this situation may seem, I really was lucky in the end. The staples come out on Monday and the headaches have stopped, so I think I may be back to normal pretty soon, minus the bald spot. Regardless this was a huge and valuable learning experience that I am glad I was able to share.

 

[LostMD]

Soooo..... is it safe to say that "while chuk wuz out ... he started bleeding from his head, got rushed to that ER, acquired 7 stitches, and woke up in an unfamiliar place?"

 

[Lock]

HA! Got ya beat... Late September, last year, I had the misfortune of a bit of a tumble... Down maybe 20 stairs... And ended up in a hospital bed in a coma, with multiple brain injuries... My daughters have the MRI/full-colour pics... Won't "clutter up" ES with "too graphic" pics, not ebike-related (I wasn't riding an ebike at the time). But I see I have mentioned my "Dupuytren's Contracture" on ES exactly twice... Really don't wish to play that "disabled game" (as so many seem to do in my current neighborhood... I blame the 20th-century horseless carriage, where I suspect so many brought up strapped into car seats "for their safety", and are driven or drive themselves (when they are older) to their fav "fast food" restaurants) then EVentually some of them emerge "over sized"... Surprise!). Or my lousy vision... Where I like to carry around at least one "pocket-sized" telescope, just to see some things "from afar" eg a street sign from the other side of the street...

Anyway... Re helmets... Yah, some cyclists figure they will live forEVer or think it is their god-given right to smash their brains to a bloody pulp... So yeah, I've "been there, done that"...

By law, in Canada, and in our prov of Ontario at least, folks riding power-assist are *required* to wear helmets... EVen before I had my "accident" I had bought one of those sorta funky "Yakkay" helmets (designed by Norwegians, made in China I assume), and not one of those "funky" (?, I guess) watt I affectionately term "plastic ice buckets"...

So, just my 2.5 cents (Cdn)...

L

 

[Lock]

PS, and BTW... This pic of a pedal-only cyclist doing apparently a fancy move on his bike:


Oh look! He is wearing *HIS* helmet!...

Hehe...

L

 

[LEVer]

I think this should be a sticky.

 

[bachmaninoff]

Was biking into work this morning, still dark, and was going down my favorite steep hill. I noticed some white stuff on the side of the road and thought that it might be snow, which was quite distracting. Turned out to be toilet paper. Looking up, there was a huge branch in the middle of the road. Didn't stop in time, and over the handlebars I went. Some person driving by stopped by to see if I was OK, which actually woke me up, but man I was so dazed!!!

Got into work and went to medical, since I wasn't feeling too good and they noticed my helmet was cracked. "Get a new one" they advised. Otherwise they said I was OK. LOL. Went to a different hospital's emergency room and they advised I had a concussion. Haha!

Well then, looks like my bike is all sorts of jacked up, but I'll have to give my Ping Lifepo4 a good close inspection to make sure that's not all jacked up now... Maybe I should just get a new one? Anything I should check for? Anyways, still kind of out of it, but I can't imagine how things would be if I had not been wearing that helmet.

 

[spisska]

Obviously that tree saw you were wearing a helmet so it was deliberately less careful. Some study that was on the internet proved this.

If you hadn't been wearing a helmet, the tree would have given you more room and you'd be fine, right?

/s

 

[bachmaninoff]

Freakin trees!

 

[cal3thousand]

Those opportunistic trees!!!

Glad you're ok and still have your sense of humor intact. Good thing you don't need a new skull or something

 

[el_walto]

Store your battery in a safe fireproof place until you have a chance to closely examine it.

 

[bachmaninoff]

Those opportunistic trees!!!

Glad you're ok and still have your sense of humor intact. Good thing you don't need a new skull or something

Yup, a new helmet is cheaper these days! Thanks!

Store your battery in a safe fireproof place until you have a chance to closely examine it.

Will do, thanks!

 

[bachmaninoff]

The LIFEPO4 pack appears to be intact... Although without removing all the packaging there's really no way to tell. For now it's in a toolbox, well away from the house. What a pain! Now comes time to figure out my transportation situation... Front wheel on old bike totally hosed. Rear e-bikekit.com wheel surprisingly intact!

I have a disassembled KMX kit that needs brakes, torque arms, tires/tubes/rimtape, hubmotor (but have spare Bafang BPM2 or might be able to use e-bikekit rear wheel), bottom bracket, cranks and shifters, and of course a battery - and a new helmet! Not happening before tomorrow, I'm guessing.

 

[StinkyGoalieGuy]

I smell a conspiracy. It's possible that tree was planted. http://endless-sphere.com/forums/images/icons/smile/mrgreen.gif

Glad to hear you are ok.

 

[bachmaninoff]

Fir sure!

 

[rogerc]

Trust me be careful with concussions.
Several days aftera "bonk" it really starting affecting me with headaches, forgetfulness, bright lights bothering me etc.
Take it easy, relax and get a new helmet.
RC

 

[bachmaninoff]

Trust me be careful with concussions.
Several days aftera "bonk" it really starting affecting me with headaches, forgetfulness, bright lights bothering me etc.
Take it easy, relax and get a new helmet.
RC

Ooof, sounds like a plan! Thanks for the suggestion!

 

[melodious]

Glad to see your OK from this. (repeat this sentence comment in a couple daze)

I hope your crashes aren't in successive order like mine. Nothing as frightful as a head bonk mind you. But every time my leg scars start to disappear, I get into another crash and a new one (sometimes plural "ones") takes its place. :|

 

[AussieJester]

Obviously that tree saw you were wearing a helmet so it was deliberately less careful. Some study that was on the internet proved this.

If you hadn't been wearing a helmet, the tree would have given you more room and you'd be fine, right?

/s

LOL .. too funny... apparently helmets don't help reduce injury, it magically stops you from being involved
In any forms of accidents, truly amazing statistics speak for themselves!!

Seriously though, Glad too hear your ok mate, get yourself a good quality helmet, saved my life.

KiM

 

[RoadWrinkle]

I always wear a full face on my 40MPH build (2wd MP3's), insane not to. Glad you are OK, if the impact cracked your helmet imagine what would have happened to your noggin without it. You may have to wear a helmet and brace yourself for the hostile reaction you will get from some ESer's who hate helmets as much as those that advocate using them. See this wonderful exchange (starting at page 12) I had over the same issue: viewtopic.php?f=3&t=41415

 

[heavymetalthunder]

I'm glad to read you were not badly hurt. I agree about wearing helmets. I have a 1000 watt bike conversion capable of traveling over 30mph, I would hate to see what would happen to me if I took a spill.