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>A more interesting statistic would be: how many of those deaths would have been prevented by a bicycle helmet? If we assume that this Canadian study would app

>A more interesting statistic would be: how many of those deaths would have been prevented by a bicycle helmet? If we assume that this Canadian study would apply as such to Netherlands: http://www.cmaj.ca/content/early/2012/10/15/cmaj.120988.full.pdf http://www.cmaj.ca/content/early/2012/10/15/cmaj.120988.full... the figure would be (71/129)×185×(100-65)% = 35 of these people would have not have been killed. Of course, the figures are probably not quite right for Netherlands. For instance, in Canada a majority of bicycle fatalities involve another vehicle, whereas where I live (Finland), this is not true because we have separate bike/pedestrian paths in many places. Like the Netherlands. This actually increases the effectiveness of helmets, because fewer of the accidents are about being crushed by a big vehicle, and more of them are falls. And the physics of falling off your bike are not that different and the ground is about as hard in Canada as in Netherlands.

ralfn 10y ago
>And the physics of falling off your bike are not that different and the ground is about as hard in Canada as in Netherlands. You would think that would be true, but no. 1. The ground in Holland is flat. 2. The bike is heavy. 3. The bike is the type where you are sitting up (not leaning forward like a race bike). So, when a dutch person bikes they are going no faster than 15 km/h. When they stretch their legs they are standing still. When they fall to the side they generally fall into grass or sidewalks (which are thin stones on top of moisty earth), that can actually absorb quite a lot of energy/momentum.
- kutkloon7 10y ago
  A guy I saw a few days ago got one of those heavy chain-type locks in his frontwheel while riding his bike a few days ago. Of course, his bike stopped instantly. He was carrying a painting, so driving with one hand. Amazingly, he didn't even fall to the ground. It really takes a lot of effort to land on the top of your head; I imagine that being hit or run over by a car causes way, way more serious accidents.
  - ralfn 10y ago
    It helps that our bikes are heavy and you sit up straight. The rest of the world keeps talking about helmets, even though they ride complete death traps. Their mountain bikes and race bikes. Off course you are going to die riding one of those in NYC. I would advise them to just outlaw those bikes, instead of making/keeping helmets mandatory.

ralfn 10y ago

>And the physics of falling off your bike are not that different and the ground is about as hard in Canada as in Netherlands. You would think that would be true, but no. 1. The ground in Holland is flat. 2. The bike is heavy. 3. The bike is the type where you are sitting up (not leaning forward like a race bike). So, when a dutch person bikes they are going no faster than 15 km/h. When they stretch their legs they are standing still. When they fall to the side they generally fall into grass or sidewalks (which are thin stones on top of moisty earth), that can actually absorb quite a lot of energy/momentum.

kutkloon7 10y ago
A guy I saw a few days ago got one of those heavy chain-type locks in his frontwheel while riding his bike a few days ago. Of course, his bike stopped instantly. He was carrying a painting, so driving with one hand. Amazingly, he didn't even fall to the ground. It really takes a lot of effort to land on the top of your head; I imagine that being hit or run over by a car causes way, way more serious accidents.
- ralfn 10y ago
  It helps that our bikes are heavy and you sit up straight. The rest of the world keeps talking about helmets, even though they ride complete death traps. Their mountain bikes and race bikes. Off course you are going to die riding one of those in NYC. I would advise them to just outlaw those bikes, instead of making/keeping helmets mandatory.