From: melanie@ph-meter.beckman.uiuc.edu (Melanie Humphrey)
Subject: Re: ASTM Roller Skating Helmet Standard
Reply-To: msh@uiuc.edu
Organization: University of Illinois at Urbana
Distribution: usa
Date: Thu, 21 Jan 1993 18:56:48 GMT

uwe@cc.gatech.edu (Uwe Brockmann) writes:

>>> Falls while skating backwards at high speed can lead to hard rear head
>>> impact. However, this is not a typical use of skates. 
>>
>>I've only been skating about 6 months but my worst falls have been going
>>backwards.  True, I haven't been going very fast and didn't hit my head.
>>But I believe skating backwards is pretty common.  However, I don't think
>>this justifies having a different standard than bicycle helmets.
>
>I believe that beginning skaters experiment to find out what they can
>do on skates. They try skating backwards, turning around, slaloming,
>stopping with different methods, jumping, skating on grass, etc. In the
>long run skaters either stop skating regularily or become more focused
>on skating forwards for aerobic exercise with little experimentation.
>They develop a regular schedule that fits their lifestyle and work
>schedule. They then tend to skate regular routes at regular times with
>other regular skaters. At least this is what I have observed in myself
>and other skaters around me.

well, as a fellow experienced skater, i just can't agree with your
assesment.

the above statement seems to me to say 'if you survive the first six
months, you won't need back-of-the head protection because you'll either
quit, or outgrow the urge to be creative.'

the use you describe characterizes a certain class of bladers --
that portion of blading enthusiasts that use their blades as speed
skates. this is fine.  more power to anyone who's found a sport they
want to stick with! people that skate forwards exclusively probably don't
need side and rear protection. however, basing an helmet standard for
the entire industry on a single specific application may not be 
prudent.

there is at least one other class of bladers out there, people like
myself who think that going fast in a straight line is about as
exciting as watching paint dry.  we're the ones havent outgrown going
up and down stairs, jumping over things, doing stunts, practicing our
stem christies (does that date me?) and playing hockey.

a bicycle type helmet is poor protection at best for this type of
blading. there's scant lower-back-of-head protection, no side of head
protection, you can't add a shield or cage, and worst of all (from a
financial standpoint) you can only hit your helmet once -- then you
have to throw the damn thing out -- nearly all bike helmets are
single-impact (read that little sticker on the inside of your bike
helmet sometime). ka-CHING!

not to mention that bike helmets make almost everyone look like some
sort of lycra-encased egg-headed alien from deep space 9. 

but, as a survior of a non-trivial head injury (yes, i was wearing an
'approved' helmet at the time), i know exactly how important wearing
head protection is. so i got a jofa hockey helmet.  lightweight,
excellent protection,  more secure fit than the 'lid' type bike
helmets, multi-impact, and i can add a shield when i play 
hockey. plus it doesn't involve any lycra. 

so i guess you could say i don't give a hoot about the standard because
a bike-style helmet doesn't meet meet my protection needs and i
wouldn't wear one even if it were 'approved' in some way.  but i do
care because novice skaters could be buying something that is
'approved' but potentially of little or no use in certain types of
relatively common falls or impacts.

seems to me there needs to be at least two types of helmets, one for
'general-purpose and radical' skating and one for 'speed' skating. else
the 'speed' people end up with something they don't like and 'radical'
skaters end up with a helmet that may not protect them properly.

>Due to the recent fast growth of inline skating there is an unusually
>large proportion of beginners. 
>Therefore skating backwards appears to be
>more common than it will be in the long run.

ahem. make this statment to any experienced defenseman and he or she
will raise an eyebrow at least.  we need to be able to go as fast
backwards as we can go forwards, not to mention being able to turn as
fast backwards, and stop as fast backwards. this requires a lot of
skating backwards at relatively high speeds while training.  not to
mention while playing.

[...]

>
>I have been skating outdoors regularily, mostly on conventional skates,
>for over ten years and I have done long-distance races for over six
>years.
>

but when was the last time you did a cartwheel with your blades on?

>[(Mr.) Uwe (pronounced "oova") Brockmann, (404)892-4872, uwe@cc.gatech.edu]
--

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Melanie Humphrey | Systems Services	  | BISS --
msh@uiuc.edu	 | Beckman Institute	  |	If we can't fix it, it 
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