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Path: utzoo!watmath!kwlalonde
From: kwlalonde@watmath.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.cycle
Subject: Re Hit face first?
Message-ID: <8309@watmath.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 11-Jul-84 06:47:09 EDT
Article-I.D.: watmath.8309
Posted: Wed Jul 11 06:47:09 1984
Date-Received: Wed, 11-Jul-84 07:06:09 EDT
Sender: kwlalonde@watmath.UUCP
Organization: U of Waterloo, Ontario
Lines: 37

Subject: Re Hit face first? : net.cycle

> Its been my experience (direct, and of friends) that you dont usually
> hit the front side of the head directly, but rather the top or sides,
> which (if you believe helmets work over 25mph) open or closed face
> helmets provide the same protection.
>>a.nguyen       houxm!hou2h!an
>>Pure coincidence!   When you're merrily tumbling along at 60 mph,
>>tell me you have great control over what part of your anatomy will
>>contact the macadam first.   Even if you have enough presence of
>>mind, fast enough reflexes, and fine enough motor control to direct
>>your ear to go in first, the laws of physics might just reward you
>>with a broken neck or a broken shoulder.

I never said anything about "controlling" where you impact, just that
probabilities favour "the front of the head" in a "direct" hit.
The front of the head (ie: face) is a small part of your total body area
combined with arms and legs thrashing about and getting in the way
why should it be just "pure coincidence" that the face lucks out in a lot
of cases???
The argument was about full-face protection, not helmets in general
if you were just a head rolling along, and assuming a roughly cubic
geometry, and assume the side that conects to your neck doesnt exist,
that leaves front,back,left,right,top
open-helmets cover the back,left,right,top leaving as I said before
the game of "playing the odds".
Broken neck/shoulder? EXACTLY!!!! injuries at high speeds seem to be
anything but damaging to your nose-job.  (Wanna hear argument about the
weight of helmets making neck injuries worse? or the first person at the
scene removes your helmet first thing AND CAUSING the neck injury from
their own stupidity??)

            - Ken Dykes
              Software Development Group, University of Waterloo
              Waterloo, Ontario, Canada.  N2L 3G1
              watmath!watrose!watbun!kgdykes