helmets increase danger
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From: Nick Finnigan on 27 Apr 2010 18:35 Peter Clinch wrote: > Nick Finnigan wrote: > >> Nobody drives faster (other than when cornering) if they get a car >> with better brakes and better handling. Hardly anyone would corner >> faster. > > I do... How much does your peak speed increase in free moving traffic on a straight road with a 30mph limit in a car with better handling? Why?
From: Derek C on 28 Apr 2010 01:06 On Apr 27, 6:36 pm, JMS <jmsmith2...(a)live.co.uk > wrote: > On Tue, 27 Apr 2010 09:16:56 +0100, Peter Clinch > > <p.j.cli...(a)dundee.ac.uk> wrote: > >Derek C wrote: > > >> So you have a 75% chance of being buried in an avalanche without being > >> killed by the initial trauma then. Sounds like good odds to me, if the > >> safety equipment allows you to be dug out alive! > > >But a great many of those 75% die from asphyxiation before being > >rescued. The odds are never good in avalanches, as with bike crashes > >the best defence, by several orders of magnitude, is don't be in one. > > Alternatively you could use extra safety equipment. > > Oh - hang on - won't that mean that you will take even further risks - > you know, the same sort of thing with extra risks you take when > wearing a cycle helmet > > -- The type accident of accident on a bike I worry about most is being struck by an overtaking or following vehicle. Maybe I am statistically unlucky, but this has already happened to me twice, once on a push bike and once on a motorbike. As I have no control over the actions of overtaking or following vehicles, my behaviour, risky or otherwise, makes no difference. Derek C
From: Daniel.Dignam on 28 Apr 2010 03:13 On Apr 28, 6:06 am, Derek C <del.copel...(a)tiscali.co.uk> wrote: > > The type accident of accident on a bike I worry about most is being > struck by an overtaking or following vehicle. Maybe I am statistically > unlucky, but this has already happened to me twice, once on a push > bike and once on a motorbike. As I have no control over the actions of > overtaking or following vehicles, my behaviour, risky or otherwise, > makes no difference. I've been hit 3 times by overtaking vehicles, each time it was their wing mirror, twice on the shoulder by the mirrors of SUV's, and once on the handle bars by an ordinary saloon. My other accident which resulted in a trip to hospital was my fault for cycling in the dooring zone, I now live with the harassment dolled out by inconsiderate drivers who think I should continue to cycle in the dooring zone. I cycle about 6K a year on average, and mostly wear a helmet these days, although I do find the added wind noise troubling as it removes one of the more important senses..... -- Dan
From: Peter Clinch on 28 Apr 2010 04:35 Nick Finnigan wrote: > Peter Clinch wrote: >> Nick Finnigan wrote: >> >>> Nobody drives faster (other than when cornering) if they get a car >>> with better brakes and better handling. Hardly anyone would corner >>> faster. >> >> I do... > > How much does your peak speed increase in free moving traffic on a > straight road with a 30mph limit in a car with better handling? Why? But that isn't the only option from your first assertion, so it's not reasonable to put your new, narrower goalposts down now. Driving a better handling car along, say, the A93 between Spittle and Braemar (which is tremendous fun, a sort of tarmac rollercoaster) there's plenty where you can't get anywhere close to the legal limit, but I'll get closer to it in a better car. Because I can, because it's fun. Pete. -- Peter Clinch Medical Physics IT Officer Tel 44 1382 660111 ext. 33637 Univ. of Dundee, Ninewells Hospital Fax 44 1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK net p.j.clinch(a)dundee.ac.uk http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/
From: Peter Clinch on 28 Apr 2010 04:41
Derek C wrote: > The type accident of accident on a bike I worry about most is being > struck by an overtaking or following vehicle. Maybe I am statistically > unlucky, but this has already happened to me twice, once on a push > bike and once on a motorbike. As I have no control over the actions of > overtaking or following vehicles, my behaviour, risky or otherwise, > makes no difference. That's very, very wrong. You actually /can/ have a large amount of control over following and overtaking vehicles through effective use of road positioning. You should get yourself a copy of Cyclecraft and get reading. And/rr get some cycle training. Incidentally, while my personal opinion is that the research was a fair start but hardly conclusive, one researcher has done practical experimentation with closeness of passing by overtaking vehicles. And one of his findings was that cars passed closer on average when he was wearing a helmet than when he didn't. So if that really does hold water you're at more risk of being rear-ended /because/ you're wearing your helmet, and thus behaving in a way that increases your risk... Pete. -- Peter Clinch Medical Physics IT Officer Tel 44 1382 660111 ext. 33637 Univ. of Dundee, Ninewells Hospital Fax 44 1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK net p.j.clinch(a)dundee.ac.uk http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/ |