53
Safety vests and helmets make cyclists look ‘less human’ to other road users
(theconversation.com)
this post was submitted on 24 Jul 2023
53 points (93.4% liked)
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There's a long term debate about the effecacy of helmets. this article from 2014 summarizes it pretty well. All the studies, both in favor and against are relatively weak compared to what we might expect, but this is epidemiology, not biology.
The biggest indicator is simply that countries with heavy helmet use have more head injuries per 100,000 miles ridden than those with low helmet use. Even that is a correlation, but causality is unclear.
Places without helmets tend to have a better cycling culture and infrastructure
That's quite true. And they get it because enough people are cycling that there is demand for it. Mandatory helmets laws actually discourage cycling. The data on that is clear. The data on whether mandatory helmets laws increase safety is much less clear, however.
When it's a matter of public policy, one should consider both these factors... A clear cost for an unclear benefit, and change policy as our knowledge continues to evolve.