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Helmet - Protects or Kills???

Helmet, Protects or Kills???

Statistics on road accidents
India has one of the highest rates of motorcycle injuries. Of the victims classified as "severely injured", nearly 76 per cent sustain head injuries, roughly 25 times higher than that in developed countries. A Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) can lead to a range of problems-from mild concussion to paralysis, from personality changes to even coma. Because the brain cannot heal itself the way other organs do, an injury is often a lifelong problem. Each year about 2 percent of motor vehicle crash deaths are bike riders. In a majority of bicyclist deaths, the most serious injuries are to the head, highlighting the importance of wearing a bicycle helmet. Helmet use has been estimated to reduce head injury risk by 85 percent. Eighty-four percent of bicycle deaths are persons aged 20 and older.  This indicates that helmets are important for riders of all ages, not just young bike riders.

More than death, the count for disability due to head injury is burden for oneself and also for the family dependents. You always need a helmet wherever you ride. You can expect to crash in your next 4,500 miles of riding, or may be much sooner than that! Even a low-speed fall from a bike ride can scramble your brains.

Whom should you blame???·       
Bad road·       
Poor traffic management·       
Over speeding·       
System of advertisement hooding on roads·       
Inefficient governance

All the above factors are compounding to death and disability. We cannot change it over night, but we definitely need a change!!! The change begins with oneself!!! When we don’t care for ourselves, how do we expect others to care for us??? Protect yourself by taking proper safety measures.

Motorcyclists are advised to check their bikes, equipment, suspension as well as tyre pressure at regular intervals. If the helmet is not up to standards, a poor fit, old or has been through a previous accident, it's not considered safe enough and may not prevent death, brain damage or other serious injury.

What is the feel of the people on wearing helmet???
Abhinav, a marketing person says ‘wearing helmet throughout the day causes huge hair loss in a very short period of time’.
Prathibha,who works for a private company says ‘helmet blocks my side vision and I find difficulty while driving with a fully covered helmet’.
Raghav, who works for an IT company says ‘I wear helmet when I drive long distance, but do not prefer wearing helmets when I drives for short distance’.
Varun, a final year college student says ‘for me, carrying helmet is the biggest problem! In some parking areas, they do not allow to hang helmets along with the bikes because of the lack of security’.
Chandrasekar,a common man says ‘as a family we travel in a bike and I definitely cannot imagine all my family members wearing a helmet and travelling in a single bike’.Most of them wear helmet because of the rule without understanding the need for it!!!

Why Wear Helmets??? 
Helmets bring down the severity of brain injury, skull fractures and neurological disabilities after an accident. The risk of death is nearly 2.5 times more among riders without helmets. There is no evidence that motorcycle helmets increase the risk of neck injuries. But a range of studies shows how they reduce the risk of facial injuries by two-thirds. It helps to bear in mind that even those who wear helmets are likely to sustain non-penetrative injuries to the front of the head, damaging parts of the brain responsible for speech and higher functions. Those without helmets are anyway susceptible to penetrative brain injury and soft tissue damage. 

How Does a Helmet Work?
A helmet reduces the peak energy of a sharp impact. This requires a layer of stiff foam to cushion the blow. Most bicycle helmets use crushable expanded polystyrene (EPS), the picnic cooler foam. It works well, but when crushed it does not recover. Expanded polypropylene (EPP) foam does recover, but is much less common. Collapsible plastic liner materials recently appeared and offer promise. The spongy foam pads inside a helmet are for comfort and fit, not for impact protection.The helmet must stay on your head even when you hit more than once-usually a car first, and then the road, or perhaps several trees on a mountainside. So it needs a strong strap and buckle. The helmet should sit level on your head and cover as much as possible. Above all, with the strap fastened you should not be able to get the helmet off your head by any combination of pulling or twisting. If it comes off or slips enough to leave large areas of your head unprotected, adjust the straps again or try another helmet. Keep the strap comfortably snug when riding. The straps hold your helmet on, not the rear stabilizer.

A Buyer's Guide to Bicycle Helmets
1.     Ensure that to buy an original branded helmet
2.     Ensure that you buy a right size helmet which fits your head right.
3.     Make sure your helmet fits to get all the protection you are paying for. A good fit means level on your head, touching all around, comfortably snug but not tight. The helmet should not move more than about an inch in any direction, and must not pull off no matter how hard you try.
4.     A light weight helmet will be more comfortable to use and importantly it prevents neck pain which is more common among people who use heavy helmets.
5.     Keep your helmet clean and dry6.     Pick white or a bright colour for visibility.

Avoid:·       
No use of wearing a helmet if you don’t strap it right.·       
Fixing cell phone inside helmet and speaking over phone·       
Listening to songs while driving·       
Avoid a helmet with snag points sticking out, a squared-off shell, inadequate vents, excessive vents, an extreme "aero" shape, dark colours, thin straps, complicated adjustments or a rigid visor that could snag or shatter in a fall.

Comfort Requirements
Coolness, ventilation, fit and sweat control are the most critical comfort needs. Air flow over the head determines coolness, and larger front vents provide better air flow. Most current helmets have adequate cooling for most riders. Sweat control can require a brow pad or separate sweatband. A snug fit with no pressure points ensures comfort and correct position on the head when you crash. Weight is the main issue for bike riders on Indian roads.

What Type do I Need?
Most bike helmets are made of EPS foam with a thin plastic shell. The shell helps the helmet skid easily on rough pavement to avoid jerking your neck. The shell also holds the foam together after the first impact. Some excellent helmets are made by molding foam in the shell rather than adding the shell later.Beware of gimmicks. You want a smoothly rounded outer shell, with no sharp ribs or snag points. Excessive vents mean less foam contacting your head, and that could concentrate force on one point. "Aero" helmets are not noticeably faster, and in a crash the "tail" could snag or knock the helmet aside. Skinny straps are less comfortable. Dark helmets are hard for motorists to see. Rigid visors can snag or shatter in a fall. Helmet standards do not address these problems--it's up to you!

When Must I Replace a Helmet?
Replace any helmet if you crash. Impact crushes some of the foam, although the damage may not be visible. Helmets work so well that you need to examine them for marks or dents to know if you hit. Most manufacturers recommend replacement after five years. We think that depends on usage, and many helmets given reasonable care are good for longer than that. But if your helmet was made before 1990, it's time to replace it. Replace the buckle if it cracks or a piece breaks off. No one requires you to replace your helmet, so give it some individual thought.

What is the truth???
Helmet protects or kills???
The average careful bike rider may still crash about every 4,500 miles. Head injuries cause 75% of our nearly 700 annual bike deaths. Medical research shows that bike helmets reduce or prevent most of the bike riders head injuries. If you use a proper helmet along with a properly maintained vehicle, drive with a safe speed, no doubt helmet saves life. Protect yourself before blaming others. When you don’t care about yourself, how can you expect others to care???

Be wise, be safe, reverse your actions and act smart.
Use helmet, live long!!! 

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