KNOW ALL ABOUT YOUR HELMET AND GET FULL PROTECTION

Before I get into the subject matter let me recount as to how I became an ardent helmet user and later an advocate, possibly that would give the write up the right perspective. I started my carrier in an Indian Ordinance Factory way back in 1959. I worked in an acid plant. The main operation there was concentrating used dilute nitric acid to what is called fuming nitric acid; that is 100% concentrated acid. It is called fuming for the reason that it gives off brown vapours nitric oxide. On the day I was being released from my duty, after resigning for better pastures, I was more interested in perusing my release papers and was away in the administration department. A flange on the fuming nitric acid line chose to spring a leak on that morning. Though plants are kept scrupulously clean there was some cotton rags under the flange and it caught fire. As I came out of the aministration building I heard the fire warning alarm. It is easy to identify the plant where fire is, as there are specific codes for these alarms. I rushed back to the plant to see all my bosses lined up there. Needless to say I got rocket and as I was being relieved from duty I escaped serious disciplinary action. Ordinance factories are run almost on army lines and instructions are to be followed. There were no questioning or explanations about them; they are to be followed whatever. The incidence taught me two very valuable lessons in life. One what is written in text books are to be believed and put into practice and two listen to what seniors tell you and give it serious thought. It would be prudent to discuss the matter with him whatever the hurdles be before you out right reject the idea. Then I joined my ultimate carrier in fertilizer industry. I started my life anew at the Nangal unit of erstwhile Fertilizer Corporation of India. I was fortunate to work with a safety officer who literally lived safety. He gave me lot of materials about accidents and investigation reports of accidents. He used to drive into me that safety is a matter of 100% commitment to the cause and a matter of thinking. These interactions made me very safety conscious in my factory life but didn’t carry to my personal life except much later. The scooter accident I describe later in the write up was probably the turning point after which I released that safety is not confined to one aspect of life. Rather it encompasses the whole life.
I had been running a one man campaign to increase the awareness about the usefulness of helmets when driving two wheelers. I had an accident and providentially escaped with a mild warming, having escaped with minor injuries. My wife paid a heavier price in that she had a minor head injury as a result of her hitting on a small pebble and had to suffer a chronic moderate to severe head ache for two years. We knocked many a doctor’s door with little or no benefit at all. Finally it was Homoeopathy that cured her. Of interest, in this episode, was our visit to NIMHANS. It was the then director of the institute Dr. Varma who saw us. He was at that time working to make the wearing of the helmet mandatory. He came to the clinic, at about 3PM, after a meeting with the officials. His first question was whether we were wearing helmets. When we sheepishly replied no his reaction was that we don’t deserve medical attention at all. It was probably meant to hurt a little and it did. This episode taught me a few lessons; the importance of helmets, a head injury however small is serious and alternate systems of medicine can be as if not more effective sometimes. The first thing I did was to buy helmets for both of us. That was the time Assam government had made helmet use mandatory and there was a flurry of activity by the police in booking people for not using helmets and people buying all sort of products that flooded the market. It was then that I decided to take to promoting the right use of helmets.

Since my retirement I have considerable free time and I had been seriously pursuing my campaign. There had been some very interesting interaction with two wheeler users. The vast majority, I am sad to say had the attitude of I care two hoots and drove off. Some heard me patiently but did little else. A small, but a significant few, listened seriously and were aghast at their folly and adjusted the straps right there and then. What a pleasing experience it is even today!

I had been reading quite a few articles regarding the use and purchase of helmets and their use by two wheeler users. Unfortunately I did not see any of them educating the user on the correct method of use or how to buy the correct helmet. The only thing that is emphasized is that an ISI approved helmet should be used. The correct purchase and use of a helmet has more to it than an ISI mark.

The following lines I hope will clarify some important aspects of the buying and use of a helmet. Needless to say the helmet should be at the least an ISI certified one. Wear the helmet and it should be comfortably tight on you. A very tight one does not provide any additional safety. It only makes the wearing highly discomfort able. Then adjust the chin strap so that it is so tight that only your pointer finger can pass between the strap and your chin. Then push the helmet upward using both your hands as far as it will go. The hard edge of the helmet should ideally be at the angle of the jaw (the portion of the jaw bone where the bone bends upwards). It is important that both the hands are used to push the helmet upwards so that the helmet does not go eschew and it travels up taking up all the slack of the strap.

There is a critical area, bilaterally, just behind the vertical arm of the lower jaw bone and under the bottom end of the ear lobe, which when compressed can lead to a cardiac arrest. The tightening of the strap as above is to ensure that during a fall the slack of the strap do not allow the edge of the helmet to travel up to the critical area. Similarly, there is critical area just behind the neck where the head sits. Luckily this area also falls in the same line as the one behind the ears and the same strap adjustment will cover this area also. This centre is more important especially to the pillion rider who sits sideways. This centre, when compressed hard enough, can stop both the heart and the breathing. The helmets, in India, are made like shirts, to a few standard sizes. Hence one has to spend sometime in selecting one. I assure you that the time and effort spend on this are worth.

Having bought one, you should take the trouble of using it religiously. An occasional usage is a dangerous practice. The advent of helmet locks has made it easy. However, for those who don’t have one, the best way is to keep the two wheeler key in the helmet. The strap is tightened by pulling to one side and pulling the other way, needless to say, will loosen it. Therefore, it is essential to choose one that is hard to slip. There are straps that come with two and three friction points. One that has more such points is better as it is difficult to tighten and therefore difficult to get loosened also. Whatever be the mechanism they basically are all friction based and therefore liable to loosen in use. Hence, it is important to periodically tighten the strap and keep the slack to the one finger level.

During my interaction with the public I have heard some objections to the use of helmets. I would like to deal with them before I close the subject. The following are the commonly touted excuses.

There is no law enforcing the use of helmets. This has been removed as most states have enacted laws to make the use of helmets compulsory. It is, indeed a pity, that it is not strictly enforced. My counter to this had been that there is no law any where in the world saying that one should go to a doctor when gets up in the morning with symptoms of heaviness in chest, breathlessness and sweating or symptoms of other serious nature. Laws, I am sure is not to make you do good things, especially things for your safety, but to prevent you from doing bad things.

It is uncomfortable to use one. It is true to a degree. The newer ones have provisions for ventilation and aren’t very bad. Even otherwise what is that one is trading against the discomforts? One’s life? Or ending as a vegetable for the rest of your life? Or a massive medical bill? One has to be extremely lucky to escape unhurt. Should we stake our luck against such heavy odds? I remember a work shop I attended where in a lady said that the helmet spoils her hair style. The neurosurgeon who conducted the seminar retorted that you can have hair style only if you have a head!

The helmet shuts of the peripheral vision. If one is using rear view mirrors this is no problem. Only one has to get used to the new driving style. The same goes for not hearing the horns. Any way using horns are no more appreciated. Besides drivers of air conditioned cars do not either.

The only genuine reason for not using helmet can only be medical conditions like cervical sodalities and that too should only be on medical advice. The genuine few can not be an excuse for the majority I suppose.