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)
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 ;)
I actually had to look up 'grade crossing' to even understand what you were getting at.
Rare? Hah, it happens every single day here! Not saying it should though, also not saying that trains should have a right to just fucking park on the tracks here and block traffic either, but they do.
But... What does that have anything to do with crossing the road or highway, either on foot or on bicycle?
@over_clox Yes, the concept is from rail, but it applies to all crossings/intersections.
The point is we lost a lot when we decided that it was okay for death machines to have right of way all around us. We shouldn't accept it as normal.
The steam locomotive train was invented in 1802..
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Train
The predecessor of the bicycle, the Draisine, was invented in 1817..
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_bicycle
The safety bicycle (just common bicycle we know today) was invented around 1885..
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Safety_bicycle
The first semi-mass produced vehicle was invented and made in 1886..
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_automobile
Which one wins on the road? Hint: It's not the lightest, it's the heaviest...
@over_clox ah, yes, might makes right.
For reference, when was the street invented? And for what?
Trails came before streets, streets are basically just fancy wide paved trails with rules as to which side to pass on.
You might as well ask which came first, feet or wheels...
Neither of us would be where we are or who we are today, we might not even exist, if it wasn't for the wheel, even though obviously feet came first.
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