Helmet use 'studies'

[PeteSC]

I had a dirt road 'incident' last week on my DR650 in Colorado.
 It was totally my fault.

  I was tired, and sore....and dropping down a very steep, twisty, dirt road with some gravel on it.
  To stretch, I stood up on the pegs.  (Kind of dumb, since the bars I had on at the time weren't really high enough to allow me much variety of positions...standing.  I was kind of forced to lean over the bars when standing....doing the obvious thing to front/rear weight bias.)
  I must have used too much front brake....and was launched at about 15 mph.
  It happened pretty quickly....I found myself sprawled on the road......scraped up.....somewhat twisted ankle, and the bike still running, crossways across the road.
   I shut it off, and surveyed the damage.  Not too bad......scraped up plastic......and some slightly mangled handlebars.
    I was a little sore, bleeding, but not too bad.  (The embarassment was much worse.......)
  I had about 40 miles to ride back to the campground I was staying at.
   After righting the bike, I coasted to the bottom of the hill, looked it over a bit more carefully....and rode it home.

  Later that night, a guy who was camping with me on this trip pointed out the major scrapes on the side of my helmet...including the extreme side of the face shield.  (Outside my field of vision)
  At the time of the dump, I had reached around the back of the helmet to feel for gouges or scrapes....didn't feel any....
 It was a modular helmet.....and I had flipped up the front after I stood up, and didnt' take it off until I got back to the campground.
     Since head injuries, even fairly minor ones, can be so crippling, or fatal....I'll keep wearing a helmet, and encourage others to.
    A helmet isn't going to do me much good if I slide into a guardrail or bridge abutment at 100 mph, or a car parks on top of me.   It will protect me in the more minor stuff that is more likely to happen.

  Oh yeah, I was wearing a new CLMAX modular helmet.  It was hot, and I had just considered taking my jacket off, (But didn't).     With the jacket off, I would have had a lot more road rash.......

  Wear your stuff.  Wear COMFORTABLE stuff.   Don't be tempted to take it off if it's hot.
  There's nothing that will protect you totally in major crashes.
  There is stuff that will protect you in the more minor crashes, or limit the injuries.
    My goal is to not screw up, not get hurt much if I do....and be in good enough shape to stand up, dust myself off and get underway again before somebody sees my dumbarse......

[Oldschooler]

I've been working crashes for 17 years. I can see both sides of the helmet issue, but I wear one based off what I have observed.

Most of the fatalities (on bikes anyway) were guys who had a new bike less than 6 months or so. By new I mean not only the beginner but also the guy whose been riding 20 years but has a new bike, one he's not so used to. This would include those on stolen bikes.

Those that were killed who were wearing helmets involved very high or to high of a speed for the roadway they were on. Those who died with no helmets were mostly traveling at 30mph or less. Most everyone not wearing a helmet who crashed at anything higher than that were D.R.T. (Dead Right There).

The problem is your body can withstand some pretty bad trauma. Your head on the other hand doesn't do so well. I've been to many an autopsy in which the rider with no helmet had no life ending injuries other than the knock on the head they got. Some were just that too, a knock, could hardly tell they had an injury.

Okay that’s my two cents, 17 years of dead motorcyclists.

Just my personal opinion

Have fun ride safe