Source: cycling.it
Is it possible that the mounts of the action cameras mounted on a helmet can create problems in the event of a fall?
The case has been raised in recent weeks by some statements reported by a French journalist, Jean-Louis Moncet: it is possible that the head injuries suffered by Michael Schumacher in the ski accident almost a year ago have been aggravated by the GoPro that mounted on the helmet.
Well, it didn't take long to make such a hypothesis, the thing is more than logical: anything fixed on the shell of a helmet puts the helmet itself in critical conditions, as it is not designed for use with the foreign body. And the instructions that accompany all helmets warn in this sense: you must not even stick any kind of stickers on the outer shell of the helmet, under penalty of forfeiture of the guarantee. And here we talk about guarantee… on life.
In short, it is not the GoPro or the Contour or the Sony that is the cause of the damage, but it is the user who fixes the GoPro, the Contour or the Sony who is wrong and puts his life at risk.
An action camera mounted on a support fixed on the helmet in the event of a direct impact multiplies the force of the impact as it is mounted on an arm distant from the surface of the shell. And the shell isn't designed to withstand such stress. Therefore it can give way, and if the tumble continues, the head no longer has the protection of the helmet, which was probably damaged during the first impact.
Not only that, because the lever that forms the action cam / support assembly leads in the event of an impact to a violent torsion of the helmet, which obviously affects the head: have you ever wondered why the outer shells are always compact, smooth and without the as much as possible of external grips?
In general, however, in the event of a fall the action cameras are the first thing starting from a helmet, the falls at the last Red Bull Rampage prove it, but you must still start thinking seriously about supports that, in the event of a fall, have a programmed breaking system, so as not to create a danger for the helmet shells. Which in turn should include specially made supports, such as for example the full face Giro Cipher, with the upper attachment for GoPro and Contour that releases immediately upon first impact.
