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10 Reasons to wear a helmet (preferably a full face one)

7K views 57 replies 16 participants last post by  bbqjoe 
#1 ·
They say a picture is worth a thousand words. If that's true, then these should speak pretty loudly.
 

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#6 ·
I would put money on helmet 8 not being caused by an accident. It looks like it was hit work an angle grinder, and I've seen guys do that on YouTube videos as a "test" for a helmet.

Helmet 10 looks like it found a big, sharp rock during a slide. That definitely wouldn't have worked out well for the wearer if they hadn't had the helmet on.
 
#4 ·
I spent some time in New Hampshire over the weekend and there were a ton of motorcycles out on such a gorgeous day. So sad to see 95% of the riders not wearing a helmet or protective gear. I certainly understand the "ride free", wind in your face feeling, but I just can't ignore the risks or put my wife through another hospitalization with me. I know New Hampshire's motto is "Live free or die" and I guess that's what most riders have chosen. God bless and protect them.
 
#8 ·
If you're talking to me, you're preaching to the choir, friend. I saw an ad last night for "the smallest DOT-approved helmet made". Thing looked like a yarmulke with a chin strap. I'm sure there's a market for it, and I wouldn't doubt that it's better than nothing -- but for me, no, thanks...
 
#10 ·
Those types of helmets are worse than useless oldenslow. They cover the law, but provide little protection for where you are most likely to get hurt in a crash. Not to sound like I'm preaching, but there's a German study of head injuries and care to guess where the least percentage of damage is done? How about the area of the most damage? I'd almost rather wear a full face helmet with the top cut off before I wear one of those yarmulkes. (Sorry. I'm just passionate about staying alive and want see my fellow bikes do the same).
 

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#9 ·
I though #8 was someone hanging off the back of the bike and dragging their head on the road, cause I'm not sure how you would do a headstand that long sliding down the road. Plus it's a little too perfect. #10 looked more like somebody laid it on the exhaust and melted it. Even so always wear a helmet kids.
 
#11 ·
Preach. A rock kicked up by a car at your face on the highway at 60-80 mph will screw up your moneymaker real good, so even if you think you are 21 and invincible from accidents, wear a full face helmet. I honestly wish manufacturers would stop selling the brain bucket style helmets at all. They are worse than useless. 3/4 helmets are mostly useless because the face shield isn’t attached to anything. But at least they’ll protect you from rocks and bees. But anytime I see a rider with anything but a full face helmet I don’t think to myself “what a cool dude” but “I hope he never learns why he is wrong about this”. Full face helmets save lives.

Cheap vs expensive helmet: https://youtu.be/eBnioxhXkFA

Helmet safety ratings: https://youtu.be/0BUyp3HX8cY

P.S.: with a full face helmet, you get to have Bluetooth audio on all your bikes! Directions, music, even audio books.

P.P.S.: also hearing protection is super important. Wear ear plugs! https://youtu.be/eEdf0R5ypsg
 
#12 ·
I know some folks believe wearing a helmet is the begin all and end all of being safe.

Well, there's lots of issues that effect safety. But before we get to those a few things should be mentioned.
Not everyone who chooses not to wear a helmet do so for the same reasons. Some have a neck issue and the weight of the helmet is a problem for them. Some cannot handle the heat with one. Some feel they cannot see or hear as well with one. Others feel that in most bad accidents it ain't gonna make any difference. And still some believe the helmet can potentially assist in causing a broken neck. And some others who have done excessive research on helmets understand that the DOT rating is crappola as the manufacturers SELF TEST and give to themselves the DOT approval. Kinda gives ya a warm and fuzzy feeling doesn't it? And for others it may be peer pressure. As an example on my short rural dirt road, we have about 20 riders.....only 1 wears a helmet.

OK enough of all that. What I really wanted to address is how many of the "helmet above all else" folks have a few drinks and then get back on their bike? And how many toke up a little and then ride? And how many ride during rush hour? And how many ride at night, where up here the chances of having an encounter with a bear, deer, moose, fisher cat, fox and other creatures of the night, are not all that unlikely?
There are many ways to evaluate risk and many ways to reduce risk.
Is someone being riskier if they do not wear a helmet but never drink, smoke pot, ride during rush hour and never ride at night?
Is it safer to wear that self tested and self approved helmet but then have a few drinks, smoke a J, ride during rush hour or at night.
See safety and risk management are different for every person.
It does bother me a bit when the holier than thou pro helmet folks think they have a monopoly on safety and risk management.

And that is why I say "to each their own".
 
#13 · (Edited)
I say to each their own too. I very strongly believe everyone has a right to screw up their life however they want. But. It's not like these things you listed cancel each other out. If you have a few beers and get in an accident where you slide on your face for 20 feet, would you rather be wearing a full face helmet or no helmet? Safety is cumulative: well maintained bike with good tires, good brakes, ABS, with an experienced rider, wearing full gear -> less risk than a SQUID in flip flops on bald tires, worn brakes, and a bike that's been neglected for a decade.

When you say "well if a person chooses to ride drunk, so they clearly don't care about their safety so they might as well not wear a helmet" I see using a straw man argument. You shouldn't drive drunk. Period. Whether a car, trike, bike, roller skates, doesn't matter. It endangers others and I don't believe that's right. If you choose to do so with nobody in a 100 mile radius of you, then go for it, but I think otherwise that's wrong. But it has nothing to do with helmets. I see the connection you are making: it has to do with evaluating risk. But studies show that humans are terrible at evaluating risk objectively. We fear airplane crashes, but get into a car no problem. We fear terrorists but assume nobody is going to mug us unless we are in a bad neighborhood. We happily keep loaded guns in the house thinking we are protected when they are more likely to be used against us in a home invasion situation. And again, because you do one risky thing doesn't mean you take all the risks.

Next, I wanted to address the safety ratings of helmets. If you watch the above videos, Ryan does a very good job of explaining it. But to summarize: DOT rating is more or less bull feathers, though helmets without it are absolute trash for certain. What you want is the Snell rating which is much more stringent. I do feel good about my Snell rated helmet, and I've seen what those helmets look like after accidents. You don't generally hear much from people who got into accidents where they hit their head on the pavement at highway speeds and were not wearing a helmet. I wonder why that is.

Lastly, other factors. What you say makes a lot of sense. Some people have neck problems, some think the helmet is going to impair their vision or hearing. I cannot speak about neck issues, but from what I have seen, some higher end helmets are incredibly light. And studies show that a full face helmet is more likely to prevent neck injury in an accident. If I had a neck injury I would not risk it further by riding without a helmet at all. As for vision: yes some helmets impair vision. Lots don't. I cannot see the helmet when I am wearing it. At all. The face shield is so large that I can see everything. If you really are concerned about it, modular helmets are only marginally less safe than solid full face helmets. As for hearing: good. Your hearing should be dampened by your protective gear. Hearing damage is cumulative and the louder something is the shorter the time before the hearing damage sets in. Some bikes' exhausts are so loud that 15 minutes riding on it will permanently give you hearing damage and tinnitus is extremely unpleasant, cannot be fixed, and only gets worse with age. And it's not just exhaust, it's the wind too. A good helmet, like the EXO-ST1400, protect you from that. For the rest there is ear plugs. Good ear plugs don't prevent you from hearing things, they take out low frequency sounds like highway noise, but let high frequency noise like people talking and car horns through. I can listen to audio books in my helmet with my ear plugs in, no problem, or talk to someone at the gas station with the helmet off. They also make the engine sound nicer: all the annoying road noise is gone and you just feel the deeper base more. Cheapest upgrade you can make.

But the main reason you should wear a full face helmet is because you can cry in public and nobody would know :)

Again, to each their own, I am not trying to shame anyone for wanting to skip a full face helmet. Just want to point out that the logic behind those decisions is usually flawed. The real reason most people don't wear a helmet or wear a brain bucket is because they think it looks cool and they enjoy the wind in their face or peer pressure/image that certain motor company riders often see. We can try to change the latter perception and it starts by setting a better example.
 
#15 ·
The other thing is if alcohol is present (not necessarily in DWI levels) but present in 47% of motorcycle fatalities....
And excessive speed is present in another 30% of motorcycle fatalities.....
And another 20% of motorcycle fatalities are at night....
Do they compound themselves?
If you drink, speed and do so at night....what does that do to your risk management?

And another thought...people do still die in cars. Even though they are in a cage. And even with all the tremendous safety improvements over the last 50 years and with all the accident avoidance features of the 30 years....they still die.

So people would be mistaken if they feel a helmet makes you bullet proof.
Now, I don't think anyone here feels this way, but I have met people who do.
 
#16 · (Edited)
It’s hard to compile all those stats but here are some: http://www.motorcycle-accidents.com/pages/stats.html

Original Hurt report if you want to verify that their research methods were sound (I did, they were): https://firstcheckpoint.com/wp-content/uploads/hurt-report.pdf

Motorcycle helmets are the single biggest factor in preventing motorcyclist deaths according to every single research paper I have seen on the subject. Anecdotes can tell you stories but numbers don’t lie. Helmets 100% save lives.

From the report: “2. Protective Equipment. The only significant protective equipment is the qualified safety helmet, and it is capable of a spectacular reduction of head injury frequency and severity. The Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 218 provides a highly qualified safety helmet for "se by motorcycle riders. This research shows NO reasons for a motorcycle rider to be without a safety helmet; qualified helmets do not limit vision or hearing in traffic or cause injury.” And this is for 70’s helmets. Imagine how much better they are today.
 
#17 ·
Thanks for the links. Much appreciated.

One thing that caught my attention is the study location was Los Angeles, CA.

Population per square mile... Over 7500.

I only ride in 2 states:
Population per Square mile.....where I ride....(NH) 141. (Maine) 47.

Bottom line for me.....I feel pretty good....helmet or no helmet.....I like my odds.
 
#19 ·
I don't support helmet laws, it's your head, not mine, and I have no right to force you to protect yourself.

That said, I'm always amazed when people assume that the only thing you have to worry about is wildlife, other drivers, or your own stupidity. When you're on a motorcycle, anything could happen at any time.

I can't find the article, but I recall a sinkhole opening up in front of a motorcyclist here in Atlanta a few years ago. The guy was riding safe, following all the rules, minding his own business when suddenly a hole opened up in front of him. The only thing that can even give you a chance of survival in that instance is safety gear that you're already wearing.

I did find this article:

Motorcyclist falls into sinkhole

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WJBF)- A man and his motorcycle were swallowed whole when a road on the edge of the Augusta Exchange shopping center gave a way to a sinkhole.

Marjorie Wolfram says she was there.

“I was heading towards Michaels when I saw this huge sinkhole,” Wolfram said. “And it wasn’t marked off, so I was concerned because I had seen several people try to make that right hand turn.”

It’s a road that goes behind shops at the Augusta Exchange, across the street from the Best Buy shopping center.

Wolfram says she saw at least four cars attempt to go down that road, and she was trying to contact someone about the hole when a motorcyclist approached it.

“By the time he saw the hole, he tried to react, but there was not time,” she said.

Wolfram says she feels horrible about what happened.

“Just sick for him…Hoping he was going to be okay, didn’t have a devastating injury,” she said.

“He seemed to be unconscious for a short period of time. And came to and was disoriented, and I was just trying to keep him staying put so more debris didn’t fall on top of him.”

She says he was bleeding from his forehead, even though he was wearing a helmet.
 
#20 ·
chromedome, you bring up a lot of different ideas, but they all still sound like they are just there to reaffirm you in your decision. I have no doubt that I cannot change your mind any more than anyone else on this forum, and I respect your decision. I am writing this hopefully to provide a perspective for those reading this later.

What you might notice from the Hurt report is that about a third of the accidents involved another vehicle, usually a car, but a quarter involved no other vehicles at all. You can make mistakes as well as another driver that could land you face down. Oh and don’t forget that motorcycle accidents are less likely to be reported to the police than car accidents, so the percentage danger is likely at least a little higher. By your logic, moose are also a concern for you when they weren’t for the LA motorcyclists.

Yes people die in cars. People die in their bath tubs, and on toilets and while brushing their teeth and in their sleep. Does any of that factor into whether a helmet will or will not protect you in a face down slide? Mathematically speaking, we call those things uncorrelated. They don’t matter.

If you’d like to look at facts, in Canada, not far from NH, a motorcyclist is 13 times more likely to die than a car driver per 1000 miles. There is a large number of people there who don’t wear helmets and they have a higher death rate than those that do. Here are factors that provably reduce your chances of dying on a motorcycle in Canada: wearing a helmet, sobriety, ABS, experience/training. Roughly in that order. I’ll need to find the links for these if you’d like to look at them, but the info is solid.

But all that aside, what does it matter if you reduce your chances by 40% if you hit your face on the guard rail with no protection? You become those statistics, right? A helmet is never a bad idea, and is always a good idea. That is what science and math tell us. The rest is feelings. What you do is up to you.
 
#21 ·
Ipartola....you say in Canada riders are 13 times more likely to die than car drivers and you said many do not wear helmets.
That's funny because my research says anywhere in Canada helmet wearing is mandatory for anyone OVER 18.
So, your stats may prove helmet use does not help in Canada.

The logic you use saying hey wearing the helmet is always a good idea and what good is reducing your chances by 40% if your face hits a guard rail?

Well, the same logic is used by non-bikers. They say hey it's always a good idea to not ride a motorcycle. What good is reducing your odds by using a helmet when you hit a tractor trailer at 60mph?

See, you choose to ignore that logic because you decide that no matter the facts ......this is a risk you will accept to take for your increased enjoyment and other benefits you get from riding your motorcycle.

Does that sound familiar?

See, we all do the same thing....the only difference is what amount of risk are we willing to manage for our enjoyment?

We are not so different. It's still a matter freedom and choice and managing the amount of risk we can tolerate.
I feel where I ride, when I ride, riding sober, straight and not at night and not at rush hour...I manage risk to my acceptable level.
You do the same, by choosing to ride a motorcycle at all as opposed to never riding because the facts clearly show you are way more at risk than a car driver.
 
#22 ·
I found the link and I was mistaken on one fact: it’s not that many Canadian riders don’t wear a helmet, it’s that many don’t wear a full face helmet. I’ll let the numbers speak for themselves: https://fortnine.ca/en/how-dangerous-are-motorcycles/

The thing is that every study out there says that full face helmets do save lives in crashes. I fully believe in your right to choose to knowingly put yourself at risk. Principle one for me: everyone is free to screw up their own lives how they want. But let’s not pretend like in some situations not wearing a helmet is just as good as wearing one. We talk a lot about how there is no replacement for displacement, same with helmets. You can always make a bigger engine and you can always add more protective gear and it will always result in a safer ride. That’s why cars are safer than motorcycles and buildings are safer than cars: more protection. The only difference is that unlike driving a car, wearing a helmet has no downsides. Peer pressure is the only reason I can think but honestly those are the same people that will try to get you to stay longer so you can drink more with them before riding home.

You not wearing a helmet is 100% your right. I post this only so others can catch these stats and make an informed decision that’s right for them.
 
#23 ·
Hurt report is really old and almost totally outdated. Driving has changed a lot since that report.
Sadly, over the last 2 weeks, I have sat in traffic on the freeway twice, only to see how a motorcycle lost in the apparent accident. Both times, it looked like the biker wasn't able to scrub off speed at 70+mph. Each person gets to make their own decisions that they are comfortable with making. I have my standard and worked hard to get gear that will work year around. Yep, my helmet probably saved my life or at the very least, saved my face (and wallet) from major reconstructive surgery.
 
#24 ·
Ipartola....
I beg to differ. You said "But let’s not pretend like in some situations not wearing a helmet is just as good as wearing one"

You are pretending that that statement is a true statement. It is not.
Real life true story...and I can provide you with an email address and a phone number of a real life person, if you wish.
My friend, Lenny, a long time rider, had a serious motorcycle accident about 9-10 months ago. He was riding home from VA hospital visit. Speed of travel approx. 45 mph. And a young car driver blew through a stop sign and struck Lenny. Lenny did not wear a helmet. He T-boned the rather large old car with his extremely tricked out and new Harley. Lenny ended up pinned between his bike and the windshield of the car and then bounced onto the pavement. Injuries included arm and legs contusions and road rash and a severely damaged spine. Lenny has recovered somewhat but will never be the same and probably never be able to work again. But Lenny had no head injuries at all. None. So, whether he rode with a helmet or not did not matter. So, that clearly proves your statement as false. In Lenny's real life case....not wearing a helmet was just as good as wearing one. Now don't attempt to defend your statement by saying ...oh that was one case. Your statement was all inclusive. And I'm sure this kind of accident is not the only one ever.
Now Lenny was largely the reason I started to ride again after many years of not riding. And to prove both your point and mine, Lenny 's advice today is 2 fold. 1) proving your point.....wear a helmet. And 2) proving my point.....do not ride a motorcycle.
Lenny has not ridden since and has no plans to ever ride again.
You can't make blanket statements and pronounce them as "fact" and use them to bolster your opinion. That really annoys me when anyone uses that tactic.....it hits me as someone pontificating.
No offense intended Ipartola......I know you are a good guy and I have enjoyed this spirited discussion.
I wish you all the best and tons of safe riding and joy.
 
#26 ·
chromedome, I also enjoy this discussion :)

You'll probably consider this me mincing words, but that's not how risk assessment works. Think about it this way: every time you drive by a car crash on your motorcycle you in that moment are safer on your bike than the people in the car, right? Can you conclude from that that motorcycles are safer than cars? Of course not. You already accept that you are several times more likely to die on a motorcycle per 1000 miles than in a car. With that in mind, you don't need a helmet almost ever. The only time you actually need it is in a crash that involves your head hitting something. And you cannot predict when that will happen. That's what risk is: not knowing when a discrete bad situation will happen. Other examples: you don't need a spare tire in your car unless you get a flat. You don't need insurance until you crash. You don't need the police until someone steals your bike. You don't need water until you are thirsty and you don't need food until you are hungry.

Do you wear a seatbelt when you are in a car? If so, why? 99.999% of the time you don't need it. 99.999% of the time you are safe without it. Would you consider someone who drives without a seatbelt to be safer than someone who drives with a seatbelt? What about drunk drivers? Most drunk drivers do make it home, and those that don't often survive the crashes. Do you consider that safe behavior? If not, then we share the same definition of "safe", and by that logic yes wearing a helmet is always safer than not.

When it comes to motorcycle helmets, it seems there is some kind of different thought process that happens. Everyone I've talked to that rides a motorcycle, helmet or no, has no problem saying "I know I am more likely to die on a motorcycle than in a car. I accept that risk." But very few no helmet riders can say "I know I am more likely to die on a motorcycle without a helmet than with a helmet. I accept that risk." Instead it's usually some justification of why it's not a greater risk, and I can't figure out why. Nobody has a problem with it. We all take risks to various degrees and we all accept it. Why don't people think of helmets that way too?

Thanks for being a good sport about this conversation and stay safe out there!
 
#27 ·
I've only ever crashed while wearing a helmet. I haven't crashed since I stopped wearing one.
It should be the individual rider's decision.


Riding is dangerous. Driving is dangerous. Sky diving is dangerous. SCUBA diving is dangerous. Being a bicycle courier in NYC is dangerous. Eating too many cheese burgers is dangerous. Smoking is dangerous. If you want safe, I'd say stay inside but you could always slip in the shower or someone could break in.
 
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#28 ·
I'll interject my $0.02 on this one, although you two seem to be doing fine on your own.

To me, it is as simple as this, I could quickly search and come up with a number of instances where a person in a motorcycle accident would have survived a crash if they had been wearing a helmet, or the injuries would have been less devastating, as in the case of Gary Busey. I would challenge someone to show me an instance where a rider would have survived an accident had they NOT been wearing a helmet. It's possible there may have been some oddball, one-off, final destination instances, but those would be very few and far between I suspect.

The simple takeaway on that is that wearing a helmet increases your safety while riding while not decreasing your safety.

If I told you I had an investment that could possibly give you a 2% return on your money but was guaranteed to not lose anything and you can pull the money out at any time, would you not toss in whatever money you didn't need at the time? You might not make anything off of it, but you wouldn't lose anything for the effort. That's the way I see helmets. There is no guarantee that there will ever be a return on that investment, and I truly hope that I don't get one, but if I'm not wearing it at the point that I need it, I am guaranteed to suffer a loss.

As for Lenny, no, a helmet wouldn't have made a difference for him, but there is a real likelihood that, at some point, while he was on that wild ride onto the hood of that car, if his head had moved 1mm further to the side, that story would have ended in a very different way. It's easy to point at an incident and say "See, wearing a helmet would have made no difference," but in doing so you are ignoring the fact that it was pure luck he didn't need the helmet and luck is always a poor gameplan to have.
 
#29 ·
I like the points that both Whiskey and Paraquat make.
They do make sense.
I only went to my friend Lenny's example to prove the statement of Ipartola made as an absolute, was not an absolute.
Now all this being said....good points made by all sides.....I just came back from a nice, very hot ride in 92° temps.
If I had to wear a helmet in today's heat and humidity.....I would not ride. I would have stayed home.
But hot as it was.....I got in my needed wind therapy. :)
Ipartola...I often wonder why people never look at it this way......we are all gonna die. Nobody gets outta here alive. Wanna have a slight percentage of dying with a smile on your face.....or be sure to die in a hospital with tubes and wires and no smile?
Be well and everyone Ride Safe!
 
#30 ·
Funny thing is that a good full face with proper ventilation is actually cooler in that 92-degree temp than not having one. I live in Georgia have ridden in the upper 90's and even low 100's with both a full face and a half-helmet. The full face was much more tolerable because I didn't have the sun beating down on me. Would you rather be standing in the sun on a 98-degree day or under the shade of a tree?
 
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