Wear a helmet

[Member 10617]

OK.. no laughing out loud.

Have any of you considered wearing a helmet when driving your open car? I'm not speaking of a racing helmet, but a modest motorcycle helmet.

I don't think I've ever seen anyone wear one, but that's in part because I think drivers think they will make it appear that they think they are race car drivers. And some think it will make them look foolish.

As far as I am concerned, those dorkey british driving caps look as foolish as anything. So a helmet wouldn't be much worse.

I don't claim that a helmet would save you in a serious wreck, but a helmet would certainly help protect your head in a minor accident.

Any thoughts?

 

[DNK]

Seen em wear them with them dinky Brooklands windshields

 

[71MKIV]

yeah,I've thought about it. My cranium feels very vulnerable sticking way above the windshield frame. If I go, I'm goin the whole hog. the aviator goggles and the half helmet.

 

[M_Pied_Lourd]

I personally would consider a helmet to be overkill and will likely not do much for you anyway......

The way I look at it, every time that I drive my TR on the open road, there is a risk....much more so than driving my daily driver. Will I let that prevent me from driving my TR's...never. I refuse to live with thoughts of "what if".... If I die driving any one of my TR's, then at least I will die happy.

Cheers,
Tush

 

[Member 10617]

My image is not my cranium sticking way above the windshield frame but banging into it....

Pied Lourd: Yes... I can understand your point. But he who crashes and walks away, lives to drive another day.

 

[TomMull]

That would be a good practice. Old roadsters are not very crash safe and don't even think about a rollover or that rigid steering column for that matter. In fact, wearing a helmet while driving any car would be a good idea. Had we done this from the beginning we would have saved a lot of air bag development costs. There are no air bags (that I know of) in race cars that regularly hit the wall, or each other at 200mph.
Unfortunately, this practice was not in the culture when these cars were built and it's not in the culture now. We are comfortable without helmets and it just isn't going to happen even in antique roadsters.
I do like the idea of aviator goggles and half helmets though. Sell the "cool look" rather that the safety? Perhaps there's an opportunity for someone to design a reasonably effective half helmet at an affordable price.
Tom

 

[GilsTR]

I would have to guess all of us driving a roadster have to think of safety every time we hit the starter button. Locally we do all possible to stay off the freeway...but realize there is some real danger on 2 lane roads too!
Probably the biggest safety item would be the addition of a roll bar with the 3 point harness...which none of here locally have done.
We do have the California Mille blow thru town every Spring.
https://www.californiamille.com/amicievents.html
And I have to say some of the roadster drivers wearing the old style half helmets with the gogles do look right cool.
But...in our warm Summer weather...not sure they would stay in use. Good food for thought. Gil NoCal

 

[LBCs_since_1988]

Oddly it's illegal in a lot of States to wear a helmet while driving a car on public roads. I believe the reasoning is that the helmet obstructs vision (but not on a motorcycle??? Go figure! )

 

[aeronca65t]

Yes, I actually have considered this, especially for faster, longer rides. In many ways it makes sense to me (just like wearing a helmet on a motorcycle).

I probably wouldn't wear a full helmet, but I think an equestrian helmet might not be bad.
Especially some of the ones that have a style sort of like baseball caps (see below).

 

[Tr3aguy]

Design one of those with a Triumph logo and create a whole new industry.
LOL

 

[Moseso]

I rode cycles for 30 years -- and learned to wear a helmet. It actually wasn't very common, even on cycles, when I started riding. After my first dump-the-bike incident (road rash on face, stitches in scalp, broken collarbone, minor concussion) I got serious about helmet use. In my third (last) dump-the-bike incident, I am certain that the hat saved me grievous injury or, perhaps, my life. I still had a minor concussion, but I know my head hit pretty hard, that time.

Yes, I think about it. No, I haven't done anything about it. I wonder if Minnesota is one of those places where it's illegal? Like everywhere else, Minnesota is certainly a place where wearing any kind of real motorcycle helmet would make you look weird -- at best.

 

[Geo Hahn]

I drive about half the year with just an aeroscreen on the TR3A -- like today por exemplo -- and upon arriving at my destination do sometimes do sometimes feel like I've cheated death again.

I have thoought about helmets but think they would look a bit pretentious if not goofy.

Years ago my opthalmalic surgeon (after repairing a retinal detachment) told me -- never do anything that requires wearing a helmet (and also stay off roller-coasters).

If the worst happens I suspect the helmet would be like the seat belt -- the difference would be an open casket vs a close casket.

 

[GilsTR]

i do remember my teenage years...back in the 60's...when a real good friend lost his cousin in a MG wreck...he was wearing his seat belt...but had NO roll bar. Yep...ground em to the shoulders! Gotta do the whole thing!
Thinking positive and being very careful. Gil NoCal

 

[TR3driver]

Never did plan on living forever ... and since I've got to go, I'd rather do it like "uncle jack" rather than in a hospital bed (or worse yet, a nursing home).

I wear a helmet only when it is absolutely required (on the autocross course).

 

[TomMull]

Never did plan on living forever ... and since I've got to go, I'd rather do it like "uncle jack" rather than in a hospital bed (or worse yet, a nursing home).

Helmets can protect against brain damage (hospital bed/nursing home?) as well as death. Sorry, Randall, I have tried not to butt in. Tom

 

[vagt6]

I have a full-face helmet that I wear when riding my motorcycle. It's an Arai and it was expensive, one of the best you can get. Full-face is the way to go, since the "Hurt Report" (e.g., a major study on motorcycle injuries and protective gear) tells us that about 40% of MC crash head injuries are to the lower face and jaw area (unless you're wearing a full-face helmet). Any other kind of helmet will not provide adequate protection.

To ride a motorcycle without a helmet is nuts. There's an enormous cost to the public associated with head/neck injuries from those who don't wear helmets. If you're in a crash without a helmet, it's a given that your head will be injured. <span style="text-decoration: underline">Everyone</span> ends up paying dearly for riders who don't wear helmets through increased insurance, medical and litigation costs. Thank goodness for mandatory helmet laws.

Fact is, even the best helmets are not very comfortable. There's a fair amount of wind noise which compels me to wear foam ear plugs always. You can't hear well with the lid closed or open. And, it can get very <span style="text-decoration: underline">hot</span> in warm weather, so sweat gets in the liner and smells, well, sweaty.

I wouldn't wear one in a car, just seems to cumbersome unless you're racing. I'd definitely wear it if I was racing, though.

Eye protection is something to consider when driving and LBC roadster, however. A good pair of approved safety goggles will save your eyeballs from insects and road debris, if any.

But a helmet in my roadster? Not for me, YMMV.

 

[TR3driver]

Sorry, Randall, I have tried not to butt in. Tom

No worries, Tom. You've got every bit as much right to express your opinion here as I do. Please feel free to "butt in" any time!

 

[TR4A_IRS]

Had we done this from the beginning we would have saved a lot of air bag development costs. There are no air bags (that I know of) in race cars that regularly hit the wall, or each other at 200mph.

Not really a commentary on whether we should wear helmets, or not, but I think the airbag question isn't really related.

Race cars (at least today) have full cages, racing seats, and, most importantly, racing harnesses. The harness negates the need for an airbag, because the driver is secured to his seat, and shouldn't be able to move close enough to the steering wheel to imapct it.

 

[MGTF1250Dave]

When I lived in Virginia I've worn a shorty helmet in the winter before, but is was to only to keep my head warm.

 

[TR3driver]

<span style="text-decoration: underline">Everyone</span> ends up paying dearly for riders who don't wear helmets through increased insurance, medical and litigation costs.

Actually, I believe the studies have shown that overall medical costs are actually lower for those not wearing helmets.

Funerals are cheap, compared to spending the rest of your life with a healthy brain in a broken body.

Helmets also interfere with your peripheral vision. I quit riding after hitting someone that I might have seen if I weren't wearing a full helmet.