Any excuse

[belfastguzzi]

Should you wear a helmet while bicycling?

>

Sat, 16 Sep 2006 19:35:18 -0400

We've had previous discussion in RISKS of the unexpected side-effects that

can result when human beings respond to safety measures by changing their

behavior, taking on risks that previously were too great to feel acceptable.

 

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/200...b-wah091106.php is a news

release about some research in this area. Dr. Ian Walker spend a great deal

of time bicycling around the UK on a bicycle with equipment that measured

how close drivers of different kinds of vehicles came to him when passing.

Half the time, he wore a helmet; half the time, he didn't. Result: Drivers

approached closer (and average of 8.5 cm) when he was wearing a helmet.

 

Walker's hypothesis is that drivers see bicyclists wearing helmets as more

experienced and competent, hence not in need of consideration.

 

In other interesting results, when Walker wore a wig so that he looked like

a woman, he was given significantly more room. He also confirmed a feeling

all bicyclist have: Yes, indeed, trucks and buses do approach bicycles more

closely (average of 19 cm for trucks and 23 cm for buses) than cars do.

 

As Walker points out, helmets definitely do protect a rider in low-speed

falls. How much they help in collisions with vehicles is harder to say -

and if wearing a helmet makes a collision more likely, the net effect is

difficult to predict. (Walker was hit twice, once by a bus and once by a

truck, during his experiments. He was wearing a helmet both times.)

[Guest Nogbad]

The most dangerous form of transport is the HORSE! I don't know anyone who rides, who hasn't also been injured. Many quite seriously, ranging from bruises to broken major bones. If you looked at horse fatalities per mile, equestrian sports would be banned alright.