crosspostato da: https://piefed.social/post/741601
Few topics in cycling inspire as much controversy as helmets. Some people insist they’re essential, calling non-wearers reckless and invoking harsh and violent imagery: “enjoy your traumatic brain injury”. “You’ll regret it when you’re in a hospital with a feeding tube”. You hear suggestions of denying access to public healthcare. On the opposite end, helmet skeptics argue that they’re a distraction. I’ve actually heard people call them “magic hats” that “don’t offer significant protection (if any at all)”. Helmets dehumanize cyclists and send the wrong message. They’re dorky and uncool, rather than fashionable and European. > > So what’s the truth about helmets? > > > Keep Urbanity rolling: > > Join our Patreon for early releases, credit at the end of each video, and bonus content: https://www.patreon.com/ohtheurbanity > Contact form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1NeALCmO6ELwJAGPyV46BVbl5JXzjlWl6emH3ZRNiCiw/edit > Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCN5CBM1NkqDYAHgS-AbgGHA?sub_confirmation=1 > Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ohurbanity > BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/ohtheurbanity.bsky.social > > For professional inquiries, please fill out the following contact form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1NeALCmO6ELwJAGPyV46BVbl5JXzjlWl6emH3ZRNiCiw/edit > > References: > >
- Protection provided > > Bicycle helmets – To wear or not to wear? A meta-analyses of the effects of bicycle helmets on injuries (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0001457518301301) > >
- Risk compensation > > Drivers overtaking bicyclists: Objective data on the effects of riding > position, helmet use, vehicle type and apparent gender (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0001457506001540) > Bicycle helmet wearing is associated with closer overtaking by drivers: A response to Olivier and Walter, 2013 (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0001457518309928) > Emotional reactions to cycle helmet use (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0001457512001169) > Risk compensation theory and bicycle helmets – Results > from an experiment of cycling speed and short-term effects > of habituation (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1369847816305666) > Risk compensation? – The relationship between helmet use and cycling > speed under naturalistic conditions (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0022437517307302) > Bicycle helmets and risky behaviour: A systematic review (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1369847818305941) > >
- Level of risk > Sport-related major trauma incidence in young people and adults in England and Wales: a national > registry-based study (https://injuryprevention.bmj.com/content/injuryprev/30/1/60.full.pdf) > Active Living and Injury Risk (https://www.thieme-connect.de/products/ejournals/abstract/10.1055/s-2004-819935) > Epidemiology of injury in professional cyclists (https://bjsm.bmj.com/content/44/Suppl_1/i4.2) > >
- Discouraging cycling > Do the Health Benefits of Cycling Outweigh the Risks? (https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2920084/) > Bicycle helmet research [CARRS-Q Monograph Series - Monograph 5] (https://eprints.qut.edu.au/41798/) > The effects of provincial bicycle helmet legislation on > helmet use and bicycle ridership in Canada (https://injuryprevention.bmj.com/content/16/4/219) > Recommend or mandate? A systematic review and meta-analysis of the > effects of mandatory bicycle helmet legislation (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S000145751830397X) > Helmet law makes nonsense of bike hire scheme > (https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/helmet-law-makes-nonsense-of-bike-hire-scheme-20100722-10my2.html) > >
- Dehumanization > The effect of safety attire on perceptions of cyclist dehumanisation (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1369847823001018#b0200) > >
- Claims bike helmets don't help > https://www.cnet.com/science/brain-surgeon-theres-no-point-wearing-cycle-helmets/ > https://www.rwcpulse.com/blogs/peeking-at-plans/2023/09/25/bike-helmets-01/ > >
- Dutch statistics > https://swov.nl/en/fact-sheet/cyclists > https://www.veiligheid.nl/sites/default/files/2022-06/Rapportage%20%28Snor-%20en%20brom%29fietsongevallen%20in%20Nederland.pdf (English summary included)
As a BMX flatland rider (not in traffic), I've found that helmets cause the rider to be unnaturally top heavy, which affects the abilities of the rider to perform a lot of tricks, particularly the many one wheel tricks the sport has to offer.
If anything, in BMX flatland, elbow pads, knee pads, shin guards, and perhaps gloves, offer the most necessary protection for the sport. Pretty much all flatland riders ditched helmets back in the 90's for the very reason I mentioned, it affects the balance while performing complex tricks.
Now as far as regular road commuting, even though I'm not one to wear a helmet, I would tend to recommend a helmet for the average rider. Vehicles are big and heavy, and plenty of drivers out there don't pay nearly enough attention to bicycles or pedestrians.
And that in itself brings up another question:
If bicycle riders should wear helmets, then shouldn't pedestrians also wear helmets...?
I'm sorry, a 10oz helmet will not make a 150-200lbs person "unnaturally top heavy" and all those other pads protect body parts that can be repaired. The brain is a one time deal. Wear a helmet, always.
Go ahead, look up professional BMX flatland competition. None of the pros wear helmets, and it's not in any of their rules. For the very reason I mentioned, it affects delicate balance.
Look up Jomopro and Voodoo Jam...
https://youtu.be/fMOkI4DQm_0
https://youtu.be/8w68P63ykww
Literally nobody in BMX flatland wears a helmet anymore. If they did, then the pro competitions would require it.
Experienced flatlanders know better, helmets just distract the rider and throw off the rider's natural flow, and actually make it even more likely to wreck.
Flatland ≠ Traffic
Clearly you've never rode flatland then. Flatlanders don't fall on their heads, they fall on their knees and elbows, and sometimes the top tube smacks their shins.
It's the stunt riders that do ramping and other tricks that leave the ground that risk crashing on their head. Flatlanders stay on the ground. Well, minus the occasional bunny hop.
Like I said, basically the entire BMX flatland community has already agreed on this back in the 90's. Go ahead and find me even one single flatland rider these days that wears a helmet. The last video clip I saw of flatlanders wearing helmets is from 1985.
@over_clox @lgsp no, motorised vehicles shouldn't be able to hit pedestrians and cyclists. Mostly because their is a right to walk, not drive a car.
There are a lot of things that shouldn't be, but we gotta face the facts. There are way too many ignorant drivers that either barely know how to drive, might be just plain assholes, or just staring at their phone instead of the road..
Ignoring electric bicycles and high speed riding/racing bicycles, I'm not sure if I see the activity of riding a bicycle any more or less dangerous than walking, unless of course the bike rider doesn't have good balance or awareness of their surroundings, which could apply to either bicyclists or pedestrians.
Both bicyclists and pedestrians share pretty much the same risks when traveling near vehicle occupied roads. If anything, I feel that pedestrians are generally more at risk. They are smaller in the visual field of vehicle drivers, they move slower, and they're not wearing reflectors or protective gear.
The average comfortable cruising pace on a bicycle tends to be around 12 miles per hour. Most bicycles are pretty agile and quick to control. I mean, compare the stopping distance of a ~4000 pound vehicle going 12 miles per hour to the stopping distance of a ~200 pound rider plus their bike, to the speed and stopping distance of a ~175 pound pedestrian on foot...
So, if anything, pedestrians are more in danger, at least the way I see it.
@over_clox The key bit there being, why are cars allowed on things that were safe for pedestrians?
No, the key bit there is why do pedestrians cross the road? To get to the other side, same as bicyclists.
@over_clox at grade crossings should be rare ;)
Oh that's so hilarious that I forgot to laugh..
How the hell does any cyclist or pedestrian get across the road to get to the store or to their friend's house, or to work even?
@over_clox why are cars allowed there. That is the way around I'm pushing
I almost get your question, but.. 'arountd I'm push' ..
I'm confused.....
@over_clox bad typing, corrected now