Interview #1

Ashley Gold is a Project Manager for the Injury Prevention and Research Center at The Children's Memorial Hospital in Chicago. She has been the Director of Safe Kids Chicago since 2001. Safe Kids is a global network of over 450 coalitions whose mission is to prevent unintentional childhood injury. Safe Kids Chicago, led by Children's Memorial, is a member of this global network and works at a local level with community partners to decrease injuries.

Do all helmets protect the same? Answer: All helmets do not protect the same. There are different helmets for different sports. Helmets are designed to protect your head in the event of a fall or a crash, and the crash dynamics differ depending on the sport that you are engaging in, thus the helmet designs are different. In addition to using the right helmet for the right sport, Safe Kids recommends using helmets that meet the Consumer Product Safety Commission standards. Further, if a helmet has been involved in a crash or shows obvious damage or extensive wear and tear, it should be replaced.

If you are an expert rider and never crash, why should you have to wear a helmet? Answer: Even expert riders are at the mercy of their environment. Other riders, vehicles, bumps, potholes, etc. can cause even the most experienced cyclist to crash. All adults should wear helmets as well as kids. Everyone!

Would a helmet protect a melon the same way it would protect your head? Answer: This is a tough one... The answer is maybe. Melons and heads are very different structures. We use melons to demonstrate what might happen if your head hit the pavement with a helmet vs. without a helmet. Sometimes injuries occur even when there aren't significant outward signs of damage like bleeding or cuts or scrapes. Traumatic brain injury is caused by when the brain hits the skull inside your head and suffers as a result of that. So really, there are TWO crashes: first, the skull hits the object or pavement, then the brain hits the skull. You can't really demonstrate that with a melon and a helmet. Your brain in its skull is more like jello in a jar than a melon. The helmet protects your brain from traumatic injury.

Can a helmet protect your face too? Answer: Some helmets have face protection features, but their primary goal is to protect your brain.

How often should you replace your helmet? Answer: You should always replace a helmet that you have outgrown or that doesn't fit properly, or that has been in a crash or is showing significant signs of wear and tear.

Interview #2

Randy Swart is director of the Bicycle Helmet Safety Institute. The Bicycle Helmet Safety Institute (BHSI) is the helmet advocacy program of the Washington Area Bicyclist Association. It grew out of WABA's Helmet Committee, whose members began testing helmets in 1974, and was set up as a separate program, still under WABA, in 1989. BHSI is a small, active non-profit that serves as a consumer advocacy program and a technical resource for bicycle helmet information. Its volunteers serve on the ASTM bicycle helmet standard committee and are active in commenting on standards of the Consumer Product Safety Commission.

Do all helmets protect the same? Answer: No, but they are close. Bike helmets sold in the US are designed to meet the CPSC standard (http://www.helmets.org/standard.htm). Some are more protective than the standard requires, but until Consumer Reports tests them and publishes another article you don't know which ones. Cheaper helmets are often better, since they are made with thicker and less dense foam that cushions the blow better. Seniors should look for that, since their brains are more easily damaged than kids. But the cheaper helmets have fewer and smaller vents.

If you are an expert rider and never crash, why should you have to wear a helmet? Answer: There is no such thing as an expert rider who never crashes. All bike riders crash eventually if they ride long enough--it's just part of riding on two wheels. We all need helmets.

Would a helmet protect a melon the same way it would protect your head? Answer: Yes, using a melon is a good way to show what happens in a crash, and much better than using your own head. But inside your skull is a sensitive and easily damaged brain that is more like jello than the inside of a melon. If you damage it, your whole life may be changed. You can't really judge the impact protection of a helmet. That is why standards and lab testing are so important.

Can a helmet protect your face too? Answer: Yes, if it has a chinbar like the ones on motorcycle and lacrosse helmets. (http://www.helmets.org/fullface.htm). Most bike helmets protect the upper part of the face from the nose up because they stick out far enough from the head to keep the forehead from hitting. They do not protect your chin, teeth or nose. They do not protect the rest of your body. That's why it is so much better to be careful and not crash than it is to crash in a helmet!

How often should you replace your helmet? Replace if you crash and hit it. The foam won't work as well a second time. Replace when you get tired of it and don't want to wear it any more or it gets too grungy. Replace after five years or so if it has not been crashed. We have a page up on that: (http://www.helmets.org/replace.htm). And of course, replace if somebody invents a much better helmet--but that has not happened recently.

Interview #3

Isidoro Topete is a youth bicycle building, riding and safety instructor for West Town Bikes in Chicago. He teaches kids how to build and repair their own bikes, and how to ride them safely. Izzy works through after school and summer programs at Chicago Public Schools and other organizations that serve Chicago's youth. West Town Bikes is a community bicycle learning workshop that offers bicycle mechanics classes, youth education programs, and special events. West Town Bikes is one of Chicago's largest youth bicycling education organizations.

Do all helmets protect the same?  Answer: Helmets come in a variety of types and sizes and all cover different applications from weekend rider helmets up to oversized track racer helmets. The protection really depends on the type size and fitment of the helmet.

If you are an expert rider and never crash, why should you have to wear a helmet?  Answer: There is no such thing as an expert who will never crash. You can be a confident rider, but you never really know if and when you might be involved in an accident.

Would a helmet protect a melon the same way it would protect your head?  Answer: A helmet should be able to do its job no matter what you put in it, if it can protect a fragile brain then it should be able to handle a melon.

Can a helmet protect your face too?  Answer: Sure I've been involved in a crash where my helmet protected my face. It was the rim of the helmet that kept my face from smashing with the car.

How often should you replace your helmet?  Answer: Helmets should really be replaced yearly just as you would pay for car insurance every year it would be wise to pay your brain insurance and invest in a good helmet every year and if you get into an accident replace that helmet as soon as possible as it has already done its job. One helmet per year or per crash is a safe approach.

Links to my experiment:

Django's 2nd Grade Science Experiment
Images