this post was submitted on 11 May 2025
31 points (86.0% liked)

Bicycling

2601 readers
151 users here now

A community for those who enjoy bicycling for any reason— utility, recreation, sport, or whatever!

Post your questions, experiences, knowledge, pictures, news, links, and (civil) rants.

Rules (to be added on an as-needed basis)

  1. Comments and posts should be respectful and productive.
  2. No ads or commercial spam, including linking to your own monetized content.
  3. Linked content should be as unburdened by ads and trackers as possible.

Welcome!

founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
 

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: > >

  1. 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) > >
  2. 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) > >
  3. 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) > >
  4. 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) > >
  5. Dehumanization > The effect of safety attire on perceptions of cyclist dehumanisation (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1369847823001018#b0200) > >
  6. 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/ > >
  7. 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)
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] [email protected] 21 points 22 hours ago (1 children)

We've been debating this shit for 40 years

And yet the belief that people chose to wear helmets because they "feel" safer is still a thing?

Helmets objectively protect your head and a good part of your face in minor and moderate impact situations... Like the type of crashes affecting most cyclists (i.e. falling do due to poor or slippery surfaces).

In a catastrophic crash, they likely won't save you, since the rest of your body is likely meat soup.

Over the last 40 years, there has been clear evidence to support helmets, and the tech is only getting better.

The evidence is so strong that even doctors in the Netherlands are rallying in support of their use.