Helmets

A question about : Helmets

https://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/30/su...vm3YDJ+B54MbAw

Best answers:

• its personal choice for the most part, i prefer to wear a helmet, through personal experience and me feeling more safe wearing it
• From the above link:
  Quote:
• There's been some interesting links posted here in the past on helmet use in Australia and New Zealand examining the change in figures when helmets were made mandatory, they found as the article above suggests that there wasn't any change in the number of fatalities when taking into account the reduced number of cyclists. They also claimed the main risk when wearing a helmet was that cyclists would cycle in a more risky way due to the perception that the helmet would protect them.
  With that in mind there's no disadvantage to wearing a helmet, it certainly doesn't put me off cycling as you barely notice the helmet is there. So far my cycling injuries have all been minor bangs and grazes so while a helmet may not protect me from serious injury, it will likely protect it from the minor but irritating injuries I'm likely to receive. In the case of a more serious injury I'm no worse off than a rider without a helmet.
  John
• Two very interesting links that are a must read in any helmet debate
• A good review of the available data, both "sides" presented. https://www.cyclehelmets.org/0.html
• What happened in Western Australia after the introduction of mandatory helmet laws
  https://www.cycle-helmets.com/Elvik20...lysis.pdfI%27m

Personally I don't wear a helmet as the majority of my cycling is on country roads and national cycle route 67. I think that the choice of helmet wearing should be left up to the individual, as long as it is an informed choice.
Several things worry me about helmets

• The helmet manufacturers provided most of the "you must wear a helmet" evidence in the early days (can't for the life of me think why!). Later independent testing has disproved this.
• The testing is rubbish and has no relationship with falling off a bike. Even at 60+ I usually ride in excess of 12 mph
• Peter Walkers study that finds drivers give helmeted riders less room
• They don't wear helmets in the Netherlands.

But most of all, this is trying to shift the perceived safety to the cyclist wearing a helmet from where it should be - in really safe Dutch style infrastructure based around sustainable safety.
Dave

• I was in the playground with my son today, two children rode their bikes there, helmets on, very nice, but er, they didn't fit properly and nobody told them to take them off before playing on the play equipment, which is very dangerous and is the cause of a number of deaths around the world.
  https://cyclehelmets.org/1227.html
  For most people cycle helmets are a matter of faith, not evidence, because otherwise they would be buying helmets on the basis of safety testing, ensuring they fit properly, and removing them before their child goes to play on the climbing frame.
• That number of deaths according to the link is 15 over 28 years worldwide which to say it's a very small number is an understatement. I'm sure there are other causes of fatalities with a higher probability that should be actioned first. I didn't realise helmets were such a contentious issue, I see that site claims mandatory helmet law would cause 254 deaths because they would discourage some people from cycling who needed physical activity. A bit of a stretch I think it's fair to say.
  Overall though, does it even matter here? As far as I'm aware there is no legal obligation to wear one and no sign of any law being formed to make them mandatory so whether people here choose to wear one or not is neither here nor there.
  John
• But on the other hand links in this thread also show there is no realistic downside to wearing a helmet either as long as you keep on cycling. Given the number of people wearing helmets isn't that high in the first place I don't see how it's an issue that some of those may not be getting as much of a benefit as they believe.
  John