A few of you sent me messages in reply to my post ‘Helmet habits’ in which I made some rather sweeping statements about how I find it crazy that many people in the UK don’t wear helmets while cycling.
Russell shared a great article with me that helped me remember everything is drenched in nuance.
“Most of the risk of severe injury while cycling is not intrinsic to the activity. Cycling is a benign activity that often takes place in dangerous environments.”
Sure “helmets reduce the risk of head injury by 60%” but on the flip side “it seems the perception of reduced risk when a helmet is worn can both prompt riders to be more reckless with their own safety and nudge drivers into being less careful towards cyclists”.
And although “a helmet might make you safer if you get knocked off… it might also, even marginally, increase the chance that this happens in the first place.”
Finally, with respect to my home country, New Zealand, one research paper estimated “the number of overall bike trips fell 51% between 1989–90 and 2003–6” when compulsory helmets were introduced in 1994. This begs the question about consequences on the health system of fewer people participating in exercise.
It’s easy to over simplify; to make things simplistic.
Everything is drenched in nuance.