ABATE, Full-face Helmets, & Oxygen Deprivation

Thursday, January 26th, 2006 at 8:19 pm by angrybob

From the December 2005 ABATE newsletter:

“Greetings from God’s Country!

ABATE (American Bikers Aimed Towards Education) of Georgia, Inc. is working “Full Steam Ahead” to educate the “cagers” (car, truck, SUV, etc.) drivers to “SEE” bikes and quit killing us. But, if they do kill one of us we will press just as hard to get the killers locked up and their licenses revoked.

Today we want to look at a problem that we all have greater control over. Almost 1 out of every 10 motorcycle fatalities are single vehicle accidents.

In other words, the biker runs into a stationary object such as a tree, bridge, parked vehicle, etc. As much as we hate to say it, our fallen brother was probably the cause of his own demise. The vast majority of the single vehicle accidents involve alcohol. We have got to stop letting our biker friends ride while intoxicated. This is a touchy issue and one I will address more later.

A related cause of single vehicle accidents resulting in fatalities is wearing full face helmets and gear. Let me explain. When the weather turns cold many of us will don clothing and equipment that keeps us warmer while riding. These include scarves and full face helmets. When the rider wears these items the inflow of fresh oxygen is decreased and is replaced by the rider’s exhaled air (carbon dioxide). Breathing in carbon dioxide makes the rider light headed and may eventually cause a black out which usually results in an accident. These accidents are most often fatal.

In the past most of the accidents caused by lack of oxygen were written up as “rider error”. It wasn’t until Pete Conrad, the third man to walk on the moon, died of a motorcycle crash in 1999 that further studies were done to produce evidence otherwise. After an autopsy was done of this famous astronaut, the coroner announced that the crash was a direct result of “oxygen deprivation”. This causes me to think back to the times I would ride in sub-freezing temperatures with my scarf wrapped around me like a mummy. I remember after a couple of hours of cold weather riding I would become “sloppy” in my riding. Now I know why.

In summation, do not let or encourage your biker friends to drink and drive and if you wear a full face helmet make sure there is a flow of fresh air coming in.”

Ugh.  Is it me, or does this suggest (once again), that HELMETS KILL?!?  Albeit a little more subtle, its the same shit different title.  It is interesting information and makes me think about my current commuting method: 1-pc. suit + Scarf + Full-face helmet.  It also make me think critically, given the past history with what some of ABATE has professed in the past.  Are helmets air tight?  Are visors and the venting systems really that good?  I think not.  Does my scarf ’seal’ with my helmet such that a vacuum is formed.  I think not. 

I think its a good discussion point, but its packaged all wrong (again).  Who lets this shit get published?  I am truly sympathetic with ABATE’s charter of motorcycle rights, but it gets increasingly harder for me to consider them credible when different chapters publish the same nonsense.  I want to like them…I really, really do.  But their continuous asinine positions and papers on helmet safety keeps me away.

Just like the Helmets Kill link above, they started off with the silliness, then end with common sense.  I don’t get it.  They apparently don’t get it either.

9 Comments

Funny how some guys can come out with the worst ever ideas when it comes to motorcycle and bikers!
We do also enjoy some nice and stupid ideas to fight against bikers here over in Europe (and especialy in France where it seems we are the very very bad guys and should disapear for ever), BUT no one ever came with that stupid idea that a full face helmet can kill because of oxygen deprivation! A helmet is not air tight and will never be!
This reminds me of a dicussion I had with a friend but it was about which is the best helmet!
Oh remember smoking the exhaust pipe fumes is dangerous too!

Comment by Unicorn | January 27th, 2006 9:30 am | Permalink

ABATE lost credibility with every thinking motorcyclist a long time ago! Their arguments are without logic, common sense or any degree of merit!

A suggestion to ABATE: stop trying to justify a freedom of choice issue with junk science!!! It’s an issue of freedom, individual rights and responsibilities (note: at least they had enough sense to acknowledge that drinking and riding is a bad idea).

If full face helmets are such an “oxygen deprivation” problem, how is it racers can even finish a race, much less ride better than just about anyone on the planet!

I’ve been riding/commuting every day for almost 2 months now wearing a full-face helmet that includes a chin curtain and breath box with a bandana over my mouth without the slightest problem getting the oxygen I need! It’s not a sealed deep sea diving helmet, plenty of air gets in the helmet, even with all the vents closed.

While ABATE my be supporting a worthy cause, they are doing it in the least credible way possible.

Comment by rhino | January 27th, 2006 10:23 am | Permalink

Amazing… obviously these guys have been drinking the same Kool-Aid as the Florida ABATE crowd. More asinine statements from ABATE. I can’t wait to see what they come up with next.

Statements like these make ABATE an embarassment to the entire motorcycling community.

Comment by Retrorider | January 27th, 2006 1:10 pm | Permalink

Amen. ABATE has become a one issue outfit with a bunch of brain-dead followers who come up with the most outrageous bullshit excuses to not wear ANY kind of helmet…let alone a full face bucket. If they just stayed with the “freedom of choice” arguement they’d have a lot more membership, but they seem stuck in a rut with no desire to dig their way out.

What amazes me is how successful they’ve been in convincing so many states to recind their helmet laws. I guess our elected officials are even more brain dead than ABATE.

Comment by Mike | January 27th, 2006 6:32 pm | Permalink

Good topic. I admire the idea of motorcycle advocacy, but like many advocacy groups, ABATE and their ilk seem to get drawn way off-center by the fringe members who view any sort of regulation as a negative. In their quest for ultimate freedom, ABATE seems to be abandoning common sense.

Comment by Albert | February 4th, 2006 10:51 pm | Permalink

I think the mindset here is very off center.
As I read the responses to this article I see a group of people who have already judged an entire community based on one article.
As I read this article it about a person who was trying to warn people about using too much cold weather gear reducing airflow while riding with a full face helmet. It was during an be careful message about driving impairment. He didn’t condemn full face helmets nor did he suggest that full face helmets were the problem. He pointed out that there were other factors involved that might lead to a dangerous condition.
Now I don’t agree with his observations, but if he felt he should speak out to save lives then why not. Or is everyone hear under the fear of sounding stupid so they will let their friend die.

Comment by Elmer | February 4th, 2006 11:01 pm | Permalink

Elmer - I see your point, but where in the above is the word “improperly”, etc. It should follow the word “gear”, but it doesn’t. The implication is that wearing full face helmets and gear is a related cause of vehicle accidents…

This judgment is not based on one article. Please do a search on “ABATE” in the blog search and you will see where I am coming from.

Comment by angrybob | February 4th, 2006 11:02 pm | Permalink

Not how I read it. Like I said it looked like a warning to everyone to be sure that they ride safe. Nothing in the article even stated it was a legislative issue.

Now as far as searching this blog for ABATE and see where you are coming from implys that this group doesn’t write anything positive about ABATE.
Nothing about the legislation to get motorcycle safety courses as part of the state agenda. Nothing about getting roads safe for all riders. Nothing about the efforts to get uninsured motorist off the road. Nothing about the efforts to make sure people who kill or injured bikers will pay for failure to yield. Then there is the charity work done by the organizations throughout the country.
Seems to be pretty one sided here. No positives, just negatives and a bunch of people who jump up to start punching.
Well if you’re invovled in groups doing better jobs at the above items I listed then great, go ahead and complain about the other groups, they probably deserve it.
In fact let me know of those organizations. Maybe one would be in my area.
However if all these people are doing is complaining and acting like a bunch of old women, then oh well thats your lot in life and you all can enjoy it.
Its always easier to critize than to actually go out and do something.

Comment by Elmer | February 6th, 2006 8:31 pm | Permalink

Elmer - do you think helmets kill? If so, you are probably right in that we cannot have a meaningful discussion.

I am absolute that ABATE has a greater overall good to its long time existance. I’ve even stated that we are likely on the same side of issues. That said, those ABATE in charge of publicity press releases and/or public statements should be relieved from duty.

They are the ones giving ABATE a bad rap by publishing stupidity like helmets kill, not me. I cannot support a group that continues to subscribe to their front and center issue of helmet laws.

I would be more than happy to give you the blogger’s keyboard and publish an article of the good that ABATE has done. More specifically, the work beyond “helmets kill”. I think it would o ABATE well to get some different press.

I do appreciate your comments.

Comment by angrybob | February 6th, 2006 9:20 pm | Permalink

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