As one who has used a helmet once, I figure they don’t generally save lives, but they do reduce the probability of a life-changing head- or neck-injury.
Yes, a helmet is highly effective against a narrow range of traumatic brain injuries, but it’s completely ineffective against anything else — including spinal injuries. The only way to prevent a spinal injury is to not crash in the first place, so that should be your primary concern at all times.
… how could any helmet prevent neck-injury, unless it is designed to use also the support of your shoulders etc.? not even integral motorcycle helmets can guarantee this in all situations… majority of bicycling helmets are very far from being able to protect the neck (spine)… if anything, they are quite likely to make things worse in this aspect.
Most papers will print whatever the police wrote in their reports. Insurances are very interested if a cyclists wore a helmet, so it is usually mentioned for them. So the main point is not that it appears in the paper, but that insurances are legally allowed to take into consideration if the cyclist wore a helmet.
I had one crash where I thought my helmet might have minimized my neck injuries. I fell sideways at speed and my head snapped sideways and hit the pavement. The other side of my neck was quite sore from the neck overextension, but I figure the helmet prevented my head from snapping another ~3cm toward the pavement (thickness of the helmet). On the other hand, maybe the added weight and extended centre of gravity of my helmet caused my head to impact with more momentum. If nothing else, saved a few scrapes to my head.
(Glenn) the fact is that we will never know what would have happened in your case (or any other) without the helmet. I am not saying it would be better or worse, just that the datas for comparison are missing.
The human brain and whole body are designed to try and protect the head before all other body parts. Your neck might be sore also from the extreme muscle reaction (tension), as the body tried to keep the head from going sideways, leaving the shoulder to take the main impact.
… I leave this just as a side note.
I have no illusions that a helmet will protect me from cars but having crashed going 5 mph and hit my head hard enough to see stars -with a helmet- I wear one to protect my head from hard asphalt
As one who has used a helmet once, I figure they don’t generally save lives, but they do reduce the probability of a life-changing head- or neck-injury.
Yes, a helmet is highly effective against a narrow range of traumatic brain injuries, but it’s completely ineffective against anything else — including spinal injuries. The only way to prevent a spinal injury is to not crash in the first place, so that should be your primary concern at all times.
Helmets increase the danger of neck injurys, because the provide longer lever and points hang while sliding over ground for example.
… how could any helmet prevent neck-injury, unless it is designed to use also the support of your shoulders etc.? not even integral motorcycle helmets can guarantee this in all situations… majority of bicycling helmets are very far from being able to protect the neck (spine)… if anything, they are quite likely to make things worse in this aspect.
Most papers will print whatever the police wrote in their reports. Insurances are very interested if a cyclists wore a helmet, so it is usually mentioned for them. So the main point is not that it appears in the paper, but that insurances are legally allowed to take into consideration if the cyclist wore a helmet.
I had one crash where I thought my helmet might have minimized my neck injuries. I fell sideways at speed and my head snapped sideways and hit the pavement. The other side of my neck was quite sore from the neck overextension, but I figure the helmet prevented my head from snapping another ~3cm toward the pavement (thickness of the helmet). On the other hand, maybe the added weight and extended centre of gravity of my helmet caused my head to impact with more momentum. If nothing else, saved a few scrapes to my head.
(Glenn) the fact is that we will never know what would have happened in your case (or any other) without the helmet.
I am not saying it would be better or worse, just that the datas for comparison are missing. 
The human brain and whole body are designed to try and protect the head before all other body parts. Your neck might be sore also from the extreme muscle reaction (tension), as the body tried to keep the head from going sideways, leaving the shoulder to take the main impact.
… I leave this just as a side note.
I have no illusions that a helmet will protect me from cars but having crashed going 5 mph and hit my head hard enough to see stars -with a helmet- I wear one to protect my head from hard asphalt