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Cycling already has the lowest percentage of road traffic fatalities compared to other modes. The highest is pedestrians - should pedestrians wear helmets? A h

Cycling already has the lowest percentage of road traffic fatalities compared to other modes. The highest is pedestrians - should pedestrians wear helmets? A helmet requirement is wholly incompatible with the role of cycling in NL. You hop on a bike anywhere, regardless of what you're wearing. It's a casual transportation mode, just like walking, not a sport activity. This proposal can only make sense for people who don't live in this reality. In addition, as mentioned by another commenter, when the dutch traffic rules were written decades ago, it was found that helmet usage correlated to increased accident rates - people take more risks when they feel safer, and that in turn makes pedestrians less safe.

celtain 4y ago
>A helmet requirement is wholly incompatible with the role of cycling in NL. You hop on a bike anywhere, regardless of what you're wearing. I don't really understand this. I keep my helmet clipped to my handlebars, so if I have my bike, I have my helmet. Is it really so much of an inconvenience? I'm sympathetic to the overall anti-helmet-requirement position, even seemingly trivial concerns like "it messes up my hair" sound legitimate to me. The convenience argument in particular just never made much sense to me though.
- bartwe 4y ago
  You can't really keep your helmet clipped to the handlebar at public parking places as they'll get vandalized or stolen.
- sirmarksalot 4y ago
  Living in a city, the idea of leaving anything of value on your bike, and expecting it to still be there when you get back is completely foreign to me. When I visited Amsterdam, I even had the seat stolen off my rental bike. Biking in the states means carrying a helmet inside with you everywhere you go, and it absolutely sucks.
  - Kalium 4y ago
    There are helmets you can lock with your bike.
    - sirmarksalot 4y ago
      My friend has one. It's the only one I've ever seen.
    - sleepybrett 4y ago
      Some helmets from bern have special holes that are compatible with u-locks and similar. (https://www.bernhelmets.com/collections/bike-helmets/products/hudson https://www.bernhelmets.com/collections/bike-helmets/product... u-lock vents) I haven't done an exhaustive search but I imagine others do similar.
  - Phrodo_00 4y ago
    uh, I normally lock my helmet by putting my u-lock through the double section of the strap. Sure someone could cut the strap but then the helmet would be useless. I haven't had any issues and live in a city with pretty high bicycle theft.
  - brewdad 4y ago
    When I visited Copenhagen a few years ago, most of the bikes I saw were either unlocked or locked to themselves to prevent riding off but not carrying away. It was rather shocking.
    - bluGill 4y ago
      You see that on any area where there is low crime.
      - sudosysgen 4y ago
        Hmm, no. Bike theft is extremely common in Japan, for example. There are very few places in the world where you can do that, no matter the crime leve.
- ryukafalz 4y ago
  If you’re using a bikeshare system, you may not have a helmet with you because you didn’t bring your bike with you.
- fragmede 4y ago
  That helmet's getting stolen as soon as you go into a store or cafe or the office. Having inside bike parking where it would be safe is a luxury that doesn't exist in most places.
II2II 4y ago
> In addition, as mentioned by another commenter, when the dutch traffic rules were written decades ago, it was found that helmet usage correlated to increased accident rates - people take more risks when they feel safer, and that in turn makes pedestrians less safe. I'm probably a bit of an oddball in this respect, but I do not regard helmets as a means of preventing injury. Reducing the severity of an injury, sure, but even then they are of limited scope (i.e. they are only really useful if there is a direct impact to the head). Helmets are not an excuse for taking risks. They are a means of reducing the impact of accidents.
- Phrodo_00 4y ago
  Yeah, a helmet could literally save your life, but it won't stop you from scrapping or broken bones.

celtain 4y ago

>A helmet requirement is wholly incompatible with the role of cycling in NL. You hop on a bike anywhere, regardless of what you're wearing. I don't really understand this. I keep my helmet clipped to my handlebars, so if I have my bike, I have my helmet. Is it really so much of an inconvenience? I'm sympathetic to the overall anti-helmet-requirement position, even seemingly trivial concerns like "it messes up my hair" sound legitimate to me. The convenience argument in particular just never made much sense to me though.

bartwe 4y ago
You can't really keep your helmet clipped to the handlebar at public parking places as they'll get vandalized or stolen.
sirmarksalot 4y ago
Living in a city, the idea of leaving anything of value on your bike, and expecting it to still be there when you get back is completely foreign to me. When I visited Amsterdam, I even had the seat stolen off my rental bike. Biking in the states means carrying a helmet inside with you everywhere you go, and it absolutely sucks.
- Kalium 4y ago
  There are helmets you can lock with your bike.
  - sirmarksalot 4y ago
    My friend has one. It's the only one I've ever seen.
  - sleepybrett 4y ago
    Some helmets from bern have special holes that are compatible with u-locks and similar. (https://www.bernhelmets.com/collections/bike-helmets/products/hudson https://www.bernhelmets.com/collections/bike-helmets/product... u-lock vents) I haven't done an exhaustive search but I imagine others do similar.
- Phrodo_00 4y ago
  uh, I normally lock my helmet by putting my u-lock through the double section of the strap. Sure someone could cut the strap but then the helmet would be useless. I haven't had any issues and live in a city with pretty high bicycle theft.
- brewdad 4y ago
  When I visited Copenhagen a few years ago, most of the bikes I saw were either unlocked or locked to themselves to prevent riding off but not carrying away. It was rather shocking.
  - bluGill 4y ago
    You see that on any area where there is low crime.
    - sudosysgen 4y ago
      Hmm, no. Bike theft is extremely common in Japan, for example. There are very few places in the world where you can do that, no matter the crime leve.
ryukafalz 4y ago
If you’re using a bikeshare system, you may not have a helmet with you because you didn’t bring your bike with you.
fragmede 4y ago
That helmet's getting stolen as soon as you go into a store or cafe or the office. Having inside bike parking where it would be safe is a luxury that doesn't exist in most places.

II2II 4y ago

> In addition, as mentioned by another commenter, when the dutch traffic rules were written decades ago, it was found that helmet usage correlated to increased accident rates - people take more risks when they feel safer, and that in turn makes pedestrians less safe. I'm probably a bit of an oddball in this respect, but I do not regard helmets as a means of preventing injury. Reducing the severity of an injury, sure, but even then they are of limited scope (i.e. they are only really useful if there is a direct impact to the head). Helmets are not an excuse for taking risks. They are a means of reducing the impact of accidents.

Phrodo_00 4y ago
Yeah, a helmet could literally save your life, but it won't stop you from scrapping or broken bones.