True. But every argument for helmet use equally applies to pedestrians and car drivers.
Fun statistics fact: Most people who sustain head injuries in traffic accidents are inside a car.
There are significantly more cars on the road than bikes, so it makes perfect sense that people who sustain injuries in traffic accidents are more likely to be in a car. The latest UK stats show that 54% of road casualties were car occupants compared to 12% for cyclists.
In order to make a proper comparison we would need to compare the accident rate to the total number of journeys for both cars and bikes. These stats from 2024 show that cyclists made up only 2% of trips whereas Cars in the same period made 59% of trips.
Which is why it is important for cyclists in particular to wear helmets: they are significantly more likely to need them.
As long as it stays completely voluntary, I’m all for helmets.
Nothing is worse for bicycle safety and overall health of cyclists than mandatory helmet laws, since their main effect is reducing ridership. From a study showing the effects of such a law in Australia:
The benefits of cycling, even without a helmet, have been estimated to outweigh the hazards by a factor of 20 to 1 (Hillman 1993. Cycle helmets-the case for and against. Policy Studies Institute, London).
Consequently, a helmet law, whose most notable effect was to reduce cycling, may have generated a net loss of health benefits to the nation.
Despite the risk of dying from head injury per hour being similar for unhelmeted cyclists and motor vehicle occupants, cyclists alone have been required to wear head protection.
Helmets for motor vehicle occupants are now being marketed and a mandatory helmet law for these road users has the potential to save 17 times as many people from death by head injury as a helmet law for cyclists without the adverse effects of discouraging a healthy and pollution free mode of transport.
I’m a little confused by you saying bike helmets should be optional, then immediately pasting a snippet about the benefits of a mandatory helmet law for car users. Cycling is good for you; caving your head in on a post box isn’t. People should be free to make that choice for themselves, helmets in cars is an entirely separate issue.
True. But every argument for helmet use equally applies to pedestrians and car drivers.
Fun statistics fact: Most people who sustain head injuries in traffic accidents are inside a car.
There are significantly more cars on the road than bikes, so it makes perfect sense that people who sustain injuries in traffic accidents are more likely to be in a car. The latest UK stats show that 54% of road casualties were car occupants compared to 12% for cyclists.
In order to make a proper comparison we would need to compare the accident rate to the total number of journeys for both cars and bikes. These stats from 2024 show that cyclists made up only 2% of trips whereas Cars in the same period made 59% of trips.
Which is why it is important for cyclists in particular to wear helmets: they are significantly more likely to need them.
As long as it stays completely voluntary, I’m all for helmets.
Nothing is worse for bicycle safety and overall health of cyclists than mandatory helmet laws, since their main effect is reducing ridership. From a study showing the effects of such a law in Australia:
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8870773/
I’m a little confused by you saying bike helmets should be optional, then immediately pasting a snippet about the benefits of a mandatory helmet law for car users. Cycling is good for you; caving your head in on a post box isn’t. People should be free to make that choice for themselves, helmets in cars is an entirely separate issue.