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Do Drivers Pass Closer If You Wear a Helmet

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  • June 21, 2016 at 11:37 pm #25924
    Dan S

    Most people have probably seen reference to the study, some years ago, which suggested that drivers pass closer to cyclists who are wearing a helmet than they do to those who are not.  It’s often cited as a reason not to wear a helmet.

    Without wanting to make an argument either way as to helmet use, I thought that some people might be interested in a further analysis of the same data (i.e. the researchers got hold of the raw data from the original experiment and looked at it again to see whether it was properly interpreted).  This study went into rather more depth, comparing a number of factors and considering their statistical significance rather than just drawing simple numbers.

    Short version of the conclusions:

    1. Yes, cars pass closer on average if you are wearing a helmet.

    2. That only applies to cars passing more than 2m away.  Cars that give you 2m+ clearance will give an average 7cm more room to somebody without a helmet (2.27m v 2.20m).  

    3. The overwhelming majority of passes took place 1-2m away.  They gave, on average, 1-2cm more clearance to those without a helmet (and this figure was not statistically significant).  Also not statistically significant were the figures for 0.5-0.75m passes (no difference) and less than 0.75cm (those wearing helmets were given 5cm MORE room – 66cm v 61cm).

    4. Overall, since the only statistically significant increase is in passes at a good distance “these results do not support the idea that any substantive risk reduction can be gained from not wearing a helmet”.

    5. The most significant correlations were actually road type (drivers on the “regular urban streets” of Bristol gave less clearance than those on the “residential” and “rural” roads of Salisbury) and distance to kerb (the further the cyclist was from the kerb, the closer the cars passed).  

     

    As I said, not trying to argue one way or the other, but this study is often brought up and i thought it might be useful to see that it does not in fact support the proposition for which it is generally cited.  The full text of the reanalysis is here: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3783373/

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  • June 22, 2016 at 1:13 pm #873863
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    kil0ran

    Given the amount of tree

    Given the amount of tree/shrub overhang on my commute there’s no way I’d ride without a lid and glasses.

    Popping down the shops is a different matter but I do ride more cautiously without one – which is stupid because I know its unlikely to make much difference in a bail on a 35+mph descent

    June 22, 2016 at 12:51 pm #873861
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    PennineRider

    Something which I often

    Something which I often wonder is…

    You find an awful lot of anti-compulsion feeling on cycling forums, and an awful lot of “a helmet won’t really protect you” stuff, but when I’m out and about, the only cyclist I see without a helmet is me.

    Each to their own, but where are all of the helmet-freedom campaigners? Maybe they’re all commuting in cities, rather than slogging it over t’moors…

    …anyone?

     

     

    June 22, 2016 at 12:46 pm #873859
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    alansmurphy

    1. Yes, cars pass closer on

    1. Yes, cars pass closer on average if you are wearing a helmet.

    2. That only applies to cars passing more than 2m away.  Cars that give you 2m+ clearance will give an average 7cm more room to somebody without a helmet (2.27m v 2.20m).  

    3. The overwhelming majority of passes took place 1-2m away.  They gave, on average, 1-2cm more clearance to those without a helmet (and this figure was not statistically significant).  Also not statistically significant were the figures for 0.5-0.75m passes (no difference) and less than 0.75cm (those wearing helmets were given 5cm MORE room – 66cm v 61cm).

     

    Therefore:

    “drivers pass closer to cyclists who are wearing a helmet than they do to those who are not”

     

    Is true!

     

    June 22, 2016 at 12:40 pm #873857
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    keirik

    Helmet discussions are a

    Helmet discussions are a waste of time, as you’ll always get people quoting statistics they don’t understand and extrapolating those stats to individual situations where they’re invalid, and they then descend into abuse of anyone who disagrees.

     

    FWIW I wear a helmet, and am totally aware it won’t stop a car hitting me, but it does offer protection from glancing blows and self inflicted head/floor interfaces – and that’s speaking from personal experience.

     

    If anyone doesnt want to wear a helmet then feel free, but don’t try and couch your argument in misunderstood stats

     

    June 22, 2016 at 12:16 pm #873855
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    fukawitribe

    I’ve brought this up each

    I’ve brought this up each time i’ve seen Walkers data quoted – but it seems that people tend to only want to quote what they think they know about the analysis rather than actually read anything.

     

    As for helmets not protecting anyone because otherwise we’d have mass fatalities – I wasn’t aware that protection was so binary. I guess this means that gloves and knee and elbow pads don’t offer any as my arms and legs aren’t dead.

    June 22, 2016 at 11:54 am #873853
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    Daveyraveygravey
    Yorkshire wallet wrote:
    Should helmet use be mandatory for mopeds? I got behind one that was struggling to hit 25 the other day. I can do that legally on a pushbike.

     

    Er, it is!  In this country anyway.

    I always wear a helmet; mainly because I banged my head on the tarmac in two incidents when I came off on ice last year.  Both were my fault, no-one else around never mind involved.  

    I don’t let drivers get away with close passing me, I always shout and gesticulate.  I have noticed that nearly always following cars then give an exaggerated amount of room.  Apart from the one that got especially close.

    Driving is something that most people in the UK don’t really think about, ask most drivers if they can recall anything about their last journey by car, and they wouldn’t have a clue.  There should be a campaign to raise awareness about this issue, but I doubt anyone who doesn’t cycle gives a monkeys.

    June 22, 2016 at 8:40 am #873851
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    Anonymous

    Should helmet use be

    Should helmet use be mandatory for mopeds? I got behind one that was struggling to hit 25 the other day. I can do that legally on a pushbike.

    June 22, 2016 at 8:31 am #873849
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    Jimnm
    Danger Dicko wrote:
    No.

    Some drivers will give cyclists space, some not as much.

    I don’t think attire changes their habits.

    I think that it’s down the the drivers’ spacial awareness ,some are good and others are horrific. Then there is the resentment factor. Attitudes of drivers’ vary from he hatred of cyclists, to annoyance. Let’s face it, we are not liked for riding on our roads. 

     

     

     

    June 22, 2016 at 7:22 am #873847
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    Danger Dicko

    No.

    No.

    Some drivers will give cyclists space, some not as much.

    I don’t think attire changes their habits.

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