Regardless of sport or application. My youngest son thought he could get away without his helmet for a few minutes (against Mom and Dads wishes, yes.. we make all our kids where them).
Tried to bunny hop his little razor scooter and the wheel turned on him. Don't think it won't happen. If you have young kids, go ahead and show them this is what happens.
He's fine, just scrapped up pretty good with a cut lip.
glad he's ok... hopefully a lesson learned
ATGATT but even so... they are ingenious at finding ways to injure themselves. My son (then 4yr old) was ramming the front wheel of his bike into a sheetrock wall that held gardening tools and a big axe on a pegboard. The pegboard fell on him. The helmet did protect his melon from falling implements but apparently you put your hands up to protect it yourself anyway. He has nine good fingers left.
Glad your little guy got away with it this time although that looks really sore.
I'll bet he won't forget the lesson, though...
Yep. Glad your son is okay and hopefully this is a relatively low-pain learning experience. Razor scooters are supposed to be one of the most common vehicles kids injure themselves on.
Back when I was an invincible high-school student, I had a little while I was cycling without a helmet. I took a spill on black ice in a parking lot which rattled me but probably saved me from spilling at high speed. Since then, I have always worn a helmet while biking.
I too always wear a helmet when riding... at age 40.
of course, my worst bicycling accident wouln't have been helped by an helmet.. took a car bumper to the mouth and broke my two front teeth.. at least you can't tell they are capped
I am a mountain biker and I ALWAYS wear a helmet even around town and commuting. If it wasn't for helmets (plural), I wouldn't be typing this right now.
It really bothers me when people say stuff like "I don't do anything dangerous I don't need a helmet." I bet those same people wear seat belts when they aren't wheel to wheel racing.
honestly, when you are not "doing anything dangerous" (Riding a bicycle with traffic zooming by three feet from you is not dangerous?) is when you are most likely to get hurt as you are not on 100% defensive
In reply to Grtechguy:
buy vitamin e capsules, break them open and put the oil on those facial scrapes. it will minimize scarring. one of my cousins went face-first through a windshield, did the vitamin e oil while healing and the scars were almost invisible.
In reply to Salanis: Low speed bike crash can be just as bad as high speed when it comes to the head - I suffered a concussion a year ago in a fall in my road bike that happened at about 2 mph, and I was wearing a good helmet at the time.
Lesson learned. Sometimes its better to get scrapes and bruises rather than worse later. Bet he'll wear his helmet from now on.
N Sperlo wrote: Lesson learned. Sometimes its better to get scrapes and bruises rather than worse later. Bet he'll wear his helmet from now on.
hope so... hope he isn't so stubborn that he points out that the cuts and abrasions are on his face not where his helmet would have protected him
better cuts and scrapes than broken bones and stitches
And no.. a properly worn helmet would have protected his forehead, around his eye, and cheek due to the overhang of the helmet on his head
N Sperlo wrote: Lesson learned. Sometimes its better to get scrapes and bruises rather than worse later. Bet he'll wear his helmet from now on.
Understand, but this particular situation was biking to school and pulled into a parking lot to adjust something on the bike. Hit black ice and went pretty much strait down as the bike went sideways. Got a ride to school from a friend. Next patch of black ice I saw was a spot I normally did 30+, with a bunch of big rocks on the right, and speeding cars on the left.
I'm glad I went down where I didn't need to deal with sharp corners or multi-ton vehicles. The equivalent of a burly guy smacking me in the face with a phone book was bad enough. The side of my face was tingly and I wasn't sure I didn't have a concussion. But I did not get knocked unconscious and spit into 50+mph traffic.
In reply to Salanis:
Your guardian angel dumped that black ice there. 
N Sperlo wrote: In reply to Salanis: Your guardian angel dumped that black ice there.
No E36 M3. I managed to hit the one spot of black ice before the bad section, and only did because I decided to adjust a piece of equipment on my bike.
Poor guy. All your gear, all the time.
I am constantly harping on my kids to put on their gear. Unfortunately it takes an accident like this for them to realize we know what we are talking about.
I bet he's good about his helmet after this...
mad_machine wrote: better cuts and scrapes than broken bones and stitches And no.. a properly worn helmet would have protected his forehead, around his eye, and cheek due to the overhang of the helmet on his head
didn't realize bike helmets actually protected that much of the noggin .... haven't ridden a bike in many yrs.... 30 + ?? something like that.....
my helmet has a good 3/4 of an inch overhang around the temples and more in the front as a sort of visor. If worn right, it would keep all those areas from taking the brunt of the impact..
Kids helmets seem even "bigger" as they have pads inside for growth.. so they probably have an inch overhang all around
Ouch. Unfortunately the school of hard knocks strikes again. Then again those are the only lessons I remember from childhood. Glad he learned it at 3mph on a scooter instead of 50mph on a motorcycle.
I also want to add... seems that most kids wear their helmets too far back.. leaving their forehead fully exposed
Full face BMX / motocross helmets offer better face protection and look cooler than the big foam mushrooms (IMO).
As a kid I think I would have been much more willing to wear something like this: http://www.justforbikes.net/Bell-2009-Bellistic-Mountain-Bike-DownhillBMX-Helmet_i1021
Plus, I could pretend I was an Imperial Tie Fighter Pilot. Pew pew.....
Chicks dig scars.
Appleseed wrote: Chicks dig scars.
His pride is the biggest thing hurt. He was still moping around last night which isn't like him.
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