New helmet after coming off bike?

kingfisherblue

My son is 16 and rides a scooter. He passed his CBT and has practiced going to and from college (in a different town) at different times of day and evening. He has also practiced riding around our own town. He can't go fast, maybe 35 miles an hour maximum. He now rides to and from college each weekday.

Last week, he lost control of his scooter following a flash shower. Fortunately he was uninjured apart from a few aches and pains. His crash helmet has some scrapes on the side.

I have replaced his helmet, as it is my understanding - and that of my son - that it should be replaced following an accident. Externally it looks ok, but we have no idea if there is any damage internally. He was lying in the road in one position, with his helmet on, for almost an hour until the ambulance arrived and removed his helmet. During this time, his head was held still in case of injury.

Today, my ex (my son's dad) has had a go at both of us, saying that the original helmet is fine and I shouldn't have replaced it. Please note, I have not asked him for a penny towards this or towards the minor repairs that the scooter needs, so it isn't a reaction to being asked for cash. He was clear, almost to the point of being insulting, that I have wasted my money, and that the helmet is fine.

I'm fairly sure that I am correct in replacing the helmet. I think, but may be wrong, that there is a possibility that in the event of another accident, a helmet that has been in an incident such as this may not fully protect the head (something to do with the polystyrene not protecting due to previous impact?).

I'm quite happy to ignore my ex, but my son now feels that his dad doesn't care about his safety. His dad used to ride small cc motorbikes about twenty plus years ago. and I think he ought to know bettter.

My son is keeping his old helmet on a shelf in his room - it won't be passed on, sent to a charity shop, etc. He won't be using it again.

Moto2

Unless it's very light scratches, I'd always replace.

tberry6686

Your sons father is an idiot. In an accident that causes any damage to a helmet, the helmet should be replaced. There could easily be damage to the helmets structure that cannot be seen.

facade

You don't know exactly what happened to the helmet in the crash, so it is best replaced.
They are only supposed to work once, and the cost of replacing it now is nothing compared to the cost if he has another accident and the helmet doesn't work properly because the structure has been compromised.

If it were mine, I'd replace it

kingfisherblue

Moto, the scratches were fairly light. However, that is external and I can't see what has happened internally.

tberry, I agree that my ex is an idiot. Even before my son started riding a scooter, I was aware that helmets should be replaced after an accident (or at least, that was always my understanding).

My main concern is my son's safety, and a new helmet was, in my opinion, necessary. I was interested to hear the thoughts of those more expereinced with bikes though.

Moto2

The one in the image below has been replaced, that has too much damage IMO
(not mine BTW)

I race bikes and tend to go through 2 or 3 per year, they don't get replaced for minor scratches caused by a slide unless there was a sizeable impact.

shaun_from_Africa

The helmet may well be fine apart from a slight cosmetic issue but then again there could well be an internal weakness.
The only way to know for sure is to have the helmet inspected and tested (probably far too expensive to consider doing).

My motorcycling days are well behind me but I now have to wear a safety helmet for many tasks at work and I'm now on my third one.
Unlike heads, helmets are easy to change and can be relatively cheap to replace so as you've done, replace rather than take the risk.

motorguy

kingfisherblue wrote: »

My son is 16 and rides a scooter. He passed his CBT and has practiced going to and from college (in a different town) at different times of day and evening. He has also practiced riding around our own town. He can't go fast, maybe 35 miles an hour maximum. He now rides to and from college each weekday.

Last week, he lost control of his scooter following a flash shower. Fortunately he was uninjured apart from a few aches and pains. His crash helmet has some scrapes on the side.

I have replaced his helmet, as it is my understanding - and that of my son - that it should be replaced following an accident. Externally it looks ok, but we have no idea if there is any damage internally. He was lying in the road in one position, with his helmet on, for almost an hour until the ambulance arrived and removed his helmet. During this time, his head was held still in case of injury.

Today, my ex (my son's dad) has had a go at both of us, saying that the original helmet is fine and I shouldn't have replaced it. Please note, I have not asked him for a penny towards this or towards the minor repairs that the scooter needs, so it isn't a reaction to being asked for cash. He was clear, almost to the point of being insulting, that I have wasted my money, and that the helmet is fine.

I'm fairly sure that I am correct in replacing the helmet. I think, but may be wrong, that there is a possibility that in the event of another accident, a helmet that has been in an incident such as this may not fully protect the head (something to do with the polystyrene not protecting due to previous impact?).

I'm quite happy to ignore my ex, but my son now feels that his dad doesn't care about his safety. His dad used to ride small cc motorbikes about twenty plus years ago. and I think he ought to know bettter.

My son is keeping his old helmet on a shelf in his room - it won't be passed on, sent to a charity shop, etc. He won't be using it again.

Tell him to go !!!! himself.

You totally did the right thing.

Head_The_Ball

You are 100% right and your ex is 100% wrong.

I can perhaps see why he is your ex.

kingfisherblue

Thanks everyone - I thought I was right, and so did my son. He's mighty angry at his dad at the moment (not for the first time!), and is refusing to see him for the time being. He really feels as though his dad doesn't care.

I'm not exactly rolling in money (I care for my other son, who is disabled, so I claim Income Support and Carer's Allowance). I do keep some emergency money though, that I save regularly from my benefits. I'm glad that I do, because I and my son both felt that replacing the helmet was necessary. I can't post pictures, but it has similar scratches to the one in post 6.

It's reassuring to know that we haven't over-reacted. At least if he comes off again (God forbid!), his head will be as safe as possible.

Geodark

When I rode many moons ago I was always under the impression that if even if you dropped your helmet down stairs etc, you replaced it - whats £100 compared to saving someones life!