When people don’t wear bike helmets

[Blackbinsack]

I know there un cool not the comfort-ablest thing and pain to have to carry once your bikes locked up. but why don’t more people where them I once fell off my bike and my helmet completely cracked could of
Been my head had I not worn it 26,000 people are treated in hospital for brain and head injuries every year due to not wearing a helmet.

[paganmolloy]

See here: graph no. 9 pertinent to this thread

www.theguardian.com/cities/gallery/2018/jun/11/copenhagenize-case-urban-cycling-graphs?CMP=share_btn_tw&page=with:img-9#img-9

[Lethaldrizzle]

It's not the people who don't wear helmets that shock me, it's the drivers that don't see the cyclists or treat them with contempt. Cars, vans, lorries are the most lethal weapons on the road. Just drive considerately.

[saison4]

Where would you find ‘evidence’ that helmets had saved lives or bad injuries? You either die or you don’t, I’m sure it’s not going to be recorded...

there is lots of data - but it shows very much the opposite of what you are trying to claim: helmets do not save lifes.

[whatwouldbe]

m.youtube.com/watch?v=RWhMEkMtLy0

[BlueBug45]

@Grandmaswagbag a medical doctor is not a materials scientist/engineer.

[Grandmaswagsbag]

You can’t draw comparisons between cycling on U.K. roads and Holland, as pps have pointed out they have a cycling friendly infrastructure. Saying they don’t wear helmets in Holland therefore it must make cycling safer is surely mixing up cause and effect. a quick google reveals that lots of studies have found that helmets have reduced risk of serious head injury, which is different from saying they reduce deaths of course, but no one wants a serious head injury and if they can lower their chances why wouldn’t they? The arguments that cycling injuries and fatalities have increased as helmet use has increased is also confounding the fact that the roads are much busier and more dangerous over the 30 year period since the 80s.

[ivykaty44]

In Nederlands motorists respect cyclists, that’s the difference not the helmet. As explained up thread cyclists and drivers are mixed - but attitude is different as a much higher %of drivers cycle.

If drivers actually drive carefully around cyclists then less crashes occur and then less head injuries occur from drivers crashing

Focus on the cause of the crash instead of focusing on the protection from the crash. If you keep focused on the cause of the crash you will reduce the impacts happening in the first place. If you constantly focus on the protection you will not see a reduction and possibly an increase

[ivykaty44]

the media don't help by portraying any cyclists without helmets as somehow deserve what they get .... 'the cyclist, who wasn't wearing a helmet, sustained life threatening injuries when flattened by a lorry'

The media did the same with sexual assault- they victim blame and society listens...

[ivykaty44]

The price of fuel will increase and this will have an affect on Cycling numbers

The last petrol increases had an effect on Cycling and reduced average speeds as people didn’t want to waste fuel

[whatwouldbe]

Focus on the cause of the crash instead of focusing on the protection from the crash.

This!!!! But many people don't get this and rather focus on victim blaming!

[VickieCherry]

@itstimeforanamechange I think I'm being a bit stupid because cycling is an inherently more dangerous activity than walking. I cycle most days and walk most days. Of course I might slip and fall while walking, but I'll be closer to the ground and moving more slowly than when I'm cycling. I have better balance when I'm walking than on two wheels which are not part of me.. And anecdotally, the last time I fell over hurt a lot less than the last time I fell off my bike!

If people don't want to wear helmets then fine, go ahead... but I will continue to think you're being a bit daft.

[ivykaty44]

Actually your more likely to be hit by a motorist in a car when you’re walking than cycling so not sure that Cycling is more dangerous than walking

[MissCherryCakeyBun]

I was in a car accident and broke my neck....the risk to me from wearing a cycle helmet over not wearing one is to great....the additional weight and balance issues are simply NOT a good idea. I'm also very well read on the cycle helmet issues so nope I don't wear one. My OH who I cycle with does however and it's up to him as an adult to make an INFORMED decision having read both the for and against arguments

[VickieCherry]

@ivykaty44 That makes sense - pedestrians cross roads and therefore are more likely to be hit by a car, whereas cyclists tend to be going the same way as car traffic and therefore less likely to be hit, because they're on the same path.

@MissCherryCakeyBun That's a very specific example, most people haven't broken their necks and don't have any problem with the weight of a cycle helmet or find that it unbalances them. Of course, in that situation you are best not wearing one.

I should also add - I have cycled in and around Amsterdam (town and surrounding countryside) and didn't wear a helmet. I felt very safe and didn't feel the need. The roads are wide and cyclists have their own lane on the main ones, you're separated from traffic and there's less street furniture than in the UK. The cycle paths in the parks are also wide, designed for cyclists and pedestrians. And also - people are far more aware of bikes and expect them to be around.

[MissCherryCakeyBun]

@VickieCherry I mentioned it as I get comments a lot from others about how stupid I am for not wearing a helmet
All in all It's a personal judgement call and I think it's unreasonable to make people out to be idiots etc when they have made this call

[itstimeforanamechange]

cycling is an inherently more dangerous activity than walking
I'll be closer to the ground and moving more slowly than when I'm cycling

but it isn't. If you fall over walking you could hit your head. If you fall off your bike you could hit your head. You're closer to the ground on your bike although I accept the speed argument.

If you get hit by a car whether you are walking or on your bike, you are likely to sustain injuries. Doesn't matter which you are doing.

Helmets aren't the issue, people who don't take care when driving are the issue.

[VickieCherry]

Ok, so my perception is that cycling is more dangerous. I cycle two miles to the station and back every working day, through suburbs for 10 mins and then into busy town traffic for a couple of minutes. (Plus weekend cycles which tend to be in parks or countryside.) I also walk a lot, in both suburbs, town and central London.

It's a rare cycling day when I don't encounter an idiot on the roads. Sometimes pedestrians, usually drivers. I feel unsafe quite frequently, even if just for a couple of seconds when someone drives past me too fast. In contrast, when walking I rarely feel unsafe. I'm travelling at a slower speed and have more control over my feet than I do a bike - I can dodge easily and stop more quickly. I'm a confident cyclist but there is no doubt that for me, it feels more dangerous than walking. Quicker and more fun, though!

[ivykaty44]

Vickycherry sadly no

The pedestrians get killed by drivers on the pavement... making people think the pavement is dangerous- when in fact it’s the drivers that are dangerous.

That’s the message that always seems to get missed - make the drivers safer

[paganmolloy]

That’s the message that always seems to get missed - make the drivers safer

This!!!!

It's a weird analogy to make but I recently read a meme about the gun laws in the states where after the most recent school shooting someone said the problem was that the school had too many doors and exits for the gunman to escape from. The punchline was along the lines of "FFS they are going to ban doors before they ban guns".

It's the motorised vehicles being operated by assholes that make the roads dangerous but we do everything to remedy the situation except tackling the root cause and that's the bad driving.

[ivykaty44]

I's the motorised vehicles being operated by assholes that make the roads dangerous

It’s not assholes though, it’s mums taking the dc to school, taxi drivers, your sister or father who are distracted and not paying attention, running late speeding, driving through an amber light, parking on the pavement.

Then when it gets to court in front of 12 jury they don’t find the accused guilty as they think to themselves - it could have been me....

And that means they don’t find them guilty which leads to these crimes not being punished

Or the thousands of people that drive with more than 20 points on their licence because, well they’d lose there job and home which is more important than if they eventually kill someone through there illegal driving practices

They are’normal’ people and car crimes well there not real crimes - are they..

[itstimeforanamechange]

It's a rare day when I don't encounter an idiot on the roads full stop.

Pedestrians who dawdle along with their faces glued to their mobile phone screens.

Cyclists who race along going ding ding ding and refusing to give way to pedestrians.

Bus drivers who stop their buses over pedestrian crossings even though they could see it wasn't clear the other side and should have stopped further back.

Car drivers who won't give away to pedestrians crossing side roads they want to turn into.

But people on foot and bikes usually only hurt themselves if they do something stupid. Drivers of metal boxes often kill or maim people through their inattention and, often, aggression. I think killing people by dangerous driving should be removed from the statute book and it should simply be manslaughter.

[ivykaty44]

Man in US got 75 years for killing 5 cyclists 🚴‍♀️