One of the key negative impacts of mandatory bike helmet laws is that they are essentially a death sentence for bike share programs.
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One of the key negative impacts of mandatory bike helmet laws is that they are essentially a death sentence for bike share programs.
Those programs win because they are convenient and encourage spontaneous cycling. That just doesn’t work if a person has to carry a helmet everywhere just in case they decide to cycle. Tourists are not going to pack a bulky helmet. Shared helmets are a hygiene nightmare.
Protect cyclists with bike infrastructure. That’s what works.
#helmets@juliette I have two bike helmets. If I’m going someplace by foot or public transit and think I will tent a bike I’ll just bring one with me.
Collapsible bike helmets exist.
Maybe rentable bikes should include helmets?
I’ve been hit by a car before. And I’ve fallen off my bike simply by accident. Just wear the damn helmet. If you’re not responsible enough to protect yourself from an injury on a bike then please don’t ride a bike.
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@geeeero @Arapalla @marco_m_aus_f @juliette citations?
@__d @Arapalla @marco_m_aus_f @juliette This piece in The Guardian gives a good overview on the issue.
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2017/mar/21/bike-helmet-cyclists-safe-urban-warfare-wheels
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@__d @Arapalla @marco_m_aus_f @juliette This piece in The Guardian gives a good overview on the issue.
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2017/mar/21/bike-helmet-cyclists-safe-urban-warfare-wheels
@__d @Arapalla @marco_m_aus_f @juliette This one cited in the above piece is also making the most salient point: the effect of helmets on cyclist safety is, at best, marginal. Discussing helmets distracts from the measure that provably and drastically improves cycling uptake and safety: a dense grid of cycling infrastructure separated from fast motor traffic.
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@__d @Arapalla @marco_m_aus_f @juliette This one cited in the above piece is also making the most salient point: the effect of helmets on cyclist safety is, at best, marginal. Discussing helmets distracts from the measure that provably and drastically improves cycling uptake and safety: a dense grid of cycling infrastructure separated from fast motor traffic.
@__d @Arapalla @marco_m_aus_f @juliette To cite from the Conclusion:
"Laws requiring cyclists to wear helmets are controversial. [...] Not only have such laws failed to bring about reductions in rates
of head injuries (Robinson 2006), but they also reduce the level of cycling
(Robinson 1996) and the health benefits of physical activity." -
@__d @Arapalla @marco_m_aus_f @juliette To cite from the Conclusion:
"Laws requiring cyclists to wear helmets are controversial. [...] Not only have such laws failed to bring about reductions in rates
of head injuries (Robinson 2006), but they also reduce the level of cycling
(Robinson 1996) and the health benefits of physical activity."@__d @Arapalla @marco_m_aus_f @juliette "Because the
risk that an individual cyclist will be struck by a motorist increases as
the level of cycling decreases, compulsory helmet laws could have the
perverse effect of increasing deaths—not just risk of death—among those
who continue to cycle (Komanoff 2001)." -
@__d @Arapalla @marco_m_aus_f @juliette "Because the
risk that an individual cyclist will be struck by a motorist increases as
the level of cycling decreases, compulsory helmet laws could have the
perverse effect of increasing deaths—not just risk of death—among those
who continue to cycle (Komanoff 2001)."@geeeero @Arapalla @marco_m_aus_f @juliette I live in Australia, and cycling helmets have been mandatory for many decades. Much like car seat belts, it became an unquestioned reflex for me to wear one long ago. The OP‘s statement that such laws kill bike “sharing“ schemes is contradicted by their ongoing operation here.
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@james I can’t remember where I read it, but there has been a study on this! They compared the attitude of car drivers depending on a few factors: wearing a helmet, reflective gear, type of bike, perceived gender.
I remember the striking result was that the best way to protect against road rage was having a ponytail (and being perceived as female).@juliette I think this study by Ian Walker is what you are having in mind: https://www.bath.ac.uk/announcements/cyclists-cannot-stop-drivers-overtaking-dangerously-research-study-suggests/
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@geeeero @Arapalla @marco_m_aus_f @juliette I live in Australia, and cycling helmets have been mandatory for many decades. Much like car seat belts, it became an unquestioned reflex for me to wear one long ago. The OP‘s statement that such laws kill bike “sharing“ schemes is contradicted by their ongoing operation here.
@geeeero @Arapalla @marco_m_aus_f @juliette I’ve heard, for years, the arguments against helmets. There has always seemed to be a lot of motivated reasoning in the debate. It consumes a lot of space that could address the, in my view, far more important issues of acceptable car driver behaviour and transport infrastructure planning. It’s a distraction that’s been very successful.
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@daycoder @juliette this is evidence, perhaps relevant in the Danish/Euro context. https://ugeskriftet.dk/dmj/potential-impact-mandatory-helmet-when-biking
@billschulz @juliette it’s very difficult to draw any conclusions from “Following the introduction of mandatory helmet legislation in Victoria, Australia, insurance claims for cyclists killed or hospitalised with head injuries decreased by 48% in the first year and 70% in the second year”, simply because it doesn’t tell us enough. It could be that kilometres cycled decreased by 48% and then 70%.
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@billschulz @juliette it’s very difficult to draw any conclusions from “Following the introduction of mandatory helmet legislation in Victoria, Australia, insurance claims for cyclists killed or hospitalised with head injuries decreased by 48% in the first year and 70% in the second year”, simply because it doesn’t tell us enough. It could be that kilometres cycled decreased by 48% and then 70%.
@daycoder @billschulz or that people injured while not wearing a helmet didn’t file a claim because they thought the insurance would consider them at fault anyway
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One of the key negative impacts of mandatory bike helmet laws is that they are essentially a death sentence for bike share programs.
Those programs win because they are convenient and encourage spontaneous cycling. That just doesn’t work if a person has to carry a helmet everywhere just in case they decide to cycle. Tourists are not going to pack a bulky helmet. Shared helmets are a hygiene nightmare.
Protect cyclists with bike infrastructure. That’s what works.
#helmets@juliette I'm not saying you're wrong. But your statement does not mean people shouldn't wear a helmet when they ride a bike, and i hope no one thinks it means that.
I wish everyone who thinks wearing one is superfluous would listen to this guy
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@juliette Agreed, I see what you bring up as a strong point. On the other side, there is a lot of comments here suggesting "helmets don’t really do much". Here is a study which reports that "Head injuries were found to be reduced significantly with helmet usage by 60 percent, brain injuries by 58 percent and facial injuries were reduced by 4 percent. [...] Fatal injuries were shown to decrease significantly by a prominent 73 percent" https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-023-35728-x Saying helmets don't work is harmful
@CrowOnAKettle @juliette the trouble with this is that mandatory helmets are also found to reduce cycling injuries of all kinds - eg wrist injuries, broken arms etc. areas where helmets clearly offer no protection. So, the mechanism is actually reduction of cycling - and consequently increased mortality from inactivity etc. cyclists live longer.
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Mandatory helmet laws reduce the number of people cycling. This has huge health impacts, as the benefit of cycling is lost, increasing deaths from lots of lack of fitness related causes
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One of the key negative impacts of mandatory bike helmet laws is that they are essentially a death sentence for bike share programs.
Those programs win because they are convenient and encourage spontaneous cycling. That just doesn’t work if a person has to carry a helmet everywhere just in case they decide to cycle. Tourists are not going to pack a bulky helmet. Shared helmets are a hygiene nightmare.
Protect cyclists with bike infrastructure. That’s what works.
#helmetsWhere are you talking about in particular?
The only helmet laws I've seen are for children or for ebike riders, usually on higher power bikes.
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@juliette I have two bike helmets. If I’m going someplace by foot or public transit and think I will tent a bike I’ll just bring one with me.
Collapsible bike helmets exist.
Maybe rentable bikes should include helmets?
I’ve been hit by a car before. And I’ve fallen off my bike simply by accident. Just wear the damn helmet. If you’re not responsible enough to protect yourself from an injury on a bike then please don’t ride a bike.
Collapsible bike helmets?! How long have they been around?
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@ColmDonoghue @s0 @juliette (and loneliness from staying secluded)
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@juliette Thanks, loads of citations to indulge me there! My only regret about cycling is that I didn’t get back into it sooner, but looking back I recognise a big part of that is the hostile road environment we’ve created.
As an aside, on my quick read I don’t think it mentioned the change in attitudes towards individual cyclists wearing safety gear (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1369847823001018). I know when I did a few rides with and without a helmet it felt the closer and fastest (and more aggressive) passes were when I was helmeted.
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@raymaccarthy @enobacon @juliette 100% agree about driving standards. I learned to drive 32yrs ago and I’ve noticed a difference. Not entirely sure what it is but everyone seems to drive much closer/faster with very little respect to others on the roads, cyclists get caught the crossfire. Maybe it’s because there are more vehicles on the roads these days and the vast majority of roads are no longer fit for purpose. This has nothing to do with cycling helmets though, accidents happen anywhere.
@JaxxAI Long Covid, economic pressures, info overload generally, “Back In My Day —“, “that rule is stupid so I’m going to ignore it”.
Also in my parents’ case, “We can save nearly an hour by driving only 5 or 10 mph higher on the motorway”, with their kids in the back, ffs.Where’s that (Kiwi?) traffic safety ad where the two drivers stop time before a collision, one begging the main road driver to slow down, and it’s too fast?
@raymaccarthy @enobacon @juliette -
@raymaccarthy + many many many drivers look at their phones instead of the road!
Probably depends on location, but it was uncompareably safer to cycle on side of the road in 2000 than it is now, mainly because of this.
@krahabors HONESTLY YES WHAT THE FUCK?!? Nearly got scraped by a guy looking straight down AS HE WAS EXITING A ROUNDABOUT. Fuck sake
@raymaccarthy @JaxxAI @enobacon @juliette -
@krahabors @JaxxAI @enobacon @juliette
Also vehicles with super big touch screen instead of physical controls you can operate without taking eyes of road.
Also distracting SatNav that isn't needed and the user has no idea it has an off.@raymaccarthy I would plaster this giant on the side of buildings if I could. Omfg @krahabors @JaxxAI @enobacon @juliette
