Comment 49961

By Mr. Meister (anonymous) | Posted October 21, 2010 at 08:51:02

The increased speed from riding a bike increases the risk of injury. If the bike is being ridden with other traffic the risk of injury also increases. This whole argument that cycling is safe and therefore helmets are not needed would make one think that if the activity is that safe bike lanes and so forth are not really needed. Cannot have it both ways, either cycling is perfectly safe the way it is or it is not and things need to change. Again you sound so much like a lot of complaints I heard when mandatory seat belt laws were enacted. You will get used to it, especially after a ticket or 2. When seatbelt laws first came into effect they compliance rate was relatively low and has done nothing but rise over the years. I believe that the compliance rate is now around 98%. In turn they have helped to reduce injury and death rated in vehicle accidents. Yes, I know that other things helped as well and the drop is not entirely because of seatbelts usage.

As far as cyclists jeopardizing their safety (and others) with foolish behavior I agree that is a problem. I think the obvious answer to that is mandatory licensing for adults and maybe even a free license for minors. Along with more enforcement by the constabulary. If people's behaviour hurts their wallet they are more likely to change it. Many automobile drivers will vouch for that.

This whole argument that drivers drive closer to a helmeted driver than an unhelmeted one comes from a single study in (I believe) England. How many times did he get hit with and without the helmet on? And of course what were his injuries in either case. Would that not be the true test of whether or not a helmet increases or decreases overall safety?

I find it strange that so many of you are arguing against something that common sense alone tells you is inherently a wise thing. Maybe because common sense is not so common.

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