[brooksby]

The Cult of Bike Helmets
The history—and danger—of a modern safety obsession.

you don’t have to read it, y’know…

https://slate.com/technology/2023/01/bike-helmets-cyclist-deaths-do-you-need-to-wear.html

Topic

[OnYerBike]

Brauchsel wrote:

Having fallen off a (stationary) lorry and cracked my head resulting in a rather worrying spell of blindness, I would wear head protection if working at height. If I thought a sudden gust or passing car or icy patch was going to take me off an unstable stepladder, I wouldn’t go up it. If I regularly walked at 15mph in the same carriageway as 2-tonne pedestrians passing me at 40mph, I’d wear a helmet. If I thought that my personal risk, as opposed to a population-level statistic, of having a serious head injury in the shower was significant I’d do something to address that too. 

You might be braver, or a better cyclist, or just plain luckier than me. That’s fine, and you can do what you like. My experience is that hitting your head when falling off a bike a) happens regardless of how careful I am and b) hurts a lot less when wearing a helmet. That’s enough for me. 

In a roundabout way, you’ve actually demonstrated the point quite nicely. You make a personal assessment of the risk – what is the likelihood of something happening, and what would the consequences be? You consider options for mitigating the risk – you could wear a helmet in the shower, or put down a grippy bath mat thing, or attach a grab handle. You consider the cost of doing so – the financial cost of purchasing those things and also the inconvenience of using them. In some cases (the shower) you might decide the risk is sufficiently low as-is and the cost sufficiently high that no mitigation is worthwhile; in other cases (the step ladder on ice) you might decide there is no mitigation that makes the risk acceptable and so you simply don’t do it.

The point is that none of those assessments are made in a vacuum, and none of them are objective. Humans are really bad at estimating the risk of rare events – far more people are scared of getting in a plane than getting in a car. We use simple heuristics to assess risk – are other people scared? Are other people using safety equipment? Is there advice from The Authorities? 

All I ask is that you, or more pertinently policy makers, question the objectivity of some of those assessments when it comes to cycling and helmets, and admit that it’s a matter of degree rather than any kind of clear distinction. There’s little more infuriating in this debate than the words “if it saves just one life” because it’s such an obvious double standard. The only difference is that when someone is rushed to A&E with a head injury after a car crash, no-one asks whether or not they were wearing a helmet.

And when it comes to policy-level decisions, it’s important to remember that the biggest barrier to cycling is consistently that it is perceived to be too dangerous. And whilst you may think the “cost” of wearing a helmet is low, even minor “friction” costs can seriously impact behaviour. The result is that too many people choose the “simply don’t do it” option. And that has serious implications for population health, because the evidence shows that if there’s one thing that really is dangerous, it’s inactivity (and pollution is on the list too). 

So whilst I am glad you are willing to cycle despite wearing a helmet, I think it would make it better for everyone if we stopped normalising helmet-wearing for local journeys by bike, and spread the message the cycling is a safe, everyday activity that does not require special protective equipment. There will still be rare crashes, including crashes in which a helmet might have helped – but just as there are car crashes in which wearing a helmet would have helped, I would like there to be no expectation for the people involved to have been wearing one, because we recognise the risk is sufficiently low, and the cost sufficiently high. And of course, we should continue to focus on delivering interventions that we know actually make cycling safer (and make cycling feel safer) such as high quality segregated infrastructure. 

[Hirsute]

I like the way the OP has lit

I like the way the OP has lit the blue touch paper and retired to a safe distance.

[andystow]

Adam Sutton wrote:

It amuses me this eye rolling attitude “cult of bike helmets” jog on FFS. If you don’t want to wear a helmet fine, but Christ on a bike (with a helmet? who cares) people can be way more preachy about not wearing helmets.

In multiple bike groups on Facebook, there are two common kinds of posts that become about helmets.

1. Someone posts a pic of their cracked helmet with a paragraph about “my helmet saved my life, make sure you all wear your helmet.”

2. Someone posts a nice photo of themselves on a ride with no helmet in the photo, and inevitably will get at least one of “where is your helmet?!” or “just trying to be helpful here, and I’d feel terrible if I didn’t mention this, but you should probably be wearing a helmet.” WE ALL KNOW ABOUT HELMETS!

I can’t think of any time anyone has commented “why are you wearing a helmet, that looks like a nice safe bike path” or “I don’t wear a helmet, you shouldn’t either.” Not a one.

I wear a helmet the vast majority of the time. I don’t evangelize in either direction, but the helmet evangelists are by far the most annoying.

[HoarseMann]

Brauchsel wrote:

If I thought that my personal risk, as opposed to a population-level statistic, of having a serious head injury in the shower was significant I’d do something to address that too. 

I think we have arrived at the answer to your question, so be baffled no more: It’s down to personal choice.

I actually think I’m probably at more risk of falling in the shower than falling off my town bike on the short trip to the shops. Both are risks I deem low enough to not worry about a helmet in either case.

I also think that sadly there is some peer pressure to wear a helmet cycling, certainly when I once forgot to bring my bike helmet mountain biking, I got some very disapproving looks! (yes, I deem the risks when pushing it on the mountain bike warrant it, but I just rode less recklessly that day)

I can imagine there’s some peer pressure to not wear one walking to the supermarket, I’ve never tried it, but I assume I’d get the same disapproving looks! But your argument for wearing one on a bike still holds true for walking to the shops: surely it’s safer, better than not wearing one at all and of no impediment? So why might you not wear one? Choice.

The helmet argument is not one of “for or against helmets”, but one of “for or against choice” and the right to not be criticised for the choice you make.

[chrisonabike]

Baron Winston for one. Lots
Baron Winston for one. Lots of knowledge about many things, just has a bee in his (helmet) bonnet about cyclists…

[Backladder]

Brauchsel wrote:

Having fallen off a (stationary) lorry and cracked my head resulting in a rather worrying spell of blindness, I would wear head protection if working at height. If I thought a sudden gust or passing car or icy patch was going to take me off an unstable stepladder, I wouldn’t go up it. If I regularly walked at 15mph in the same carriageway as 2-tonne pedestrians passing me at 40mph, I’d wear a helmet. If I thought that my personal risk, as opposed to a population-level statistic, of having a serious head injury in the shower was significant I’d do something to address that too. 

You might be braver, or a better cyclist, or just plain luckier than me. That’s fine, and you can do what you like. My experience is that hitting your head when falling off a bike a) happens regardless of how careful I am and b) hurts a lot less when wearing a helmet. That’s enough for me. 

Its not the 2 ton pedestrians at 40mph that are your problem (they will crush your skull just as easily as a pedestrian or as a cyclist) its the distance between your head and the ground, that potential energy generates the sort of impact that a helmet can do some good with. I’m not suggesting that you should wear a helmet while walking, I don’t so it would be hippocritical but I do think you should consider the situation rationally and not brush it off as being unrelated to cycling. 

[NOtotheEU]

hawkinspeter wrote:

. . . . . general public that consider it to be a sign of mental deficiency to cycle without a helmet .

[David9694]

Medics have have a

Medics have have a necessarily limited highly edited view – they just see the stricken patient in front of them.

[David9694]

Do feel free to drop by my

Do feel free to drop by my local Facebook pages.

Drivers evangelise on this because they think it will make matters less serious if there is a mishap on a i dont know, a close pass. 

[AlsoSomniloquism]

Quote:

Oh it happens, and has done on here. Good ol’ cycling mikey on twatter has cabal of idiots following him too that will jump on anyone. Glad i’m off that s***show of social media now.

And conversely if someone posts a picture of themselves riding a bike whilst not wearing a helmet, the comments are full of “wear one”, normally by people who haven’t ridden a bike in years because “it is too dangerous”. 

 

[hawkinspeter]

Adam Sutton wrote:

It came from a pulpit.

That’ll be preaching then

[Adam Sutton]

It came from a pulpit.

It came from a pulpit.

[hawkinspeter]

Adam Sutton wrote:

Not my experience even on here. A previous post I commented similar stating my personal experience. The result was a response along similar lines that no one preaches about not using helmets….. and then to berate and preach about why people shouldn’t wear helmets. It was laughably ironic.

Was it berating and preaching or was it presenting the other side of the story Without a specific example, it is difficult to judge one way or another.

Most of the anti-helmet posts that I’ve seen have made no recommendation one way or another, but have sought to clarify and determine the facts of the matter. Usually those kinds of exchanges are brought about in response to some public figure stating that they were serious about road safety, so they were looking at bike helmets. That’s the preaching that bugs me (and I do wear a bike helmet).

[Adam Sutton]

Oh it happens, and has done

Oh it happens, and has done on here. Good ol’ cycling mikey on twatter has cabal of idiots following him too that will jump on anyone. Glad i’m off that s***show of social media now.

In my experience those berated for being helmet proponents generally are just sharing personal experience like I have. I honestly couldn’t give two flying …. if someone doesn’t want to wear a helmet, but I will happily share a personal experience. I have seen people share photos of a helmet from an accident they walked away from with no serious injury that makes you think “yikes”. Only to see them hounded and berated. 

Wear helmet, don’t wear a helmet. Just ride your bike and enjoy it. 

Edit: I mean seriously. I posted this and then scrolled to some of the other comments here. LMFAO 

[Adam Sutton]

Not my experience even on

Not my experience even on here. A previous post I commented similar stating my personal experience. The result was a response along similar lines that no one preaches about not using helmets….. and then to berate and preach about why people shouldn’t wear helmets. It was laughably ironic.

[Author]

Replies