CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Debate!

Radio4 "Inside Health" (helmets)

(22 posts)

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  1. chdot
    Admin

    You know the 'rules' - personal choice...

    Here (may be) some stats -

    "
    There are confusing statistics surrounding the debate over the use of bicycle helmets for both adults and children. Some research points to helmets encouraging car drivers to give cyclists less space in traffic. Up to a third of children in another study said wearing a helmet would put them off cycling in the first place - bad news for parents concerned about childhood obesity. GP Margaret McCartney uses her own risk analysis to work out how to keep herself safe and fit."

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01f5mn6

    On shortly + iPlayer

    Posted 12 years ago #

  2. chdot
    Admin

    GP Margaret McCartney

    "I'm a risk averse cyclist"

    'Try to be evidence based - why I wear a hat'

    Talked about 'blonde wig' research.

    'clear from the evidence healthier cycling'

    'community benefit less air pollution'

    I think she wears a helmet that looks like a hat.

    Posted 12 years ago #

  3. alibali
    Member

    More from Magaret McCartney on H**mets

    (has featured on R4's More or Less too)

    Posted 12 years ago #

  4. Dave
    Member

    Not a bad solution (the helmet that looks like a hat).

    It gets around a lot of the downsides, although it doesn't help much with personal risk compensation, unless someone gives you it and you don't realise...

    I'd go for a top hat?

    Posted 12 years ago #

  5. wee folding bike
    Member

    They all look like hats.

    Posted 12 years ago #

  6. PS
    Member

    A top hat would work if the impact was head-on. Nice bit of crumble zone. And you'd be able to punch the top out and look through it in a disapproving manner, like in the films...

    Would one of those big floppy flat caps work? They'd soften the blow at least.

    Maybe that's what the hipster bobble hat is all about?

    Posted 12 years ago #

  7. Wilmington's Cow
    Member

    A Dallas-esque Stetson would provide deflection protection from the brim for the face, plus large crumple zone in case of top down impact.

    May cause more whiplash though.

    Posted 12 years ago #

  8. PS
    Member

    If you're flying thorugh the air on account of an over-the-bars incident, the stetson could be deployed as a parachute. I'm sure I saw that in The Beano.

    Posted 12 years ago #

  9. freewhwheelin
    Member

    How likely do people think it is that helmets may be deemed compulsory under law ,soon ?

    Posted 12 years ago #

  10. chdot
    Admin

    Never for adults.

    Unlikely for children.

    Posted 12 years ago #

  11. Nelly
    Member

    They couldnt agree compulsory pension provision in parliament - cycle helmets are some way down the list of "nanny state" Daily Wailite priorities.

    Just behind factory fitted breath testers for cars, I imagine.

    Posted 12 years ago #

  12. freewhwheelin
    Member

    One of the main reasons for motorcycle helmets being made compulsory in 1973was a survey carried out in 1972-3 before the introduction of the Motorcycle Crash Helmet Act,this indicated that over 88% of motorcyclists were already wearing crash helmets anyway.

    I can see the same logic being applied by some ill informed governmental committee :(

    Posted 12 years ago #

  13. Smudge
    Member

    "factory fitted breath testers for cars", bring 'em on! Oh and while we're at it lets fit speed limiters, actually, joking aside I could see 70 limiters arriving some years from now. More and more employers are fitting them voluntarily, (and trackers to highlight bad driving), it would not surprise me to see it seriously discussed sometime when a politician needs to be "seen to be doing something" in a few years...

    Posted 12 years ago #

  14. gembo
    Member

    there are electronic gadgets (well clocks really) that you can put in your teenage son's [or daughter's] car that logs they are not driving after 11pm. This is good as it reduces the amount of insurance you have to pay. Also I believe linked to actual data of a real nature linking road traffic accidents and teenage drivers to times after 11pm.????Possibly just common sense?????

    As ever helmet data is poorer than insurance data [ drivers reporting they would drive closer to a researcher wearing a blonde wig is different sort of data] Tho I do like the sound of a top hat, possibly might have a bit of wind resistance to combat so would need a strap like in Monte Carlo Or Bust?

    Posted 12 years ago #

  15. Smudge
    Member

    Hmm, don't know how much impact protection there would be from a topper, but I believe bowlers were originally commissioned as safety headwear!

    Posted 12 years ago #

  16. chdot
    Admin

    http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Hat

    Posted 12 years ago #

  17. Dave
    Member

    "drivers reporting they would drive closer to a researcher wearing a blonde wig is different sort of data"

    Hrm. Nobody asked them, somebody rode repeatedly up and down roads while varying things and measuring overtaking distance with ultrasound.

    The headline figure was that with a helmet on, the number of overtakes closer than 1m rose by 30% IIRC. I believe the underlying dataset is available if anyone would like to try and poke holes in it.

    (I've been surprised that nobody funded by manufacturers has tried to disprove this by repeating the experiments)

    Posted 12 years ago #

  18. chdot
    Admin

    "
    Inside health and cycle helmets

    Posted on April 4, 2012 by margaretmccartney

    The references I used for Radio 4′s Inside Health are here

    http://www.margaretmccartney.com/blog/?p=1386

    "

    Posted 12 years ago #

  19. spytfyre
    Member

    I would totally buy a tophat helmet, even a bowler, there's bound to be a market in this...
    or Oooh Oooh a Jayne Cobb hat from Firefly

    "Man walks down the street wearing a hat like this, you know he ain't afraid of anything..."

    Posted 12 years ago #

  20. wingpig
    Member

    Just construct a scaffold of Starbucks coffee-stirrers around an existing helmet and wrap it in black fabric. A stovepipe or top on a bike could definitely use added chinstrapness unless you were sticking to <6mph on windless days whilst using it.

    Posted 12 years ago #

  21. spytfyre
    Member

    in fact I have one of those hats, it's a bit on the big size and stretchy... next time I get a helmet it'll be one of the big 661 BMXy ones and I will pull said hat over the top, advantage of that is the ear flaps can disguise the helmet straps...

    Posted 12 years ago #

  22. slowcoach
    Member

    there are electronic gadgets (well clocks really) ...(Gembo)

    There are more advanced 'black boxes' now eg the Co-op insurance has one based on "speed, cornering, erractic driving & times driven"

    Posted 12 years ago #

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