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Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!akgua!mcnc!decvax!dartvax!scot
From: scot@dartvax.UUCP (Scot Drysdale)
Newsgroups: net.bicycle
Subject: Re: Helmet CAUTIONS - mirrors
Message-ID: <1526@dartvax.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 11-May-84 17:12:02 EDT
Article-I.D.: dartvax.1526
Posted: Fri May 11 17:12:02 1984
Date-Received: Sun, 13-May-84 07:15:58 EDT
References: <431@hocda.UUCP>
Organization: Dartmouth College
Lines: 27

<>
I have one of the early Bell bike helmets to which I added a mirror.  I once
had the kind that clipped onto my glasses on the end of a rigid wire.  It was 
a pain to put on and to take off for short trips.  Also, the owner of a bike 
shop asked me to visualize what would happen if I fell face first and the rigid
wire with the clip on the end popped off.  I decided that if it started next to 
my eye ....  I bought a mirror (I don't remember the brand) on the end of a 
flexible copper wire that I bent into a sort of double s-shape and slipped 
between the styrofoam and the shell of my helmet.  It stays put, but would be
easy to remove if I needed to remove it.  It is especially valuable for
commuting.  By turning my head slightly I can see everything behind me.  I 
don't bike without it.

As for horror stories about helmets, I was convinced by literature that said 
that some huge percentage (90%?) of all fatal bike accidents involve head 
injuries.  Personally I have had two serious accidents - I was run off of a 
country road onto a gravel shoulder and spun out, and I hit a California-style
lane divider reflector with similar results.  The second was my fault, but the
first would have been hard to avoid.  In both cases I ended up sliding on hip,
forearm, and side of helmet.  Considering the amount of clothing and skin taken
off of my hip and elbow, I was glad to have my head protected.  The styrofoam
was not crushed, so I probably would not have have been killed or brain-damaged,
but I was very glad to be wearing it.  (I probably should replace it, even 
though there was no visible damage except a few scratches.)
 
                               Scot Drysdale  (scot@dartmouth,
                               {decvax, cornell, linus}!dartvax!scot)