Just witnessed catastrophic Helmet Failure during bike accident!

[TallRob]

Leave it to someone to bring simple physics in to the conversation,lol. Damn you!

Originally Posted by bosozoku

Even if the helmet-makers could create a noggin-saver good enough for a 25 mph dead-on impact, the rest of your bod would be broken, or worse. No helmet is designed to deal with a dead stop from that speed.

25mph equals a velocity of 36.66 '/sec. That's the speed you'll be doing after a vertical drop of ~21 feet. Jumping off two-story buildings headfirst isn't in the plan for helmet design.

It's not the speed that scrambles noggins, it's the rate of change in velocity that kills....and an unchecked drop from 6 feet onto a hard surface can kill, if you land head-first.

It's a bummer about the SV's rider, but don't let emotion take the place of how things really work.

Do the math yourself.

[BravoBravo]

Originally Posted by eye.surgeon

I ride with a flip up Caberg Trip European helmet. I'm pretty sure it's not as protective as a traditional full face helmet in a specific type of face-first impact. I'm also pretty sure it's damned strong and way more protective than an open face helmet like many people wear including motorcycle police. We all make choices. We know the safest gear taken to the extreme is full armored racing leather with back protector and full race boots and gloves but very few of us find that practical or necessary.

I use the flip-up feature all the time for everything from fueling up to taking pictures or getting a drink. I never ride with it flipped up of course.

I agree. I have been using modular helmets as my primary helmet for the past twelve years or so. I am mindful of the fact that they are not as structurally sound as a true full-face helmet. Nevertheless, I believe they do afford substantially more protection than an open-face helmet. Life is full of risks, and it is certainly conceivable that any of us could be involved in an incident which would not be survivable even with the best full-face helmet. For me, the convenience of the flip-up feature is a reasonable trade-off for a somewhat diminished level of personal protection. YMMV.

I do hope and pray the rider involved in the crash fully recovers.

Bruce

[TallRob]

Originally Posted by kanjiwa

I can't find the statistics to back up this statement right now, but I read somewhere that the most frequent point of impact is the chin.

Ive seen a DOT/SNELL diagram (Maybe on this site) showing different sections of the helmet and the percentages of hits to that section from accidents. I think the chin was 65%. But dont quote me on that. I very maybe wrong.

[BravoBravo]

From Wikipedia: "Helmet — A full-face helmet provides the most protection. Thirty-five percent of all crashes show major impact on the chin-bar area."

Bruce

[eye.surgeon]

That's one of the things I like about Pashnit...most bike forums have the regular helmet or no helmet debate. Here we debate about what type of full face helmet to wear .

[TallRob]

Originally Posted by BravoBravo

From Wikipedia: "Helmet — A full-face helmet provides the most protection. Thirty-five percent of all crashes show major impact on the chin-bar area."

Bruce

off by 30%

[TallRob]

Originally Posted by owrstrich

me modular... do not resuscitate... no life saving measures... just lotts o pain meds... i gotts my affairs in order... any questions...

j o

Dont forget,. "Feed me minced In and Out Double cheesburgers through a straw."

[FJRME]

This one:

[TallRob]

Originally Posted by FJRME

This one:

so both sides add up to 34.6%
Interesting that each side varies.
Still people take it on the chin more than any other part of a helmet............open face helmet? no thank you......

[kanjiwa]

Originally Posted by TallRob

Interesting that each side varies.

Might be related to the side of the road we drive on...