Re: Helmet efficacy test

On 3/31/2025 8:54 PM, AMuzi wrote:

On 3/31/2025 7:43 PM, John B. wrote:

On Mon, 31 Mar 2025 18:42:12 -0400, Frank Krygowski
<frkrygow@sbcglobal.net> wrote:
>

On 3/31/2025 3:10 PM, Radey Shouman wrote:

Frank Krygowski <frkrygow@sbcglobal.net> writes:
>

On 3/31/2025 12:39 PM, Radey Shouman wrote:

   Actually I was talking to Mr. Krygowski.  It seems to me that his
standards for studies on flu shots are different to those for bike
helmets, and I was curious as to what had convinced him of the efficacy
and safety of flu shots.

>
As I said, there is nationwide, ~ whole population data indicating flu
vaccines have high effectiveness in preventing infection and/or
hospitalization. There is no such nationwide data for bike helmets,
and indeed nationwide data shows no apparent benefit. And there are
serious weaknesses in many or most helmet promoting studies.

>
Could you provide a link to that data, and its analysis?

Look up cyclist fatality counts since, oh, 1980, the time during which
helmets became normalized and popular. There is no significant reduction
in fatalities. And I've given links to several articles describing
increases in cyclist concussions.

>
The following data is freely available on the Web. It seems strange
that you are unaware of it.
>
Year   U.S. bicycle fatality/ 100,000 population
1980 -- 0.422
1990 - 0.345
2000 - 0.246
2010 - 0.202
>
>
More Data
>
Year Bicycle Deaths No helmet    %              Deaths Helmet    %
2013    464    62    127    17
2014    429    59    118    16
2015    439    53    139    17
2016    425    50    138    16
2017    420    52    126    16
2018    525    60    121    14
2019    520    61    127    15
2020    535    57    168    18
2021    599    62    143    15
2022    674    62    159    15
>
>

 Data source on that?
 I personally know of two helmeted riders who were killed in traffic between 2013 and 2022 so it is certainly not zero although "what counts?' and 'who's counting?' may be appropriate questions here.
 

You may have missed it in all the chatter but Frank has repeatedly been shown the following information as well as other _recent_ corroborating studies but has refused to acknowledge them, instead choosing to state "There is no such nationwide data for bike helmets, and indeed nationwide data shows no apparent benefit. And there are serious weaknesses in many or most helmet promoting studies."
The information below very _clearly_ contradicts all three of those claims. Instead of arguing the merits, data, and conclusions of these studies, he instead deflects to rail against marketing tactics, engages in whataboutism with walking, and builds strawmen to attack the person (me) presenting the information.
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6747631/
"There was a significantly higher crude 30-day mortality in un-helmeted cyclists 5.6% (4.8%–6.6%) versus helmeted cyclists 1.8% (1.4%–2.2%) (p<0.001)."
"Cycle helmet use was also associated with a reduction in severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) 19.1% (780, 18.0%–20.4%) versus 47.6% (1211, 45.6%–49.5%) (p<0.001), intensive care unit requirement 19.6% (797, 18.4%–20.8%) versus 27.1% (691, 25.4%–28.9%) (p<0.001) and neurosurgical intervention 2.5% (103, 2.1%–3.1%) versus 8.5% (217, 7.5%–9.7%) (p<0.001)."
and another
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28945822/
"Helmet use was shown to be protective against intracranial injury in general (OR 0.2, CI 0.07-0.55, p = 0.002). A protective effect against subdural haematoma was demonstrated (OR 0.14, CI 0.03-0.72, p = 0.02). Wearing a helmet was also protective against skull fractures (OR 0.12, CI 0.04-0.39, p<0.0001) but not any other specific extracranial injuries."
And another
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29677686/
"179 effect estimates from 55 studies from 1989-2017 are included in the meta-analysis. The use of bicycle helmets was found to reduce head injury by 48%, serious head injury by 60%, traumatic brain injury by 53%, face injury by 23%, and the total number of killed or seriously injured cyclists by 34%. "
The other studies previously posted here that prove the effectiveness of helmets (which Frank also chooses to dismiss with no rational explanation) are:
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7025438/
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-023-35728-x
https://www.cpsc.gov/Newsroom/News-Releases/2021/New-CDC-Report-Finds-More-Adults-Are-Dying-from-Bicycle-Related-Accidents-CPSC-Says-it-Highlights-the-Importance-of-Helmets
https://www.nsc.org/safety-first/bicycle-safety-statistics-may- surprise- you?srsltid=AfmBOoq4LC_IGLItTnDBXBm4Yu6K20nqSHjsZbqpkk- jQ2y4Y1J7hfbf
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