Safe Speed Forums

A friend of mine was given a "prescription" for a British Waterways licence to cycle on canal towpaths.

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When I see an adult on a bicycle, I do not despair for the future of the human race. H.G. Wells
When I see a youth in a motor car I do d.c.brown

And gags in the reverse order . Numbers of brain cells are also found in reverse order , and in inverse proportion to the amount of logical arguments put out about road safety .In short ,those with least knowledge (IMHO) tend to shout loudest about road safety measures , that bare least effective . So , which camp are you in WEEPY ?

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lets bring sanity back to speed limits.
Drivers are like donkeys -they respond best to a carrot, not a stick .Road safety experts are like Asses - best kept covered up ,or sat on

I have to say I'm with you there dcb, although you used a word I haven’t heard of before

I bought a new motorbike helmet recently and it's got gouges in the top where I have walked into my up-and-over garage door, when it is up, which has nearly taken my head off. (Slight exaggeration - but not much).

Without the helmet on my old bald head I just pass underneath it, but with it on I was hacked like a hard-boiled egg being prepared for toasted soldiers!!!

It just goes to show how your 'take' dcb puts a completely different meaning on how easily it is for some to be fooled and fool the masses by simple, glib and ostensibly valid remarks IMHO. (As indeed many are!). As I re-read that I mean it to mean you are right, in case there was any doubt

But maybe there’s still more enlightenment I hadn't considered

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The views expressed in this post are personal opinions and do not necessarily represent the views of Safe Speed.
You will be branded a threat to society by going over a speed limit where it is safe to do so, and suffer the consequences of your actions in a way criminals do not, more so than someone who is a real threat to our society.

I was thinking about my many and varied bicycle crashes as a child, while running this evening. Crashing was my speciality and I was lucking to make it to 17 and get a car. In all the times I parted company with my bike, I don't think I banged my head once. Palms of hands, elbows, knees and even b*llocks on one occasion .

A triathlon coach I know said most cyclists bang their chins when they hit the ground, not the top of their head

If I wanted an example of "gratuitous offensiveness" I couldn't do much better than quote your post.



You, sir, are a living example of that aphorism.

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When I see an adult on a bicycle, I do not despair for the future of the human race. H.G. Wells
When I see a youth in a motor car I do d.c.brown

Sorry, Tone, unforgivable piece of showing off. "Proprioception is the sense of the relative position of neighbouring parts of the body". Like you can pick something up without looking at your hand because you know where your hand is.

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When I see an adult on a bicycle, I do not despair for the future of the human race. H.G. Wells
When I see a youth in a motor car I do d.c.brown

Well I couldn't even find it in the online dictionary dude! Maybe they are in the throws of adding it?

Thanks bud, I actually found that very interesting although I was a bit discoboliated (Ken Dodd).

Goodnight night owls

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The views expressed in this post are personal opinions and do not necessarily represent the views of Safe Speed.
You will be branded a threat to society by going over a speed limit where it is safe to do so, and suffer the consequences of your actions in a way criminals do not, more so than someone who is a real threat to our society.

And you - ??
I won't quote the number of times someone has found you out , or the number of times you've double posted ,or harangued others of doing so - so, whilst you do ( and don't admit to it) . I've just done what other members normally do - been polite ,and ignored it

If you want to live on a glass house DCB - DON'T THROW STONES - because there's many SS members prepared to throw them back .

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lets bring sanity back to speed limits.
Drivers are like donkeys -they respond best to a carrot, not a stick .Road safety experts are like Asses - best kept covered up ,or sat on

dcbwhaley, botach,

Please don't let this continue. Further posts of that nature will be split off, possibly away from the open forums.

Sorry Steve. In future I will share my jokes only with those who, like Big Tone, have a sense of humour

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When I see an adult on a bicycle, I do not despair for the future of the human race. H.G. Wells
When I see a youth in a motor car I do d.c.brown

How exactly is the fact that a helmet makes the head larger than our instinctive perception at all relevant to a collision situation. Are a significant proportion of accidents due to the cyclist trying to put their head near something, neglecting the additional size of the helmet? I don't think it is at all unreasonable to suppose that if a helmet is damaged in an "off" then the head would otherwise have borne the brunt.

There have been studies that show potential negatives of seatbelts and motorcycle helmets also, but the overwhelming weight of evidence points to their use being more likely to be of benefit than detriment. I would be interested to see the evidence against in this case cited, rather than just alluded to. If it were the accepted position that helmets were on the whole a good thing, would those opposed still be arguing against their mandated use?

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Regulation without education merely creates more criminals.

I didn’t think anyone was saying they are not of a benefit but that it would be nice to have hard proof and consider all the possible ramifications and drawbacks before they are foisted upon us. (Thoughts of speed cameras entering my mind).

If I may go back to what I mentioned about personal responsibly and education over legislation... I was always told by bikers who were older than me and lived through the time before compulsory helmet wearing, which I just missed, that the vast majority of bikers wore them anyway!

That’s my little gem of info, or maybe it's gossip, for today.

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The views expressed in this post are personal opinions and do not necessarily represent the views of Safe Speed.
You will be branded a threat to society by going over a speed limit where it is safe to do so, and suffer the consequences of your actions in a way criminals do not, more so than someone who is a real threat to our society.

It isn't relevant to the situation where the cyclist lands on his head or hits a vehicle with his head. But those are less common accidents. In the more common case where the cyclist simply falls over, often after loosing control in a corner, he usually takes the impact on his shoulder, instinctively raising his head so that it comes within an inch or two of the ground but does not contact the ground. Now give the cyclist in that situation a helmet which is several inches larger than the head and it will hit the ground, often with enough force to damage it. But the helmet has done nothing to save the head from injury.


If it could be shown that helmets reduced a significant risk to much lesser risk then yes. If it was merely shown that helmets merely reduced an already insignificant risk then no. And I would want them mandated for all road user not just cyclists.

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When I see an adult on a bicycle, I do not despair for the future of the human race. H.G. Wells
When I see a youth in a motor car I do d.c.brown

I would argue that if the forces are small enough for the cyclist to be able to prevent their head from hitting the ground by muscular force alone, then the forces transmitted through the helmet would be relatively insignificant. But, in a case where the forces were large enough for the cyclist to not be able to prevent their head from hitting the ground, then the helmet would definitely help.

In any case, wearing a helmet does tend to lessen the forces to the neck.

Admittedly, one way in which a helmet would be a liability is if it snagged on something, thereby suddenly preventing one's head from moving at the same speed as the rest of one's body

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Only when ideology, prejudice and dogma are set aside does the truth emerge - Kepler

I think there is a marked difference between motorbike and cycle helmets in that the weight of them could play a big part in safety. My current motorbike helmet feels like a lead weight compare to the cycle one. So if I came to a sudden stop, or acceleration, the potential energy would do my neck no good at all whereas it wouldn’t be nearly as bad with a cycle helmet.

I recall the terrible incident with Mr Gibney who was decapitated when he hit a car, (admittedly he was doing 100mph at the time which didn’t help).

Imagine how much worse whiplash would be in a car if you wore a motorcycle helmet? I could see it breaking your neck in some cases!

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The views expressed in this post are personal opinions and do not necessarily represent the views of Safe Speed.
You will be branded a threat to society by going over a speed limit where it is safe to do so, and suffer the consequences of your actions in a way criminals do not, more so than someone who is a real threat to our society.

For me it is terribly misleading to call a polystyrene box a "helmet". If we called them by the more accurate description of a "bump cap" then they wouldn't be seen as a panacea for all head injuries.



Racing drivers wear heavy helmets and I don't recall a broken neck amongst them. perhaps their heads are restrained in some way?

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When I see an adult on a bicycle, I do not despair for the future of the human race. H.G. Wells
When I see a youth in a motor car I do d.c.brown

Yes, they are more of a ‘bump cap’ but I think I may know why. I have a theory based on a fact.

I know it’s the polystyrene in motorcycle helmets which acts as the shock absorber and the shell is just to stop anything pointy or sharpy penetrating. Now for my theory..

Because you generally wouldn’t go as fast as a motorbike as you would on a bicycle you’re not likely to hit your head on something with anything like the same force on the hard sharp pointy bits, like curbs or a skip, which is going to warrant using a hard protective outer shell.

I think this is why they are built differently.

I think they would have to be. I know they have necks of steel but I can't see how they could resist the force, unless their head just hits the steering wheel or something and the helmet does its stuff.

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The views expressed in this post are personal opinions and do not necessarily represent the views of Safe Speed.
You will be branded a threat to society by going over a speed limit where it is safe to do so, and suffer the consequences of your actions in a way criminals do not, more so than someone who is a real threat to our society.

They all wear neck braces, which I imagine is as much to do with stopping their heads flopping around like a balloon in a breeze when cornering, braking and accelerating as much as stopping whiplash

My apologies to the forum ,but a joke is only funny for the first few times ,and there's a host of smilies to make it obvious .

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lets bring sanity back to speed limits.
Drivers are like donkeys -they respond best to a carrot, not a stick .Road safety experts are like Asses - best kept covered up ,or sat on

What injuries do they get when they crash in the Tour De France? They have some big crashes too.

Bike helmets just sit on the top of the head and are held on with a strap.But it looks to me like they are easily knocked off If you fell sideways, your temple would be vulnerable and the helmet doesn't look like it would help. A full face motorbike (that does hamper your peripheral vision) does cover the whole head and won't come off. it also keep your head warm and bugs out of your eyes .

It makes me laugh when I see a building site and some one is craning a 3 tonne concrete pipe into a trench with a 20 tonne excavator, and the guy in the trench has a hard hat on. Yer, that's help if the chain breaks