4 ms·

Hasn't it been shown that mandatory helmet use has significantly reduced bike usage in the US?

Mtinie 10y ago
Yes, but it was concurrent with the automobile-ification of the US, so it's hard to trace that to causal effect vs. correlation. Here's a decent review from 2013. There may be new research, so if you have a better source, please share. https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/do-bike--laws-really-save-people/2013/06/03/6a6532b4-c6df-11e2-9245-773c0123c027_story.html https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/do-bi...
briandear 10y ago
Is there mandatory helmet use (other than for kids?) The article in question is about mandatory use in bicycle racing.
- marssaxman 10y ago
  Helmet use is mandatory for adults here in Seattle. I don't know how common such laws are in other areas. I haven't had a bicycle since the law was introduced - not because of the law, specifically, but I feel grouchy about the idea of being forced to wear a helmet while doing nothing more dramatic than tootling around my neighborhood, and the law has therefore helped reduce my enthusiasm for bicycling generally.
tbihl 10y ago
I'm not sure about what US statistics are available, nor about how many US towns have such rules, but this is often cited as the explanation for why bike shares fail in many Australian cities that would seem to be perfect places for them. To borrow from the recurrent discussions on this issue: if biking requires you to suit up for urban warfare in spandex and armor, it's a much greater hassle, making you less inclined to bike. Furthermore, you look like a weirdo to people who may have been thinking of biking but don't want to deal with that large barrier to entry. So bike usage decreases, robbing us of the health benefits and probably making biking more dangerous because cars aren't looking for the rare cyclist like they ought to. Helmets in fast or competitive biking make loads of sense, though.

Yes, but it was concurrent with the automobile-ification of the US, so it's hard to trace that to causal effect vs. correlation. Here's a decent review from 2013. There may be new research, so if you have a better source, please share. https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/do-bike--laws-really-save-people/2013/06/03/6a6532b4-c6df-11e2-9245-773c0123c027_story.html https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/do-bi...

briandear 10y ago

Is there mandatory helmet use (other than for kids?) The article in question is about mandatory use in bicycle racing.

marssaxman 10y ago
Helmet use is mandatory for adults here in Seattle. I don't know how common such laws are in other areas. I haven't had a bicycle since the law was introduced - not because of the law, specifically, but I feel grouchy about the idea of being forced to wear a helmet while doing nothing more dramatic than tootling around my neighborhood, and the law has therefore helped reduce my enthusiasm for bicycling generally.

tbihl 10y ago

I'm not sure about what US statistics are available, nor about how many US towns have such rules, but this is often cited as the explanation for why bike shares fail in many Australian cities that would seem to be perfect places for them. To borrow from the recurrent discussions on this issue: if biking requires you to suit up for urban warfare in spandex and armor, it's a much greater hassle, making you less inclined to bike. Furthermore, you look like a weirdo to people who may have been thinking of biking but don't want to deal with that large barrier to entry. So bike usage decreases, robbing us of the health benefits and probably making biking more dangerous because cars aren't looking for the rare cyclist like they ought to. Helmets in fast or competitive biking make loads of sense, though.