Helmets are dangerous.

[Jdero_620]

Is my thinking is correct it's better to have no helmet than one that is too big due to the neck snapping effect of a loose fit.
Right? I understand there's nothing like proper gear but would you rather wear a xxxl or nothing at all?

[verboten1]

I love my XXXL

[Jdero_620]

Lol well okay but in your case I guess it's a 5x

[Flying]

If your head hits something with enough force to snap your neck w/ a loose helmet, I don't think having a tighter fit will do much better. It's not like having a loose helmet is going to add more leverage to anything.

A better question will be, would you rather have your skull impact foam or concrete?

[Motofool]

With or without helmet, the head is too heavy to be hold by the muscles of the neck during a crash.

Any helmet is better than no helmet.

Its function is not only to absorb shocks, but to protect from the grinding effect of the pavement, from the weather, noise, wind, insects, etc.

The areas more protected are the face and the jaw, which receive the higher percentage of injuries.
Those areas will be equally protected by an oversized helmet.

Check this out:
https://www.ninjette.org/forums/showthread.php?t=207260

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motorcycle_helmet

[VaFish]

I'm too pretty to ride without a helmet.

[RacinNinja]

Originally Posted by Jdero_620

Is my thinking is correct it's better to have no helmet than one that is too big due to the neck snapping effect of a loose fit.
Right? I understand there's nothing like proper gear but would you rather wear a xxxl or nothing at all?

Short answer: No.

[MrAtom]

Originally Posted by VaFish

I'm too pretty to ride without a helmet.

Weird. I'm too ugly to ride without a helmet.

[adouglas]

That is a meaningless question, akin to "what is north of the North Pole?" (The answer is not "nothing." The question has no answer.)

Neither one is a viable choice. Suck it up and buy a helmet that fits.



Let's say for the sake of argument that you're asking because you want to carry a passenger and don't have a helmet that fits .

No excuse. Why on earth would anyone expose a passenger to increased risk? The response is the same. Buy a helmet that fits before you ride, or don't let the passenger on the bike... no matter how cute she is.

In response to your "which would you rather wear" question, my answer is that I'd rather drive.

Aside from the common-sense aspect of this, you can actually assign a value to it. Last fall I spent five days in the hospital, dealing with a simple leg infection. The hospital billed the insurance company almost $20,000. I had to pay $750 out of pocket.

Pretend for a moment that failure to wear proper gear that fits lands you in the hospital. How does that bill sound to you? Better than making a purchase?

Surely you can afford $75 for a Snell-rated helmet.

http://www.motorcyclegear.com/street...it_helmet.html

[toEleven]

Originally Posted by Jdero_620

Is my thinking is correct it's better to have no helmet than one that is too big due to the neck snapping effect of a loose fit.
Right?
...

[Alex]

[Ghostt]

An old argument, like seatblets, the odds are in the favor of wearing a helmet.

I'm sure in a rare cases your thinking is valid right, but 99.999999999999999% your wrong.

But it's your personal safety, and in some states your choice.

[DEFY]

I do believe the answer you are looking for is the HANS device.



However, you won't be moving your head so wouldn't be good for motorcycles.

[Sirref]

Wear a helmet and come back when you crash in it and understand just how important it is

I don't understand the dilemma either, just get a helmet that's the right size but even if you don't the slightly big helmet will still save your head so much more than no helmet. Personally if I only had the option to ride with an xxxl helmet or no helmet I wouldn't ride until I had a properly fitting helmet. Good helmets aren't even expensive all of the time (yeah shoei/arai are but you don't need shoei/arai)

[adouglas]

Helmet vs. no helmet.

Link to original page on YouTube.

[asdfman]

Originally Posted by adouglas

Helmet vs. no helmet.

Link to original page on YouTube.

Very scientific.

[lizardywizard]

Only somewhat related, and I'm imagining this is one of those topics that this was made for...



...but I really don't get why people are so against helmet laws.

I can go into just about any bike store, even the ones that are more sportbike focused, and there are racks of "Helmet Laws Suck" stickers. People don't typically complain about seatbelt laws. Helmet laws seem like a similar thing. So why all the fuss?

Is it just because people with more arrogance than sense want to be ~rebels~ and resent being held down by The Man? I see the appeal of being a rebel, but does it have to come with stupidity?


Also, I love my helmet because it's covered in eyeballs.



I would look 2000% less cool without it.

[Ghostt]

While I'm an advocate for A.T.G.A.T.T., I'm also an advocate of freedom, choice being one as well.

In Kentucky you have to wear one while you have your permit, or under 21, once you have your licence and over 21 you don't have to wear one.

If you want to wear one, then do, if not then don't. It's your life, so do as you see fit, you know the facts.

[MrAtom]

Originally Posted by RacinNinja

Short answer: No.

Long answer: hell no.

[adouglas]

Originally Posted by Ghostt

While I'm an advocate for A.T.G.A.T.T., I'm also an advocate of freedom, choice being one as well.

In Kentucky you have to wear one while you have your permit, or under 21, once you have your licence and over 21 you don't have to wear one.

If you want to wear one, then do, if not then don't. It's your life, so do as you see fit, you know the facts.

As far as that goes, fair enough.

But that popular point of view stops at the moment of the injury. It ignores the aftermath, and the consequences for the rest of us.

If said rider chooses to go without a helmet, then he/she should also be held liable for every last penny of the costs associated with the injury they incur due to not wearing that helmet. Forever.

Somebody goes on disability for life because they were too wrapped up in their bold statement of personal liberty to act intelligently... guess who pays for that? How about the costs for treatment should they have refused to buy insurance?

Anything that incurs a cost not borne by the individual costs all of us.

So yeah... it's your life, but it's not all about you.

Add total personal responsibility for the impact of your actions to the freedom to choose, and sure... ride naked through Death Valley in the middle of summer with fire ants up the crack of your a$$ for all I care.

[VaFish]

Originally Posted by adouglas

As far as that goes, fair enough.

But that popular point of view stops at the moment of the injury. It ignores the aftermath, and the consequences for the rest of us.

If said rider chooses to go without a helmet, then he/she should also be held liable for every last penny of the costs associated with the injury they incur due to not wearing that helmet. Forever.

Somebody goes on disability for life because they were too wrapped up in their bold statement of personal liberty to act intelligently... guess who pays for that? How about the costs for treatment should they have refused to buy insurance?

Anything that incurs a cost not borne by the individual costs all of us.

So yeah... it's your life, but it's not all about you.

Add total personal responsibility for the impact of your actions to the freedom to choose, and sure... ride naked through Death Valley in the middle of summer with fire ants up the crack of your a$$ for all I care.

Well said,

I'm all for freedom too, my freedom to not have to pay for your bad choices.

[InvisiBill]

Originally Posted by adouglas

If a person chooses to do some activity, then he/she should also be held liable for every last penny of the costs associated with the injury they incur due to doing that activity. Forever.

FTFY. Wearing a helmet doesn't give you a free pass to mooch off everyone else. Ultimately, you're responsible for yourself.*

On the other hand, studies have shown that states who repealed helmet laws had a lot more braindeaths from accidents, resulting in a lot more organ donors. At least the people not smart enough to protect themselves seem to be doing something nice for others as they die. http://www.charlotteobserver.com/new...le9134531.html and http://scienceblogs.com/insolence/20...o-donorcycles/ are actually both from right here in my neck of the woods (Lansing and Grand Rapids).

In Michigan, you're required to buy extra insurance to legally ride without a helmet. I bought it the first year "just in case", but then dropped it after that because I realized I would never choose to not wear my helmet anyway. My face and brain are way too valuable to not protect (I'm smart and sexy!).



*While I don't think we should be footing the bill for everyone's stupidity, I do feel that as a civilized population, we should try to maintain a minimum standard of living for everyone. I think most people probably agree that we shouldn't let someone die on the sidewalk because they can't afford to go to the hospital. Not to get political, but I think the American healthcare system is pretty messed up, which distorts this conversation.

[SLOWn60]

Because of health care & legal costs in the states; I understand that in agragate: it's cheaper to die.
Thus the expression: If you run over someone; back up & run over them again to be sure they're dead!

Throw in organ donation and we should be giving those riders a financial incentive. Bonus to the gene pool too due to the Darwin effect!


Edit: No; that is not my opinion!

[adouglas]

Originally Posted by InvisiBill

In Michigan, you're required to buy extra insurance to legally ride without a helmet.

Now that makes sense to me.

[InvisiBill]

Originally Posted by adouglas

Now that makes sense to me.

In theory, yes. In reality, it may not mean much. The legal compromise results in only needing an additional $20k of insurance. Stats seem to show much worse injuries across the board for unhelmeted riders, so that $20k might not be enough to actually cover the extra expenses they're incurring.

...the percentage of crash scene fatalities increased from 14% to 63%, though the absolute numbers in this last comparison are small.

Other findings included a higher hospital mortality in unhelmeted patients compared to helmeted (10% vs 3%, p=0.04); a higher injury severity score (19 vs 15, p=0.004); a higher abbreviated injury score (AIS) for head injuries (2.2 vs. 1.3, p<0.001); a lower Glasgow coma score (GCS), which is a measure of consciousness in which a low score is worse (12.6 vs 14.0, p=0.009); percentage of patients requiring the ICU (55% vs. 31%, p=0.001); and percentage of patients requiring mechanical ventilation (24% vs. 12%, p=0.01).

It's a bit gruesome to think about, but I'd be perfectly ok with studying how much extra medical expense the average unhelmeted rider is creating, and adjusting the law to require that much extra insurance.

Like others here, I feel you should be able to choose whether or not you want to protect yourself from injury, but I shouldn't have to pay for your mistakes.

[VaFish]

Originally Posted by InvisiBill

FTFY. Wearing a helmet doesn't give you a free pass to mooch off everyone else. Ultimately, you're responsible for yourself.*

On the other hand, studies have shown that states who repealed helmet laws had a lot more braindeaths from accidents, resulting in a lot more organ donors. At least the people not smart enough to protect themselves seem to be doing something nice for others as they die. http://www.charlotteobserver.com/new...le9134531.html and http://scienceblogs.com/insolence/20...o-donorcycles/ are actually both from right here in my neck of the woods (Lansing and Grand Rapids).

In Michigan, you're required to buy extra insurance to legally ride without a helmet. I bought it the first year "just in case", but then dropped it after that because I realized I would never choose to not wear my helmet anyway. My face and brain are way too valuable to not protect (I'm smart and sexy!).



*While I don't think we should be footing the bill for everyone's stupidity, I do feel that as a civilized population, we should try to maintain a minimum standard of living for everyone. I think most people probably agree that we shouldn't let someone die on the sidewalk because they can't afford to go to the hospital. Not to get political, but I think the American healthcare system is pretty messed up, which distorts this conversation.

My mom used to be a dialysis nurse at a V.A. hospital in MN. All of her patients that got transplants received their kidney from a young male motorcycle rider, most likely no helmet.

She still refers to motorcycles as donorcycles

[Whiskey]

Originally Posted by Jdero_620

Is my thinking is correct it's better to have no helmet than one that is too big due to the neck snapping effect of a loose fit.
Right? I understand there's nothing like proper gear but would you rather wear a xxxl or nothing at all?

Get one that fits & wear it.

In your hobson's choice scenario, helmet. If anything else it keeps the bugs, stone chips & everything else away from your face & head.

To be fair you're looking for people to agree with what you've already decided, so everyone here could tell you to wear one & it'll make no difference to your decision, so carry an organ donor card

[motodancer]

whaaaat, why would you not wear a helmet?
I have a fat head and most would not even fit on my head, so I had to get a modular one that opens up to get it on. Otherwise, the ones that do slide onto my head would've been way too big once it was on. I have an XXL head with HJC apparently but then the rest of my gear is a size "small". Go figure.

You can break your neck and still be okay, but if you break your head, you're pretty much dead.

[CaliGrrl]

Originally Posted by adouglas

So yeah... it's your life, but it's not all about you.

Add total personal responsibility for the impact of your actions to the freedom to choose, and sure... ride naked through Death Valley in the middle of summer with fire ants up the crack of your a$$ for all I care.

Yeah, pretty much how I feel about it.

Originally Posted by InvisiBill

In Michigan, you're required to buy extra insurance to legally ride without a helmet.
::snip::
but I think the American healthcare system is pretty messed up, which distorts this conversation.

Interesting about needing extra insurance. I could get behind a system like that. And I won't be needing it because I'm wearing a dang helmet. And I agree about the health-system. Messed up.

[Finesse]

no your thinking is not correct.. also I did this to my helmet three days ago. my head is fine. I have never and will never ride without a helmet. if I don't have a helmet that fits when I want to ride a bike I will not ride the bike. there's no reason to ever choose whether to forego a helmet that doesn't fit.