I read this a week ago and pondered how to approach this topic in a thread without stirring the helmet debate pot. While its an important topic for us here on Pugski.com, its also one of the hot button topics that tends to get folks riled up.
Because its important, I decided to bring it up and ask that we raise the bar on helmet discussion.
So, this study says that helmets are a great safety mechanism for skull fracture, but it suggests that the type of severe head trauma that happens when one is wearing a helmet tends to be from a crazy bad crash. The implication is that we let our guard down when we feel we have that extra layer of protection.
That being said, I know of a handful of situations where someone had a neck injury that could have been compounded if the person had been wearing a helmet, but I know a whole lot more people who could have sustained severe head trauma if they had not been wearing a helmet. (I hope that came out correctly, sometimes it sounds clearer in my head than it does when I write it down)
From a personal standpoint, I have only gone skiing without a helmet a handful of times since I began wearing a helmet. While I don't feel like I'm a risk taker when wearing a helmet, but the handful of times I have gone without one, I am a bit more timid than usual.
Helmet Use is Associated with Higher Injury Severity Scores
Because its important, I decided to bring it up and ask that we raise the bar on helmet discussion.
So, this study says that helmets are a great safety mechanism for skull fracture, but it suggests that the type of severe head trauma that happens when one is wearing a helmet tends to be from a crazy bad crash. The implication is that we let our guard down when we feel we have that extra layer of protection.
That being said, I know of a handful of situations where someone had a neck injury that could have been compounded if the person had been wearing a helmet, but I know a whole lot more people who could have sustained severe head trauma if they had not been wearing a helmet. (I hope that came out correctly, sometimes it sounds clearer in my head than it does when I write it down)
From a personal standpoint, I have only gone skiing without a helmet a handful of times since I began wearing a helmet. While I don't feel like I'm a risk taker when wearing a helmet, but the handful of times I have gone without one, I am a bit more timid than usual.
Helmet Use is Associated with Higher Injury Severity Scores