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Why should you wear a helmet?TweetI was prompted to write this article because of an online discussion of helmet laws. A lot of people in the US are riled up about helmet laws. It seems that quite a few states are now even going to overturn the laws on mandatory wearing of a motorcycle helmet. This is a thorny issue, and I am not going to express myself for or against these laws. What I do want to make clear are some of the facts surrounding the wearing of a helmet. The debate seems to concern the infringement of a motorcyclist's rights to choose whether he should wear a helmet or not. There is no clear winner here - and there cannot be. In the debate of personal freedom versus public safety, there can never be a clear line. There are misconceptions out there, such as the opinion I saw that the pressure to make wearing a helmet mandatory is a ploy by the insurance companies...Even given that that were true, it would seem that they do so to mimimise payments after accidents, and hence gives credence to the argument that it should be mandatory. Enough of that. The debate will be interesting to follow. Both sides have valid points. It is undeniable that riding a motorcycle without a helmet is a lot of fun. You have the wind in your hair, and you feel even closer to the scenery than with a helmet. Yet I wear a helmet everywhere I go. Why? That is what I will try to clear up now. First, we will look at what makes a helmet work, and what controversy there is surrounding this subject. Then, we will look at some of the studies done on the efficacy of helmets in preventing head and neck injuries.
The three visible safety devices on the helmet are the outer shell, the inner padding and the chin-strap. The outer shell covers the impact-absorbing liner and is your first line of defence. Although it is fairly hard, it will compress under impact, thus ensuring that some of the energy of the impact is dispersed. This is the primary function of the helmet - to make sure that as much of the shock as possible is used to break the helmet, and not your head. This is also where some of the controversy starts, but more on that on the next page.
The liner is usually made of a common substance - polystyrene. The same stuff that is used in boxes for fragile items is also used to keep your head from breaking. After the outer shell has hit the pavement, your head still has a lot of momentum left, and having it stop too quickly could have fatal consequences. The impact-absorbing liner's must absorb all that momentum and does this by both compressing and breaking apart. This is why a helmet should be replaced after any crash. The shell may just have a scratch or two, but the liner could be destroyed and unable to offer any real protection.
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