Wednesday, September 27, 2006
Brain Buckets / Novelty Helmets
First of all, I believe helmets do save lives. I also believe in personal autonomy to chose whether to wear them or not. With that said let me voice my opinion about some helmets and the need to wear one.
Secondly, this post is not for the weak of stomach or those who live in a fantasy world. Graphics are graphic.
Novelty helmets are just that ~ Novelty. Merriam Webster defines "novelty" as follows:
nov÷el÷ty
Pronunciation: 'nä-v&l-tE
Function: noun
Inflected Form(s): plural -ties
Etymology: Middle English novelte, from Anglo-Frennoveltyelté, from novel
1 : something new or unusual
2 : the quality or state of being novel : NEWNESS
3 : a small manufactured article intended mainly for personal or household adornment -- usually used in plural
4 : something (as a song or food item) that provides often fleeting amusement and is often based on a theme -- often used attributively
Let's focus on definitions 1 & 3 . Novelty helmets do tend to be "unusual" and are "small", intended for personal use and adornment. Novelty helmets have the overt inclination to be eye catching, personality projection and anti-establishment. I think they are fun and, and, well, . . . . . novel.
It truly concerns me,however, that bikers wear novelties thinking 1) they meet the helmet laws of states and 2) are safe.
Safety expert and motorcycle rider, William Roberson states the following:
In regards to "novelty" helmets, which usually refers to "beanie" type or just small, more form-fitting helmets, I will refer you to the old saying:
"Got a $10 head? Then get a $10 helmet."
Beyond witty sayisms, there's a reason novelty helmets are not DOT certified: they don't pass DOT impact and shock absorption tests. As to whether they provide "some sort" of protection, I'm sure the case can be made that they do provide a minimal amount of protection against best-possible crash scenarios. Depending on what kind of crash you are in, a non-DOT helmet (say, a beanie or thin half-shell) may prevent an abrasion injury to the top of the head in a "sliding" type of crash, but that is about the rarest type of injury a motorcyclists head receives in an accident.
Far more common, and far more deadly, is the Blunt Force Trauma injury. What a DOT helmet does is spread out the energy aimed at your head (the Blunt Force part). That way you can avoid the Trauma part, which usually results in full or partial paralysis, loss of memory, disfigurement, drooling, life-long use of diapers, full-time care by family or state institutions, or at worst, brain death and fatality.
Even DOT and Snell approved helmets are only enhanced "protection". Hit your head hard enough, and you're still either dead or have severe problems. Now degrade that protection with a novelty helmet, and you really only get a protection level a bit above a Red Sox baseball cap.
I know that helmets are big, bulky, dorky looking and somewhat uncool for some kinds of riders. But wearing one is a tiny, tiny price to pay against the results of a crash without one or with a crappy one. I, like most riders, wish someone could develop a more form-fitting, lighter weight, more stylish and less wonky helmet, but for the moment, if you are serious about living through a motorcycle accident, you need to wear a full-face DOT approved helmet.
Wonky helmet? Ummm . . . ?
Neverless, not all helmets are created equal. Also true is that not all heads hold intelligent brains. Your head and all that is within is irreplaceable. Regardless how smart you think you are, your skull is not strong enough, your reflexes are not quick enough and your bike is not big enough to out wit, out respond or protect you from the cage(car ) coming at you.
I have worked in trauma facilities for over 20 years. I have not seen anyone, not one person survive an encounter with the pavement or another vehicle in an moving bike accident. Standing still and tipping over on a bike is one thing. Its another to be in motion and lose control because of an imperfectionrfection in the road, an animal darting out, a strong gust of wind or the inevitable cage (car) driver not paying attention.
No helmet equals no protection. Novelty helmets mean no protection and provide a good source of foreign material to penetrate the skull and violate the brain. That's called schrapnel.
So let me get this straight? For $25 you can get a helmet that is not only not-DOT approved nor Snell approved-- covers your head about as thoroughly as a plastic yamulke would-- but hey, it looks "so cool" and you think you're slick when you ride by the cops with a smug look on your face 'cause you've got a helmet with a phony DOT sticker on the back-- you showed them for making it a LAW to wear a helmet, right?
$25 or $200. If you're in an accident, which will highly likely include head-impact, it doesn't matter how "rad" the helmet looks. Let's think about how un-"rad" your face and your head are gonna look after the collision.
Your head is like a watermelon and it can be laid open quicker than you can say, "Freedom". The only freedom you can experience by not wearing a certified helmet is freedom from life.
Secondly, this post is not for the weak of stomach or those who live in a fantasy world. Graphics are graphic.
Novelty helmets are just that ~ Novelty. Merriam Webster defines "novelty" as follows:nov÷el÷ty
Pronunciation: 'nä-v&l-tE
Function: noun
Inflected Form(s): plural -ties
Etymology: Middle English novelte, from Anglo-Frennoveltyelté, from novel
1 : something new or unusual
2 : the quality or state of being novel : NEWNESS
3 : a small manufactured article intended mainly for personal or household adornment -- usually used in plural
4 : something (as a song or food item) that provides often fleeting amusement and is often based on a theme -- often used attributively
Let's focus on definitions 1 & 3 . Novelty helmets do tend to be "unusual" and are "small", intended for personal use and adornment. Novelty helmets have the overt inclination to be eye catching, personality projection and anti-establishment. I think they are fun and, and, well, . . . . . novel.
It truly concerns me,however, that bikers wear novelties thinking 1) they meet the helmet laws of states and 2) are safe.
Safety expert and motorcycle rider, William Roberson states the following:
In regards to "novelty" helmets, which usually refers to "beanie" type or just small, more form-fitting helmets, I will refer you to the old saying:
"Got a $10 head? Then get a $10 helmet."
Beyond witty sayisms, there's a reason novelty helmets are not DOT certified: they don't pass DOT impact and shock absorption tests. As to whether they provide "some sort" of protection, I'm sure the case can be made that they do provide a minimal amount of protection against best-possible crash scenarios. Depending on what kind of crash you are in, a non-DOT helmet (say, a beanie or thin half-shell) may prevent an abrasion injury to the top of the head in a "sliding" type of crash, but that is about the rarest type of injury a motorcyclists head receives in an accident.
Far more common, and far more deadly, is the Blunt Force Trauma injury. What a DOT helmet does is spread out the energy aimed at your head (the Blunt Force part). That way you can avoid the Trauma part, which usually results in full or partial paralysis, loss of memory, disfigurement, drooling, life-long use of diapers, full-time care by family or state institutions, or at worst, brain death and fatality.
Even DOT and Snell approved helmets are only enhanced "protection". Hit your head hard enough, and you're still either dead or have severe problems. Now degrade that protection with a novelty helmet, and you really only get a protection level a bit above a Red Sox baseball cap.
I know that helmets are big, bulky, dorky looking and somewhat uncool for some kinds of riders. But wearing one is a tiny, tiny price to pay against the results of a crash without one or with a crappy one. I, like most riders, wish someone could develop a more form-fitting, lighter weight, more stylish and less wonky helmet, but for the moment, if you are serious about living through a motorcycle accident, you need to wear a full-face DOT approved helmet.
Wonky helmet? Ummm . . . ?
Neverless, not all helmets are created equal. Also true is that not all heads hold intelligent brains. Your head and all that is within is irreplaceable. Regardless how smart you think you are, your skull is not strong enough, your reflexes are not quick enough and your bike is not big enough to out wit, out respond or protect you from the cage(car ) coming at you.
I have worked in trauma facilities for over 20 years. I have not seen anyone, not one person survive an encounter with the pavement or another vehicle in an moving bike accident. Standing still and tipping over on a bike is one thing. Its another to be in motion and lose control because of an imperfectionrfection in the road, an animal darting out, a strong gust of wind or the inevitable cage (car) driver not paying attention.
No helmet equals no protection. Novelty helmets mean no protection and provide a good source of foreign material to penetrate the skull and violate the brain. That's called schrapnel.
So let me get this straight? For $25 you can get a helmet that is not only not-DOT approved nor Snell approved-- covers your head about as thoroughly as a plastic yamulke would-- but hey, it looks "so cool" and you think you're slick when you ride by the cops with a smug look on your face 'cause you've got a helmet with a phony DOT sticker on the back-- you showed them for making it a LAW to wear a helmet, right?
$25 or $200. If you're in an accident, which will highly likely include head-impact, it doesn't matter how "rad" the helmet looks. Let's think about how un-"rad" your face and your head are gonna look after the collision.
Your head is like a watermelon and it can be laid open quicker than you can say, "Freedom". The only freedom you can experience by not wearing a certified helmet is freedom from life.
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