Replace helmet or not??

Well as the title says, I don't know wheteher or not to replace my helmet after this morning's fiasco.
Parked up bike and placed helmet on top of a lift-up commercial bin next to the motorcycle bay so that I didn't place it on the ground which had it fair share of large puddles (I didn't want it to get the inside wet).
Anyway start locking bike up and next thing I know gravity is having it's evil way with my helmet concluding with it landing on the ground in one of those puddles. WTF???

See some lady walk away and turn back to look, so call after her suspecting that she's put something in the bin (there's a public bin next to the one my helmet was on by the way). No responce so run after her and ask her if that's what she did. "Yes" she replies in a foriegn accent so I tell her what she's done. "Why put it on the bin then? she asks. "So that the inside didn't get wet". She must have seen it, the bin has a flat top with a great big helmet on it. Anyway she says sorry (just about) as she walks away. I'm not impressed .

I'm guessing i should replace it as it fell about 1.5m onto tarmac but obviously she ain't gonna pay and my wallet is thin. Helmet has a couple of scratches here and there including on the visor but other than that looks ok. Took liner out and looks ok inside too.

So I put it to you, good people of the Org, what do I do? If you vote to x-ray it, anyone know of places in the Bristol area that can get it done.

ps: feel free to call me a dopey *u** for putting it on the bin anyway

[Biker Biggles]

If it's an Arai or Shoei get it inspected by a dealer,but if it's a cheapo one replace it.(With an Arai or Shoei )

Replace, just not worth the risk. There are some good bargains out there, someong suggested HJC ac-11 at HGrekke for under £100

[pmapp]

I'd opt for replacing.

[Kylie]

I'm no expert, but the most fragile bit of the helmet is the lining, which is designed to compress when your head hits and gradually slow you head down. So if you dropped it while off then the inside should be fine. Biggest risk is weakening the shell, if the scratches don't look that bad its probably ok. If it landed in a puddle it won't have been under too much shock anyhows. But its your head.....

If in doubt, replace it! I personally value my life at a few hundred quid more than the cost of a new helmet, I think you should too.

i'm replacing mine with an ac-11.

Thanks people for the replies so far. Seems like a new helmet is due . For those interested its a Bell M5X, which i like.

Annoyingly they do free checks in the USA but can't find anything here. Thought I found a like for cut-price replacement if its damaged in an accident and it's under 3 years old.....but it was for mountain bike helmets - damn!!!

If that happened to my lid, I would change it. If funds are tight either break out the credit card or get a cheaper one for the short term. You only have the one head. If that gets stuffed in a big (or small) off then the rest of the body won't care.

It had been drummed into me for years that a dropped lid = a replaced lid. However a while ago i read an article in Ride mag or something like that which examined the issue of lids being dropped onto the floor, etc. The upshot was that a helmet is only designed to take an impact in the same place once, however with a light impact the rest of the lid remains undamaged and should in theory provide the same protection.

Now if it happened to me personally i would replace my lid cos it's 4-5 years old and tbh i could do with a new one anyway. However if it were brand new and i didn't have the cash to spend i'd look to replace it in the near future but live with it in the meantime.

If it had been in an accident though that's a totally different thing as the forces concerned are much greater - get it replaced it's not worth the risk.