I can understand some of the common complaints about helmets with more coverage. Riding in stop-and-go traffic in a hot, humid climate can make more coverage less pleasant. If you are actually claustrophobic, it might get to you (but you need to try a 1968 Bell Star to get the full effect). I am less sympathetic to complaints about weight (in fact, if you ride behind a windshield that buffets, a heavier helmet can sometimes damp out the buffeting). Helmets used to be a lot heavier, and I never thought of it as an issue, though I suppose some neck conditions could make it one. I have never found a rider who says that helmets are uncomfortable who has actually tried a lot on. The complaints about full-coverage helmets may be valid if you shop at a discount auto-parts store, but there are a variety of shapes and sizing options these days, and motorcycle-helmet makers have gotten much more sophisticated about making their products comfortable. These days you no longer have to deal with tight spots, lifting at speed, faceshields that rattle and are hard to change, heavy shells or lack of ventilation. It used to be that just two or three high-end brands offered consistent comfort. These days you can find that sort of comfort and protection down in the budget end of the spectrum. With all the advances in fit, venting, faceshields and materials, finding a comfortable, convenient, well-vented, lightweight full-coverage helmet is no longer a challenge.
The universal take of the Motorcycle Cruiser staff is that full-face helmets are significantly more comfortable and convenient than other types, and certainly much more pleasant than riding any distance bareheaded. But the real payoff comes on the first bounce. Of course, no one ever expects that to happen to them, not today, not on this ride. Roethlisberger obviously didn't. Lots of folks who ended up on slabs or in long-term care from head injuries didn't. Many of them probably didn't appreciate how effective a helmet can be and what sort of devastation it can prevent.
Wearing helmets will provide protection, although a novelty helmet-that is, one without DOT approval-will do virtually nothing for you in a crash, and some riders have even been injured by fragments. You're just fooling yourself if you wear one in the belief that they will protect you from anything beyond light abrasions. Shorty helmets with DOT certification offer significant protection...if your head impacts on the area that's covered with EPS foam. That area is extended with a three-quarter, open-face helmet. But your face is right up there in front, pointed at what you will probably hit when things go wrong.
If you do a Roethlisberger and hit face-first, you may only appreciate what a full-face helmet can do for you if you aren't wearing one. Helmet wearers who take a hit that would have scrambled their eggs if they had been bareheaded often just think, "I'm glad I had that on." But it's hard to fully appreciate what you avoided.
Roethlisberger has said that if he rides again, it will be with a helmet. I'm guessing it will be a full-face helmet, since he now probably understands its value. None of his comments that I read suggest he ever bought into the BS about helmets breaking necks or contributing to accidents. He just never thought it could happen to him, at least not that day. Every day in the U.S., riders die because they didn't think they'd be in a crash or need helmets. Others see their lives devastated for the same reason. It's hard to believe any of them would have been there without the best full-coverage helmet they could take a mortgage out on had they known what was coming.
Yet every day thousands of riders still bet everything that nothing will go wrong out on the road when they decide to ride without a good helmet strapped on securely. I'm a pretty optimistic person, but I've never been starry-eyed enough to take that bet, especially since I don't see any upside. And there have been a few days when that decision has kept me from being wiped out for good.
Riding a motorcycle isn't dangerous,but crashing is. Sooner or later, most riders crash. Once that event begins, the only decision that matters on a life-changing level is whether or not you chose to wear a good helmet.
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