GStwin.com GS500 Message Forum

so i went to the doctor the other day for a physical before i go to medical school, and since it was such a nice day out i decided to take my bike.  funny thing is, when the doctor saw that i had a helmet he said to me, "you know those things might not really do anything?" to which i replied with a big, " Huh?!"  he said that helmets have only been proven to work for bicycles, not motorcycles, and that a friend of his was actually involved with the legislation on wearing motorcyle helmets in illinois (which by the way, we don't have to).  anybody already know about this?  'cause it's news to me

by the way, he did say though that he strongly suggest i wear one.  just because it hasn't been proven yet, doesn't mean it wont be

Beeeg BS is all I say. A helmet will not protect you from a broken neck, but it will take a helluva harder hit to brake your skull if you wear one.

My aunt has ben a surgeon's assistant for years, and she says that they just don't see those bad head traumas anymore since helmets are the law and have improved so much.

Thats just an opinion of one doc. I have seen for myself numerous occasions of my buddies taking spills and showing off their battered helmets. I cannot imagine how a skull can take the beatings. I can even show you pics of their helmets for proof.

After flying over that by-now-famous cow ("MooOOoo!") at about 45 mph I bounced off the top of my helmet (on pointy rocks!) hard enough to compress 2 of my vertebrae out of shape.  I was lucky that the force went straight down my spine.

There was no injury at all to my head (well, except for some "crumbs" that shattered off of my front teeth).  If I had not been wearing my helmet, I shudder to think about the chances of my being here typing this message.

It's possible that helmets do no apparent good in a large portion of real-life accidents - I wouldn't know.  But I haven't had any of those kinds of accidents - I went straight for the kind that proved (to me at least) what a good investment a helmet can be.

I'm going to link to a couple pictures here... tell me helmets are useless after you look at them... :?

Warning: these pictures are very gory, do not click on the links if you get discusted or offended easily!

1.This guy (http://poetry.rotten.com/all-kings-horses/)

2.And this guy (he might have been wearing a helmet, but not a full face one) (http://www.telusplanet.net/~proudlom/Gore-%20Motorcycle.jpg)

:o   :o   :o  

Please wear your helmet  :thumb:

Indeed. I agree with the sentiments above. Whoever said they might not do anything is talking crazy... Unless he meant "...if you fall on your feet" then I can understand a helmet won't do anything ;)

Why do you think the UK has a LAW REQUIRING people to wear a helmet? And not just any old helmet either...

Besides it stops flies going up your nose too...

How to recognize a friendly biker?

By the flies between his teeth!

worked great for me. I tumbled 3-5 times end over end into a ditch and field.

Lots of nicks in the helmet. Saved my ass big. Doctors a pin head for saying that. younger or stupider riders might use it as a reason to not wear one.

That doctor should bang his head against some concrete wall a couple of times...

After waking up he should try the same with a helmet. If he still fills a helmet does nothing, the bangs without a helmet were too hard. ;)

  D.

I hope your doctor is more informed about medicine than he is about motorcycle safety!

I wouldn't go back to that "doc" for a prescription for water much less let him operate on me. That was a really stupid thing to say to someone who rides in a state without manditory helmet laws.
:x

As a rider that went head first into the side of a mountain at over 60mph, I am still alive to say this because of a helmet.

here's definitive proof the guy is wrong:
http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/pdf/nrd-30/NCSA/Rpts/2004/809715.pdf

Ya know whats odd is my sister had a neurosurgeon say almost the same thing.  She said that the skull caps are better.  I was like.. ut ut..Noooo Way!    :?

I don't know how they are thinking?  The how being - are they talk specifically for a major, huge, grande accident?  You know- hit by a bus going 90?  Or everything?  

I mean come'on!!!  Who was the member who got hit with a hubcap here?  Had he not been wearing a helmet he'd be dead.  If not from the impact of the hubcap, then from falling off the bike on the highway- due to the impact of the hubcap!  

I think of all the rocks and bugs I get hit with.  I mean RAIN HURTS when you are travelling along a good speed.

Sometime you just want to scream "TAKE YOUR HEAD OUT OF YOU ARSE!!!!"

OK I feel better now.
:mrgreen:

I think they were just trying to drum up business.

"Yeah... don't bother wearing a helmet. I need to make a payment on my Porche".

:x  :x

It's possible that they ride, and may be prejudiced in support of their own choices in riding gear.

yup, deep down we all know the answer to this one, sometimes i wonder how I managed to collect three...........

Cal, can you refresh my memory, who was the transportation official over there who announced that motorcycle training didn't reduce crashes; it only taught riders how to crash at higher speeds?

Actually smokers do save the health service money at least in the UK because

1) High taxes some of which pays for it

2) Die younger (slightly) so need less care homes etc

3) Average length of terminal illness is the same

4) Chronic problems due to smoking aren't all that common

In fact anything which makes you die quicker and younger saves the health service money... :D

But thats OT!

As for neurosurgeons drumming up business.... Well we don't pay a penny for our healthcare anyway (except eyes and teeth damn them!!)

A final point:

IF HELMETS ARE POINTLESS WHY DO PROFESSIONAL SPORTS RIDERS WEAR THEM???

;)

I've heard that said but I can't remember who. Our latest transport minister was at some point a biker but still has some strange ideas.
As has been said you can always produce a study, statistics, or latest buzzwords "key perforemance indicators" to prove anything like if your feet are in the freezer and your head is in the oven, on average you are fairly comfortable.
Our compulsory basic training has reduced accidents but bike accidents are growing slightly or marking time whilst overall accidents are falling but have the stataticians allowed for the increase in the number of bikers and bike-miles etc,.  In Germany when you go for a car permit you have to do a CBT on a scooter or bike, just a day, like ours and that realy helps with making the motorists aware of bikes. Incidently the CBT is more fun that paint-balling and a lot more use.

Cal - exactly, there is a (dodgy) statistic for everything... I am 100% sure bike numbers in the UK have increased, so I wonder what the accident per mile ridden is like now....

I still cannot envisage getting ON the bike without a helmet.....

Quote from: Cal PriceIn Germany when you go for a car permit you have to do a CBT on a scooter or bike, just a day, like ours and that realy helps with making the motorists aware of bikes.

That's a fantastic idea.  It's way too *&^%ing easy to get a driver's license over here.

Quote from: noodleIF HELMETS ARE POINTLESS WHY DO PROFESSIONAL SPORTS RIDERS WEAR THEM???

Because otherwise they'd have to shave their heads and get all those advertisements tattooed to thier scalps to fit them all.  :lol:

Wear a helmet!

It depends on the accident, a helmet might not protect you from an injury.

For my experience, my helmet protect my face! *I still have a pretty face!! lol* I cannot ride my bike without my FULL-helmet!

~*Brat*~

As the story goes, Mr. Hurt (of The Hurt Report fame) was asked "What kind of helmet should I get?"  He replied, "You tell me what kind of accident you're going to have, and I'll tell you what kind of helmet to get."

Helmets are just an easy way for police to identify you when they're scraping you off the road.

I used to blow dry my hair before I got into that head-on accident, now I always wear a helmet.

I'd be a slobbering vegitable if I hadn't been wearing my helmet for my 70mph crash Tuesday (see the 'scratch went down!' thread)

People can show me all the stats and stories they want about how they don't really make much difference, but I KNOW I wouldn't be here today if it wasn't for wearing a helmet.

Years ago, I had a very nasty crash on my motocross bike. I hit my head VERY hard in the process. I'm totally convinced I would have died (or ended up being a vegetable) if I hadn't been wearing it. As far as I'm concerned, people who don't wear them are just crazy. Even seeing people "just toying around" on a bike without a helmet on makes me cringe.     :roll:

All that aside, helmets look cool anyway, so why wouldn't a person want to wear one?   :thumb:

I believe in helmet use when riding a bike, I advocate boots when taking a hike, I suggest keeping one's mouth shut when getting drunk in bars, and I strongly support seat-belt use when driving in cars. But, it's also America...I love the baby GS and the twin forum.

C.......

No matter what the others may say
I vote cernunos for poet laureate.

that doc was right - helmets are almost completely useless.  the only reason i wear one is because i need something to attach my face shield to.

hey, what can i say? this pretty face gets me places, so i'm concerned with protecting it.  :mrgreen:

Hey, I really meant what I said. If you don't do those things, bad things can follow. Love the little scooter and the twin forum.

C.......

I think it was Evil Scooby who took a hubcap in the head at about 60 MPH.  Ask him if he loves his helmet.

:thumb:

Smooth Dave

dude, if Elephant Man rode a motorcycle and wore a full face helmet, no one would know he was Elephant Man. Helmets make almost ANYONE look sexy on a bike! Well, at least that's why I wear one.  ;)   :mrgreen:

i first started riding when florida still had a mandatory helmet law.... what a blessing... after 2 nasty crashes(one at 35 mph, the other at 130mph), and two horribly scarred helmets, I wont ever ride without.

also...  i think cernunos may have finally provided us with the makings of a custom title for him.....  (white owl poet?     eloquent GS'r? or something like that)

Quote from: Dorianfes...he said that helmets have only been proven to work for bicycles, not motorcycles...

Bullsht.
havent been proven for bicycles. In fact, there's strong evidence against using helmets while riding a bicycle. Check out this link, one of many: -->no helmets<--

Ok. that doc was a complete Idiot.  I just finished doing a review article on the effects of motorcycle helmet laws ihere in the US for a forensics class that I took.  When i get down to my other computer in the office I can point people to lots of good articles like the one cozy pointed to.  I also suggest for some really misguided reading that you go to either the ABATE website or  helmet law defense league websites. they quote studies that were done, but most of the m were in the 70's or 80's and their gospel is a study done by a guy name goldstein or something like that, who is an economist..  ON initial read these sites seem to make sense, but when you read them a little deeper you realize they are just culling bits and pieces that make their argument.  If anyone is interested I can also post the review article that i just finished that summarizes the effects of helmet laws on fatalities, etc.  The discussion area is really weak because I ran out of time and gas, but if anyone is interested I could probably figure a way to link to it.

Jake

i have to look no farther than my scraped helmet from my hyabusa wreck to convince me....  :nana:  studies my helmet speaks for itself  :thumb:

Well, I went down today, my first crash.

Here's a pic of my helmet: (http://www.users.bigpond.net.au/panik/gs500/crash/IMGP0379a.jpg)

I basically face planted into the dirt and slid down the road for 10 meters, on my face.

I was wearing full leathers, and a full face helmet. The bike is a write-off, and I've only got a few scratches and bruises, I got up and walked away.

I wouldn't like to see the mess that it would have made of someone not wearing a full face helmet.

Dude, sounds like that doctor is trying to drum up more business for the medical system!

Doctor: "Noo.. don't wear a helmet, cuz if you do I will be out of a job!"

:o

nice

i think i remember my MSF instructor say that you can send your helmet to Snell, and they will analyze all the damage and send you a report

Wear the Helmet, It will prob save your life or face maybe a nose at some point. Saved my butt on an off-road dump. The more you have on the better off you are!!!

Now that I think about it, maybe a helmet wouldn't protect you very well against a lot of impacts like the doctor may be suggesting; however, it definantly would protect against road rash and smaller impacts.  That's like saying armour and lethers and stuff are pointless; they're not going to protect you from broken bones, but they sure as hell do something.
Someone needs to punch that doctor in the face (and ask him if he'd rather had a helmet for that, heh)

Wear your helmet!  :thumb:

After my coyote/motorcycle accident in March I haven't been back up yet...has a good deal to do with getting marriaged and being poor.  However, I hit hard on the interstate, and then proceded to slide a long way on the face sides and back of my jacket/pants/gloves/boots/helmet.

The helmet was worn away on the backside where it took most of the punishment......this was almost a full inch from the surround areas.  

Lemmie think....inch of skull or inch of helmet....

When I get my new bike, you bet I will have a helmet.  In KS they don't require the use of helmets, but I think a little to highly of myself not to!

Quote from: cernunosI believe in helmet use when riding a bike, .... But, it's also America.......

C.......

I agree.

I just moved from Michigan (mandatory helmet use) to Wisconsin (no helmet law).  It's been six months & I'm still nowhere near getting used to seeing helmet-less riders all over the place.  I know for certain that helmets have saved my life on at least three occasions & I wouldn't ever think of riding with any less than the maximum amount of gear I can muster.  I think that people that decline helmets are making the wrong choice, but I'm not sure I want to take that choice away from them.  I just hope they are making the choice with their eyes open & are not deluded by some shakey, half-baked studies into thinking they are safer than they are.

Fellow listers, please use all the gear you can find.  If you choose to do without the safety gear, please at least understand & accept the risk you are taking.

[/ :nono: ]

Quote from: proudlom
Someone needs to punch that doctor in the face (and ask him if he'd rather had a helmet for that, heh)

I second that... :mrgreen:

after going down at 65mph on the freeway a little over a week ago, i will say what that doctor said to you is bull.

i distinctively rememberd my head hitting the asphalt a few times, and i'm glad that the beating went to my helmet instead of my head.  i think i wouldn've been f'ed without my helmet.

all i can say is, a helmet might not do anything, but no helmet DEFINATELY doesn't do anything.

Quote from: Dorianfes

Quotemedical school

Welcome to the Cabal, Bro.

Quote"you know those things might not really do anything?"

Look at what the man's saying.  You will discover we always hedge our bets.  In medicine there are two things we don't say- always, and never.  As far as I understand it, and as others have said, there have not been any well-conducted studies that categorically prove helmets are good.  That is not the same as saying there is no evidence.

Quotea friend of his was actually involved with the legislation

What's he trying to say here- Trust me because I know a guy?  That's not the way a scientist thinks and actually casts doubt on the strength of his position.

Quotehe did say though that he strongly suggest i wear one.

As would I.  This also weakens his "They may not do anything" argument.  You will find in your career that you have to be very careful what you advise people because they will hold you responsible for it.  Hence the hedging.
Once again, welcome to the profession, good luck with the studies, and ALWAYS wear your helmet.

If you're not going to wear your helmet, at least have the courtesy to fill out your donar card...

(http://www.mdmedicalphotography.com/IE/scalpel.jpg)

Heres a test. Wearing your helmet, get someone to have a go at your head with a belt sander. Now repeat the experiment with the helmet removed. Compare results.
:thumb:

Even if one can't exactly understand what the guy is telling us in, assumably, Portugese,
one kinda gets the point: http://www.superbikemagazine.com/content/movies/helmet_test.asf (size: 386 kB)

Wouldn't file this exactly under 'scientific research' but wouldn't do that to that doc's statement either :roll:

Quote from: MeighanDude, sounds like that doctor is trying to drum up more business for the medical system!

Doctor: "Noo.. don't wear a helmet, cuz if you do I will be out of a job!"

:o

I hope that's not really what you think of us.  :o
BTW that's an interesting website you have.  Coll pic but thin on detail, though.  :dunno:

"Two arai quantums.  The only thing I remember while going down on the track was seeing the ground scraping across my visor as I slid down the track on my lid.  I'd be missing half my face if it weren't for that lid.  Great helmets, tried and true."

he explains it good enough