I believe Dale Earnhardt hit a cement wall, head on at about 140 mph. Not good, no matter what you are driving or wearing.



Okay I looked it up and it says "There is no evidence of injuries to the neck bones":

From the report summary:


What killed Dale Earnhardt?

The blow to the head most likely occurred as a result of contact between the left occipital region and the right side of the steering wheel during the wall impact or between the occipital (the occipital bone forms the back part of the skull) region and vehicle structure on rebound from that impact. A sequence of complex body motions during the initial impact with the No. 36 car (Ken Schrader) prepositioned the body and head to the right and slightly rearward, immediately prior to and nearly simultaneous with the wall impact. The body and head then moved in response to both impacts, first generally rightward and then generally forward. The helmet was displaced forward on the head, the left lap belt separated, and the relatively exposed area of the left head severely impacted the right side of the steering wheel or, on rebound, the posterior region of the head impacted the interior structure behind and left of the driver seat.


Did "head whip" kill Earnhardt?

It is unlikely that Dale Earnhardt's basilar skull fracture was caused by "head whip" or an impact to the chin. While it is possible that neck tension and torsion at the time of the blow to the head contributed to the basilar skull fracture, it is not likely that 'head whip' alone caused the fracture. There is no evidence of injuries to the neck bones, ligaments or muscles that would be expected in association with basilar skull fractures caused by head whip. Basilar skull fractures are not usually ascribed to head whip when there is evidence of significant other blows to the head (such as here).

 

They will if you are wearing Flip Flops.

 

It doesn't matter what it looks like to others, what matters is that it will protect not only your head, but also your face. I have a friend that had a full face on when a deer clipped his front end on a mountain road and through him off and into a rock formation cut out of the side of the mountain.

Needless to say, his broken bones healed fine, and the helmut was a total write off. If he wasn't wearing his full face, he likely been dead from his heading hitting the rock wall. I've also seen the results of a person going down with a half lid, and half their face slid on the pavement...not a pretty sight with road rash, no teeth and a busted jaw.

I wear a half lid when putting around town, and often wear my full face FXRG helmut when pushing hard in the twisties or riding in crappy weather on long hauls. It's a great fitting helmut, is built with lightweight carbon fibre and doesn't restrict vision much at all. I have a smoked shield and nobody can see my face when the shields down so really, who cares?

It's your head you're protecting. Wear what you are comfortable with and don't worry what it looks like! When I see a guy with a full face, I always think there's a guy who's concerned about safety and personally I think their smart for sticking that way. Ask any guy who runs at the track and they'll all tell you the same thing, especially if they made the hundred mph club and kissed the pavement at the bottom end of the track.

Not too many people around that can say the same without a lid at 100 mph. Most are organ donors if they ever "Hit" their head on concrete at speed, if not their likely vegatative. No flame intended to those who don't wear lids! I wear one 99% of the time and have no issues!

 

Are you the guy in the Drunk Riding commercial with his full face helmet full of beer?

 

WTF,Where do they come from? lol

 

I've seen that guy, I keep wondering if I could try that.

This thread has given me (new rider) some food for thought, so it wasn't completely worthless after all.

 

Question answered....next topic

 

Who flipping cares what a person wears for a helmet! Wear what your most comfortable wearing and enjoy the ride! Safe rides!

 

>> is it that bad to wear a full face helment on a street glide

..... now, if I were an SG rider, i'd be quite upset w/this post. Not because he was asking a question about helmets, that's cool, helmets are important (i've got 3). I'd be upset because of the fact that by wondering if a particular helmet would make him look dorky on his Street Glide, he's inferring that the Street Glide is the acknowledged poseur ride ...... and he's not wanting to mess w/the pose by using an inappropriate head gear.

..... if yer worried that your ride's cool factor will be affected by yer helmet, the real issue is that you just don't have enough chrome.


ps: i liked that idea for the MOCO color matched head fairing.
pps: FLTR, the Anti-Poseur

 

dude, really. ff is ok, just don't wear a kilt.