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Here is another confounding theory: drivers give cyclists in helmets less space when they overtake them. Seems that they assume a cyclist wearing a helmet is mo

Here is another confounding theory: drivers give cyclists in helmets less space when they overtake them. Seems that they assume a cyclist wearing a helmet is more experienced so the driver gives less space. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/09/060911102200.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/09/060911102200.h... I wear a helmet on my bike, either off road or on road cycling.

ggm 4y ago
Yes, I've read that too. It's subtly different to targeted abuse because there's no malign intent, they just subconsciously don't give you as much space.
deleted 4y ago
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Fricken 4y ago
I only wear a helmet on trails and long road rides. On trails, the false feeling of confidence I get from knowing I have a helmet gives results in faster times on my various trail circuits. Once I forgot my helmet and decided to ride anyhow and my times were bad because I was too chicken-shit to go balls out, always tapping the brakes. The psychologic effect is massive. I'm a rock climber as well. Climbers will regale you with harrowing tales of all the times they thought they were gonna die, but when you look at the accident reports, more often than not it wasn't the "scary" parts of the climb where they got hurt. It's the things like rapelling where lapses in situational awareness lead to absent minded mistakes. When you fear for your life you are not absent minded. And so Alex Honnold is still alive, even though by all "reasonable" statistical judgement he should be dead a hundred times over.