special needs helmet in car

Can someone help? I've tried 3 times but just need an answer or opinion.

I have a Playmaker special needs helmet I want to wear as a driver, simply for safety. It's EVA rubber foam. Will this be beneficial in a crash? At all? Note it's very, very light. Lighter than a thick winter hat, so neck load should not be a concern.

Isn't it better than nothing? Or is EVA actually supposed to be pretty good for protection?

Hello,

I am not aware of any research on this topic for children or even adults, who are generally outside of the scope of this forum. For that reason, and the fact that your previous posts including questionable advertising content, they were ultimately not approved.

Other than a full-fledged HANS device, like those used in racing, I find it likely that the merits of a helmet are marginal at best. In a vehicle with modern frontal and side curtain airbags, they probably offer minimal if any benefit at all. In an older vehicle without airbags, the tradeoff would be the added weight to the head increasing neck load plus any reduction in visibility. Beyond that, I do not think there is any data at all that would likely help you make a choice, either real world injury/fatality data or public domain independent crash testing data.

I would agree that frontal and side airbags will provide a better degree of protection. Also, in a side impact, it's the side-to-side motion of the brain hitting the inside of the skull and the synapses (or whatever) snapping from the motion that are more likely to do damage than the risk of blunt trauma.

In addition to what the others have said, I wanted to add that real-life data shows that modern vehicles with lap-shoulder belts, airbags, and crumple zones to protect the driver (and passengers) of a car are very effective in protecting occupants. Some crashes are simply not survivable; in the case of those crashes I doubt a helmet would make any difference.

For the rest, wearing your seatbelt properly, driving the safest car you can (see http://www.informedforlife.org ), and minimizing your risk of BEING in a crash-never drive impaired or ride with an impaired driver; don't drive in extremely inclement weather or on unsafe road conditions; do not talk on the phone or text while driving, not even hands-free; practice proper vehicle maintainance including checking tire pressure frequently, regular oil changes and brake checkups and maintainance, etc.; and practicing defensive driving (you can take a course, if you desire) are the proven best ways we know of to protect yourself from death or serious injury in a crash.

Looking at the helmet you mentioned, I don't know that I can say it would add to the danger of a crash, as it looks very light and unlikely to obscure peripheral vision. Neither do I think it would be of great benefit in a crash. As I mentioned, the BEST way to protect yourself from injury in a crash is to minimize your risk of being in one. After that, wearing your seatbelt, etc.

P.S.- Jennie, synapses are chemical communications between brain cells, they don't snap.

ketchupqueen said:

P.S.- Jennie, synapses are chemical communications between brain cells, they don't snap.

Click to expand...

Yeah, I figured I had the wrong term. I'll go with "snappable thingies in the brain."

It's blood vessels bursting open and brain tissue being pulverized, as I understand it- severe concussion- leading to bleeds and/or clots in the brain.

Everything I've seen has said NOT to wear traditional helmets in the vehicle, so I'm guessing like PPs have mentioned that they do not provide any benefit over properly used active (seat belts, child restraints) and passive (air bags) restraints in the vehicle. I also kind of wonder if there's evidence to suggest that they would actually decrease safety, especially since info that comes with helmets like bicycle helmets (which are primarily EPS) is usually very specific about not wearing for motor vehicle use.