Poor helmet may have cost motorcyclist his life

[huff3r]

Soon it will be "Motor Cyclist at fault as headlight not on, driver couldn't see him"
or

"Failure to wear Hi-Viz causes rider to die when hit by 4WD"

Hardly. You are not making a distinction between the cause of the accident and the cause of the death. Both of the above are possible causes of accidents (although the real cause is inattention). The truck caused this accident.

The cause of death occurs after or during the accident, the blow that did the deed as it were. In this case a head injury, that potentially could have been prevented with better head protection.

The accident could have been prevented in a number of ways, however once the accident is occurring there are very limited ways to prevent the death occurring... eg, helmets, gear, hard objects on/around the road could all be changed. The cause of the accident should not be attributed to the cause of death, even if it did play a part.

They are seperate things yeah?

You can have an accident.. or not have one.
Once you have an accident you can then die... or not.

[FJRider]

Hardly. You are not making a distinction between the cause of the accident and the cause of the death. Both of the above are possible causes of accidents (although the real cause is inattention). The truck caused this accident.

Making such distinctions can be a blame chase starter ... if you are knocked off your bike. Resulting in your head making contact with a speed limit/advisory sign ... resulting in your death .... Is Transit NZ/ council then at blame for placing an object at the side of the road ... that caused a death .. ???

The truck caused the accident. The poor quality helmet contributed to the death.

Sue the Helmet manufacturer maybe .. ???

[oneofsix]

Making such distinctions can be a blame chase starter ... if you are knocked off your bike. Resulting in your head making contact with a speed limit/advisory sign ... resulting in your death .... Is Transit NZ/ council then at blame for placing an object at the side of the road ... that caused a death .. ???

The roadside furniture did and places like Western Aus have put considerable effort into improving it so it is less likely to whereas NZTA don't seem to want to in NZ.

This is getting too close to the WRB type threads now

[FJRider]

The roadside furniture did and places like Western Aus have put considerable effort into improving it so it is less likely to whereas NZTA don't seem to want to in NZ.

This is getting too close to the WRB type threads now

Transit will soon be required to paint all posts on signs with high viz paint schemes. That will fix it ...

[oneofsix]

Transit will soon be required to paint all posts on signs with high viz paint schemes. That will fix it ...

no we can't allow a simple fix like that, that will cause target fixation Only answer is to remove all signs and barriers, can't hit them if they aren't there

[FJRider]

no we can't allow a simple fix like that, that will cause target fixation Only answer is to remove all signs and barriers, can't hit them if they aren't there

But ... but ... but ...

It is obvious that there is less likelyhood of people hitting "things" that can clearly be seen Right ..

Or have I got it wrong ... again ..

[huff3r]

Making such distinctions can be a blame chase starter ... if you are knocked off your bike. Resulting in your head making contact with a speed limit/advisory sign ... resulting in your death .... Is Transit NZ/ council then at blame for placing an object at the side of the road ... that caused a death .. ???

The truck caused the accident. The poor quality helmet contributed to the death.

Sue the Helmet manufacturer maybe .. ???

You mean people might start making improvements to all aspects of road safety? Oh no, that would be terrible!

[FJRider]

You mean people might start making improvements to all aspects of road safety? Oh no, that would be terrible!

It would be better to raise the IQ level of all road users ... and would save more lives on the road than ANY other "Improvement" ...

Too easy ... ???

[Trade_nancy]

The use off the skimpy lid may well have killed him..but why was the crash so serious if he was approaching a roundabout with a truck counter-aproaching - wouldn't you slow to say 30kph and transit the curve with caution? If u did, the swerve to avoid the truck should cause you broken winkers and toes - not death. So maybe he was stoking it and planned a slick sweep around the curve. Truckie may have predicted a slower approach.

[duckonin]

The use off the skimpy lid may well have killed him..but why was the crash so serious if he was approaching a roundabout with a truck counter-aproaching - wouldn't you slow to say 30kph and transit the curve with caution? If u did, the swerve to avoid the truck should cause you broken winkers and toes - not death. So maybe he was stoking it and planned a slick sweep around the curve. Truckie may have predicted a slower approach.

This one has got it sorted... Many more should try..

[Oscar]

The use off the skimpy lid may well have killed him..but why was the crash so serious if he was approaching a roundabout with a truck counter-aproaching - wouldn't you slow to say 30kph and transit the curve with caution? If u did, the swerve to avoid the truck should cause you broken winkers and toes - not death. So maybe he was stoking it and planned a slick sweep around the curve. Truckie may have predicted a slower approach.

Good sense...on KB?
Wonders never cease...

[cheshirecat]

I used to work at the UK Transport Research Labs researching of all things motorcycle helmets. One of my Monday chores was to collate the new arrivals fresh from the weekends accidents. Fresh being relative as they were starting to pong a bit. No way would I ride with an open face especially pootling around town. Even on low speed (under 50Kph) contacts the fronts would fold in becoming quite efficient meat slicers.

[Oscar]

I used to work at the UK Transport Research Labs researching of all things motorcycle helmets. One of my Monday chores was to collate the new arrivals fresh from the weekends accidents. Fresh being relative as they were starting to pong a bit. No way would I ride with an open face especially pootling around town. Even on low speed (under 50Kph) contacts the fronts would fold in becoming quite efficient meat slicers.

I've got a bewdy scar on my top lip (so bad I grow a beard to cover it), from a 50km/h crash wearing a open face helmet.
Left my front teeth in the bonnet of a Vauxhall Viva, broke my jaw and split my lip so bad there was a gap up to the base of my nose...

[Road kill]

You can buy a DOT approved skull cap, which means it is legally approved for use in NZ (needs a little sticker on it still ...).

So the simple fact that the rider was wearing a skull cap does not mean it wasn't an approved helmet.

Show us one.

I've looked at heaps of em' and have yet to find even one that meets the AUS/NZ standards.

Not going to happen is it ?

[Road kill]

There is one problem with DOT standards. DOT standard approval is self policed.

Any manufacturer can decide on any testing regime they like, with any quality control system, and call their helmet DOT certified. There is no independent auditing or testing process.

So I could build a helmet tonight out of wood, and call it DOT certified.


The DOT certification is only as good as the trust you place in the manufacturer to comply with the standard.

Bull shit,,,,yet again.

There's an independent AUS/NZ testing company based in Sydney Australia and if any manufacturers helmet doesn't meet their standards it won't get AUS/NZ or DOT approval and also won't get their little stickers.