That's why I got a full face for anytime I know I'll be on the highway...

 

Great, I just spent the bucks for two half helmets and after this thread I'll be getting FF.

 

Personally I had never even heard of the 14 mph thing until last week when I read the scientific article. Now you say you don't believe it. Just goes to show you there are 2 sides to the story. I only care about the facts, which is not wearing a more expensive helmet, but rather training, experience, and avoidance. Transportation riding is just that. It's not race track. cafe racers were designed for the race track, but look so racy that people want them for traffic, and then race. Full face helmets are right for the race track, not commuting. I hope this ignorant shift to full face helmets doesn't become law before I get to old to ride. I also hope the whole country doesn't fall for the tired old (and very untrue) story of all these brain dead people. Riding a motorcycle is a more dangerous life choice than some choices, but not as dangerous as some other choices. As those Fla stats show, helmets are not going to save us. Some people want more gear. Fine. Please don't make the rest of us do it.

 

I ride backward on my bike to aviod the issue!!!!

 

My full face chin bar saved my jaw on a head-on years ago....nuff said.

 

Sorry if I made myself unclear and put it down badly.
I don't say that I don't believe it (which would be trying to pass an opinion as a fact), I quote research that demonstrates scientifically that it isn't true.
You may find interesting reading the MAIDS.
http://www.maids-study.eu/
or at least the conclusions.
Helmets are studied to protect the head from the impact of a FALL, and that's the same at any speed.
If you crash into something, that's another thing entirely.


I also care about the facts. If I'd expected unavoidably to crash I wouldn't gear up: I just wouldn't ride.
Safety has two components: prevention and damage control.
A helmet is damage control. I'd rather not need it, and I'm totally, absolutely with you in saying that safety is not reducing your wounds when you crash, safety is NOT to crash.
But, I have enough personal experience to know it's not all in my hands. You can do everything right, and end up kissing the tarmac anyway, just because somebody else was so dork that nobody could prevent him from doing harm to somebody and, by blind bad luck, that somebody is you.
So, just in case, I also try to minimize possible damage. Within reasonable limits.
It doesn't add much, but my grandpa used to say (roughly translated from milanese dialect) that a dime is better than a kick in the ****.

What "reasonable" means, that should be up to one's choice.
Some won't be happy without full leather gear and protections, other are happy with a pair of goggles.

Well, again I agree with you about the abusrd tendence to try to "race" in traffic, and if you feel that way about cafe' racers, you should see what they do here with scooters and mopeds!
Freakin' psychos!
But it's not just a matter of racing. You are moving forward, facing forward. It's unavoidable that most of the impacts involve the forward area of the head. Add to this that, should you fall sideways, your instinct makes you turn your head to look where you are falling, and you get a pretty high chance of hitting the gorund in the stated area of the helmet.
Statistical findings corroborate theory: about one third of head impacts are in the face/jaw area.

Anyway on very hot climate, I go for half helmet myself. Can't stand the heat in a full face.

 

Great reply, 99octane, everything you said. To me, I just can't protect myself enough, and I can overprotect myself to the point of having less chance of avoiding an accident, not to mention spending a fortune I don't have. I'll worry about being comfortable and alert. What I wear should help me control the bike better, like gloves for gripping, boots that don't slip, glasses with excellent peripheral vision, and a 3/4 helmet to reduce wind noise.

I don't want to see any of those people happy with goggles, unless they at least have shorts also.

 

Funny how we all look at this from different points of view.Been riding since 62 and always felt safer without a skid lid.Especially over the years knowing how many bikers have been disabled and a few even died because of a helmet.Funnier still why these statistics never get published.Must be the people or Co's gathering the info(statistics) have something they are trying to sell.

 

I used to ask the same question too. Then earlier this year I had a rider in one of my Ride Like A Pro classes. He was talking about his accident that left him with a broken ankle. He went down at 70mph on the freeway in full leathers and a full face. He said he remembers hearing "Thunk, thunk, thunk, thunk" as he went tumbling. A passer by who stopped told him they saw his head bouncing like a ball between the pavement and the concrete barrier. His whole helmet was trashed, ALL OVER. Not an inch was spared. He was sore all over and had a broken ankle but other than that he was fine. He said the full face helmet saved his life. So I guess protection can work up to 70 mph. Even more if you watch those GPZ racers. On the other extreme, I know of a rider who was killed and the bike was not moving. We talked about this all the time when I was an MSF Rider Coach. Someone did the old "Hey Bubba, lemme sit on your bike and see how it is" thing. This rider straddled the bike without wearing a helmet, lost his balance, fell over and smacked his head on the pavement and died.

Now before anyone jumps on me about being the "safety taking away your right to choose police", I'm not. I'm just sharing what I know. There are a million stories in the naked city and yours may be different.

By the way, I own a full face, a 3/4 and a half-helmet. I wear the half helmet most of the time.

 

Not so much funny, as sad, that there are people who insist on misinforming new riders with these myths.

How many riders do you know of who were disabled or died because of a helmet.

(Free hint... in all the years of NASCAR, all the crashes, there has been ONE driver who was disabled or died because of his helmet)

Take all the time you need.

It's actually very understandable, there are no statistics because it doesn't happen.