gam@amdahl.UUCP (G A Moffett) (12/16/85)
First, let me say that while this is a criticism of a
helmet, I am religiously in favor of wearing helmets.
Following my accident, my doctor said, "Without a helmet you would
have been dead." (And, no, I'm *not* in favor of required-
helmet laws).
I was in a motorcycle accident almost three months ago
(Sep 20th). (More info will follow, I'm sure...). My helmet
protected my head such that their was not a scratch on the skin of
the head and not even a crack to the skull. Unfortunately,
however, three of my upper front teeth were cracked in half,
resulting in a $2000+ dental bill. I am fairly certain the
faceshield of this full-face helmet was pulled over my face
(one side affect, which I'll get to later, is that I will never
remember). Nonetheless, it appears that the faceshield must've
bent inward (pushed by what? I don't know ...) and crushed against
the front of my mouth.
So, do helmets protect teeth? This one didn't.
A more serious limitation of helmets (probably due to laws of
physics) has become apparrent to me for the first time: as the
head is flying, when it finally comes to the ground or whatever
it is running into, the helmet successfully protects the skull
(for the most part). It cannot, however, protect the brain
inside the skull from decellerating to crash against the skull.
In my case, I am very fortunate. My injuries were only a blood
clod (subdura), a broken right arm (proximal humerus) and a concussion.
The effect of the injuries in the skull was to put me in a coma
for 10 days, and leave me in limited mental states over the early part
of my recovery. Concentration, complex thinking, and memory were all
reduced from usual. Early predictions did not give an
explicit expectation of recovery; I could have been a vegetable.
Instead, I have progressively improved (the psychological experience of
watching one's own progressive mental improvement is fascinating!).
Most people have said that I am back as I was, better in some ways.
I agree.
Another side effect that is not really medical but physiological:
because such shock was put the the brain, all memories of within 1hr
before and 4hrs after the accident did not get to long-term memory,
only short term. They will never be remembered.
So, as you know, motorcycling is a dangerous thing. And while you
can put a good full-face helmet on your head, you cannot thereby
completely protect the brain from injury.
[ Again, this is not an argument against helmets or motorcycling. ]
[ And, yes, I will post other info of general interest about my ]
[ accident in later postings. ]
--
Gordon A. Moffett ...!{ihnp4,cbosgd,hplabs}!amdahl!gam
~See the soldier with his gun~
~Who must be dead to be admired~beaver@rlgvax.UUCP (Sonar Warrior) (12/20/85)
> I was in a motorcycle accident almost three months ago > (Sep 20th). (More info will follow, I'm sure...). My helmet > protected my head such that their was not a scratch on the skin of > the head and not even a crack to the skull. Unfortunately, > however, three of my upper front teeth were cracked in half, > resulting in a $2000+ dental bill. I am fairly certain the > faceshield of this full-face helmet was pulled over my face > (one side affect, which I'll get to later, is that I will never > remember). Nonetheless, it appears that the faceshield must've > bent inward (pushed by what? I don't know ...) and crushed against > the front of my mouth. You are not giving us all the facts. How did you have your accident? How far did your head fall before you started your slide? What was your speed? Did your helmet strike a non-movable object. Was the face shield made for your helmet? What brand was it (helmet), was it approved by DOT? or SNELL? or even SHCA? Did you have your chin strap properly secured and did your helmet fit correctly? But if you got as bad a head injury as I think you did, I'm surprised that you knew you drove your bike that day! > So, as you know, motorcycling is a dangerous thing. And while you > can put a good full-face helmet on your head, you cannot thereby > completely protect the brain from injury. That's true, but we take these risks knowingly to enjoy the many get aspects of the sport. The most important thing is to remember that "no helmet, no matter how well made can protect the wearer from all conceivable accidents". You must have struck your head DAMN hard for subdural hematoma to occur, this type of "body stops - organs keep on truckin'" is typical of automobile accidents as well. Good to know you recovered but I would like to have been given more facts about your helmet? --beaver {seismo!allegra!ihnp4}!rlgvax!beaver *** REPLACE THIS LINE WITH YOUR MESSAGE ***
hsc@mtuxo.UUCP (h.cohen) (12/20/85)
>A more serious limitation of helmets (probably due to laws of >physics) has become apparrent to me for the first time: as the >head is flying, when it finally comes to the ground or whatever >it is running into, the helmet successfully protects the skull >(for the most part). It cannot, however, protect the brain >inside the skull from decellerating to crash against the skull. Helmets are designed to protect from penetration, abrasion, and acceleration. The shell does the first two, and the crushable foam liner does the third. The padding next to your head just keeps the helmet snugly on your head and helps make it comfortable. The crushable foam liner, which looks like Styrofoam, spreads the deceleration over a couple of cm. instead of letting it happen instantaneously. The net effect is that your brain gets, say, 100g for half a second instead of 1000g for a tenth of a second - *much* healthier. This is why we don't hang our helmets on sissy bars or other hard objects that will crush the foam - it only works *once*, then the liner has to be replaced.
gam@amdahl.UUCP (G A Moffett) (12/23/85)
In article <853@rlgvax.UUCP> beaver@rlgvax.UUCP (Sonar Warrior) writes: >You are not giving us all the facts. True, but there is only so much I know. The purpose of my article was a commentary on helmets, not a codified description of what happened to one of them. A summary of the accident will come later, but let me answer your questions regarding the helmet. > Did your helmet strike a non-movable object[?] I don't know details such as this. It could only have struck the car, and the dirt on the ground. > Was the face >shield made for your helmet? Yes. > What brand was it (helmet), was it approved by >DOT? or SNELL? or even SHCA? It was a Bell Professional, DOT and Snell `80 approved. It was about 1.5 years old, and had not been previously damaged. (It is retired from use now, of course). > Did you have your chin strap properly >secured and did your helmet fit correctly? Yes... > But if you got as bad >a head injury as I think you did, I'm surprised that you knew you drove >your bike that day! ... true (I hardly remember riding that day!), and I answer the previous question based on past history. -- Gordon A. Moffett ...!{ihnp4,cbosgd,hplabs}!amdahl!gam