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In the Netherlands it went a bit further than mere bickering. There were large scale protests against children being killed in traffic [1]. In the end, instead
by Kim_Bruning 4y ago
In the Netherlands it went a bit further than mere bickering. There were large scale protests against children being killed in traffic [1]. In the end, instead of introducing more buses or mandating helmets for bicycles, they decided to fix the infrastructure instead.
(other modes of transport still require helmets though, and sometimes also padding)
[1] https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2015/may/05/amsterdam-bicycle-capital-world-transport-cycling-kindermoord https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2015/may/05/amsterdam-bic...
- latchkey 4y agoThese are all things that improve general safety for sure! They don't prevent you from being injured when you bang your head. A helmet does.
- Kim_Bruning 4y agoIt's a difference in approach. Some people want to mitigate your injuries in an accident. Helmets definitely stop you banging your head in an accident. Other people feel that every accident is one too many, and want to prevent accidents outright. If you hardly have any accidents in the first place, the role of helmets is more limited. (You should still wear a helmet if you're riding a road bike or a mountain bike or what have you, since those kinds of bikes are more dangerous. You should also consider at least wearing a helmet and taking extreme care if your local infrastructure is not (yet) designed to be safe. )