Helmets When Driving

So by now we all already know that the Army and some other branches mandate their guys wear helmets / cvcs when driving tactical vehicles. And many of us will be familiar with the controversy over exactly how stupid it is to require a guy to wear kevlar to move a hmmwv six feet in the motorpool on base.

This post isn't about that. It's about the fact I installed a VIC-3 recently and I keep looking at the thing like it's going to crack my skull open in a wreck. If you are in the middle seat on my truck you have a laundry list of metal things to choose to hit in a wreck, because I have a digitization rack, vic station box, radios, etc. The only thing the pax seat has going for it is there's a very hard headrest, so at least you get less whiplash than the driver. The guy in the middle just cracks his head on the back of the cab I guess. Which made me notice all the other really terrible sharp bits of the inside of the cab. And the lack of padding. Of any kind. Or airbags.

When I ride a motorcycle, I wear a helmet. It's a simple thing, wearing a helmet. So I've started wearing a helmet in my truck. An opscore fast because that's what I had. It is impact (not just ballistic) rated, apparently that's a big part of the debate, whether the ACH lids joes wear actually have any impact protection vs a big foam SNELL racing etc helmet. I've been thinking maybe an impact-only helmet like they wear river rafting might be another good choice particularly on hot days.

I'm wondering what sorts of thoughts people have on this; I've heard stories that range from the entire practice is stupid through "it seems stupid until the first time you're in a wreck, saved my life, etc". Some people seem to think you're worse off in a helmet because of the whiplash. Personally, I'll take whiplash over holes in my head...

Bias: I've been involved in only one on-road motorcycle wreck, and the helmet saved my life. Different situation but it makes me prone to agree with wearing them.

With the military is is more of a "train like you fight" reason. Personally, for a while I was driving my tactical vehicles with a construction hard hat, but I suppose I have become lazy and quit doing that. I believe heavy CVCs and eye protection interfere with rapid head movement and peripheral vision, which could slow reaction time needed to avoid an accident.

I think the padding in a CVC is more beneficial than the shell, although the shell is nice when you whack your head coming out of the hatch. I generally always wear a hat and while it isn't that protective for an accident it helps when you walk into the corner of an open LMTV door.

How about a bump cap?

I think a lighter helmet used in a truck or MV wouldn't be too bad, you wouldn't have the weight or speed (like NASCAR) to cause the whiplash type injuries. The military has a plethora of stupid and pointless "safety" rules, that just don't work in reality. In Iraq, one of the bases I was on had buses that you could get on to get around on base, but they were only allowed to go 15mph for safety. You could actually walk across the base just as fast. And I bet there are a ton of neck injuries every year from wearing heavy helmets with a bunch of attachments on them in vehicles. I think the better idea would be to make the interiors safer. In fire trucks, you aren't supposed to wear your helmet, and NFPA has mandated helmet storage or brackets to keep them from flying around in an accident.

It's a little too late for my LMTV unless I start gluing foam everywhere.

The ACH will provide some protection. No, not as much as hard hat or other OSHA type, but better than nothing. That being said, on Bragg the policy for helmets only exists west of Gruber, or past range control.

First person I see driving a MV that is not part of the military and has a helmet on. They better not be licking the dang windows. I hit my headset on the ceiling sometimes with a real hard bump. I just have my air ride adjusted high.

John S-B said:

I think a lighter helmet used in a truck or MV wouldn't be too bad, you wouldn't have the weight or speed (like NASCAR) to cause the whiplash type injuries.

And I bet there are a ton of neck injuries every year from wearing heavy helmets with a bunch of attachments on them in vehicles.

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I seem to recall medical studies out on this. The added weight of the helmet has an additive effect on cervical spine injuries. I kinda like the CVC soft padded stuff. Sounds good in theory until you have heat stroke from wearing that d@#$% thing in 100' temperatures.

CARNAC said:

I seem to recall medical studies out on this. The added weight of the helmet has an additive effect on cervical spine injuries. I kinda like the CVC soft padded stuff. Sounds good in theory until you have heat stroke from wearing that d@#$% thing in 100' temperatures.

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On that note, ACU's that made it impossible to roll up the sleeves are another moronic design...
I do have to say that ACH saved me from having about 40 stitches in my head once. We were coming into a base in Iraq, and the last vehicle through had to manually close the gate, requiring someone to dismount and close it. I was in the back of an RG-33, so I was the natural one to do it. So I got out and closed the gate and got back in the MRAP, and just sat in the last row of seats in the back. Now RG-33's were known to have especially stiff springs, meaning they were VERY prone to bouncing when going over bumps. The driver went over a speed bump at just 5mph, and not being belted in, I was LAUNCHED into the roof of the MRAP. I just happened to hit on the edge of a hatch, which is not padded at all, and is just heavy plate steel with a 90 degree corner. Luckily, I had my helmet on, because I hit right on the corner, HARD. It hurt like heck, and I was surprised that I did not get a serious neck injury from that impact. Had I not had the helmet on, I would've been looking at a 4-5" laceration for sure.
If I rode in a Humvee, I couldn't get in wearing a helmet and body armor, I was too tall and couldn't flex enough with body armor. I had to take off the helmet to get in and then put it back on once inside.
Another goofy thing was that in Iraq, you were required to wear body armor and a helmet in any tactical vehicle driven on post. But if you had a civilian vehicle you didn't have to wear anything. We had a Humvee ambulance that we only used to run errands in, and to drive any patient to the LZ if they were being medevac'd. We originally had a big Chevy SUV that was used for that. Humvee's at this point were all uparmored, but even then almost never taken off base. I had to take some stuff to the post dump one day, and an MP (from my own unit!!!) just happened to see that I didn't have body armor on. He told me I wasn't allowed to drive it back to the aid station. I was so ticked off that I told him I was just going to leave the darn thing at the dump and walk back (4 miles), and I didn't care what happened to it since no one had signed for it. Somebody eventually drove it back. At that point in my deployment, my "give a darn" had long been busted and completely out of service...

I had a very similar situation but the other way around. We...wait, I might run for congress someday. Uh, not that this was me or anything but there was this guy who had a guy that wanted the guy to dive off a high dive with all his gear and an M16. The only thing was, it was a Monday morning (this I am certain of). The entire group had been on a full weekend pi##er and this is probably one of the reasons a select individual doesn't drink anymore....or any less anymore. It's also a reason for natural selection.

To make a story much longer than Johns very short. There is a reason you are to go off the super high dive feet first, with your feet together, don't do a spread eagle war whoop, landing in a kinda lower belly belly flop, hold your M16 with both hands so that it doesn't hit you in the face requiring stitches, AND be clothed.

CARNAC said:

I had a very similar situation but the other way around. We...wait, I might run for congress someday. Uh, not that this was me or anything but there was this guy who had a guy that wanted the guy to dive off a high dive with all his gear and an M16. The only thing was, it was a Monday morning (this I am certain of). The entire group had been on a full weekend pi##er and this is probably one of the reasons a select individual doesn't drink anymore....or any less anymore. It's also a reason for natural selection.

To make a story much longer than Johns very short. There is a reason you are to go off the super high dive feet first, with your feet together, don't do a spread eagle war whoop, landing in a kinda lower belly belly flop, hold your M16 with both hands so that it doesn't hit you in the face requiring stitches, AND be clothed.

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This is one of those posts where I'm glad that there AREN'T any pics....

John S-B said:

This is one of those posts where I'm glad that there AREN'T any pics....

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oh I don't know, I might even pay to see it.

If we are going to have a serious discussion about this, then maybe we should include the concern over slipping on urine and feces post accident. Face it, you say "OH S&*T" and then you do it. A number 1 comes with the number 2 from the fight or flight response. So in order to prevent someone from soiling themselves AND since we are talking such a nanny state type issue, then maybe we should discuss controlling such responses. I hereby propose that Aleigh be nominated to perform R&D on developing a clamp or other device to stop all individuals from urinating during the crash sequence. Likewise Aleigh is nominated to R&D and test a method of blocking or plugging the rectum to prevent crapping during the accident sequence.

All in favor say "Aye". "Aye". A not in favor say "Nye". There you have it, democracy in action. Arleigh, start developing and testing.

Make all the jokes you want. This particular one probably saved my life.

CARNAC said:

If we are going to have a serious discussion about this, then maybe we should include the concern over slipping on urine and feces post accident. Face it, you say "OH S&*T" and then you do it. A number 1 comes with the number 2 from the fight or flight response. So in order to prevent someone from soiling themselves AND since we are talking such a nanny state type issue, then maybe we should discuss controlling such responses. I hereby propose that Aleigh be nominated to perform R&D on developing a clamp or other device to stop all individuals from urinating during the crash sequence. Likewise Aleigh is nominated to R&D and test a method of blocking or plugging the rectum to prevent crapping during the accident sequence.

All in favor say "Aye". "Aye". A not in favor say "Nye". There you have it, democracy in action. Arleigh, start developing and testing.

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Controlling 1 & 2 in the post-accident scenario??? For that, DEPENDS.
(Adult Diapers)

I like these, Navy Flightdeck Crainials, and sometimes I use it, solves two issues, keeps hair and skin attached to head, and ear protection. Also can put ear buds under to communicate, and for those states that say no headphones on both ears, you can pull one side back, or in most cases they allow it, if it is for hearing protection and safety communications! I've gotten them as low as $25! OH, and they come in several colors!

They are much lighter that a standard helmet and can be found on Steel Bay and sometimes your local Surplus store!

Gralmk said:

I like these, Navy Flightdeck Crainials, and sometimes I use it, solves two issues, keeps hair and skin attached to head, and ear protection. Also can put ear buds under to communicate, and for those states that say no headphones on both ears, you can pull one side back, or in most cases they allow it, if it is for hearing protection and safety communications! I've gotten them as low as $25! OH, and they come in several colors!
View attachment 632087
They are much lighter that a standard helmet and can be found on Steel Bay and sometimes your local Surplus store!

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It's a little late for me to be worrying about my hair still being attached to my head...

Personell Protection Equipment

With our current influx of new, distracted drivers, I should be wearing a helmet.

Hmmmm. This could work.