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

2.And this guy (he might have been wearing a helmet, but not a full face one)

     

Please wear your helmet  

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...

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.