Why Do I See So Many Cyclist Without Helmets?

[IceCreamMan]

Mighty big lures being deployed.....

 

have a groovy weekend folks, keep in your paradigms, its safer there.

 

Some articles on risk compensation, its not a fallacy its a very real phenomenon:

 

 

http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0956797615620784

 

http://worldtransportjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/29th-Oct-opt.pdf

 

The second link is more a general document on road safety and mortality rates... interestingly its not safety devices that save lives but dare I say it a paradigm shift in the way people think... our catastrophic rates of road related deaths (including cycling)in ZA is not going to change until the mindset of society is changed.

 

Have a great weekend folks.

[leeubok]

This thread is still going? Sjo! I've never had a very serious fall, but I've seen a mate knock himself out on a gap jump, and that was not a pretty sight. Another +1 for "if I hadn't worn a helmet that day..."

[Patchelicious]

https://community.bikehub.co.za/topic/165254-helmet-safety-poll/?do=findComment&comment=3037485

[jimmycool]

I think a lot of the whole helmet argument has a very strong road biased slant to it- particularly in terms of the stats and studies. And I would be inclined to think that a lot of the people who have anecdotal evidence of helmets having helped prevent serious injury to themselves would have been in an off road scenario??? I dunno, I have been known to be wrong before, ...... once I think.

[geoffois]

Mighty big lures being deployed.....

 

have a groovy weekend folks, keep in your paradigms, its safer there.

 

Some articles on risk compensation, its not a fallacy its a very real phenomenon:

 

 

http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0956797615620784

 

http://worldtransportjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/29th-Oct-opt.pdf

 

The second link is more a general document on road safety and mortality rates... interestingly its not safety devices that save lives but dare I say it a paradigm shift in the way people think... our catastrophic rates of road related deaths (including cycling)in ZA is not going to change until the mindset of society is changed.

 

Have a great weekend folks.

No one here, I believe, would disagree with you that behaviour needs to change. I have a couple very interesting articles on alcohol use and cycling related deaths. Would these change yours or others habits of having a pint(or10) with the friends before/during/after a ride? I doubt it. Human nature doesn't work that way. As for risk modifying behaviour, one thing certainly works. That is consequence. Fall on your kop once, develop epilepsy and you'll always wear the helmet after that!

 

HAPPY FRIDAY!

 

 

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[leeubok]

Also, a couple of people here have tried to put things into context. If you're cycling on the road and a 18 wheel truck drives over you, a helmet ain't going to save you. But if you go OTB and land on your noggin, it might just save your life or at least save you from severe injuries. 

[The expat cyclist]

This was fun...

 

The facts are this:

.The law (supposedly) says you have to wear a helmet - even though that it is hardly ever enforced.

"In October 2004, regulation 207(2) of the National Road Traffic Regulation became effective after being passed three years earlier. The regulation orders the compulsory wearing of a protective helmet that is properly fastened and fitted while riding a bicycle or being carried as a passenger."

 

You cannot do any race without a helmet.

You cannot ride any trails where you have to pay, without a helmet.

 

Even if a test comes out to say that helmets do actually nothing in terms of safety, someone will find a new test that will dispute it. And as long as there is risk of death/injury but any chance to prevent it, there will always be helmets.

 

It is human nature to do everything in terms of self preservation isn't it?

 

As a human I am totally conflicted about helmets. I doubt the "science" behind the need for it but when I buy a helmet, I believe that it is better to get an expensive one as opposed to a cheap one.

Go figure!

[IceCreamMan]

I mentioned it previously a couple of pages ago and have mentioned it a number of times since then that when one is in an accident a helmet could be of use depending on the nature and specifics of the accident. I don't think I ever denied that, on the contrary I mentioned it more than once. What I have tried to raise is the butterfly effect of helmet wear and legislation which makes helmet wear mandatory, for whole populations the overall effect may not be as positive as one would intuitively think. Wearing a helmet is not the panacea to cycling related deaths and or injuries and could potentially lead to a rise in cycling related deaths and/or injuries.

 

Be safe and have a groovy weekend.

 

Edit: when I entered the fray (stupidly admittedly) on post #55 I specifically and clearly stated that helmets could be of benefit and save lives. The vitriol that subsequently followed I can only assume is due to people not actually reading but putting their own thoughts into alleged words.

Edited January 6, 2017 by IceCreamMan

[HappyMartin]

No helmet laws in Holland. But then what do they know about bicycles anyway.

 

And before anyone rabbits on about our bad drivers are you really trying to tell me that if you get hit by a car that the little cycling helmet will make a bit of difference?

[Skubarra]

And before anyone rabbits on about our bad drivers are you really trying to tell me that if you get hit by a car that the little cycling helmet will make a bit of difference?

 

If being hit by a car was the only way you could hurt your head while cycling this would be a perfectly valid argument.

Edited January 6, 2017 by Skubarra

[The expat cyclist]

If being hit by a car was the only way you could hurt your head while cycling this would be a perfectly valid argument.

I once had my feelings hurt while cycling and the helmet did not help. At all...

['Dale]

Helmets

Not good hey

 

The terrible helmet hair I've seen in coffee shops across the Cape Peninsula this past holiday break

Omw ????????????

[Skubarra]

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20170106/9e0b8743da8c73212f05ba9fa38092cd.jpg

 

 

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We are not saying IcecreamMan is wrong, we are simply proposing alternative hypotheses that happen to contradict his and are far more plausible 

Edited January 6, 2017 by Skubarra

[geoffois]

No helmet laws in Holland. But then what do they know about bicycles anyway.

 

And before anyone rabbits on about our bad drivers are you really trying to tell me that if you get hit by a car that the little cycling helmet will make a bit of difference?

This is where data contradicts you. Trauma and road traffic and forensic registries show that, as a whole in vehicle related cycling accidents, mortality and injury severity scores are less.

Let's apply a similar logic paradigm. If I go off to Afghanistan, and I wear a bullet proof vest, on whole would I be safer? Oh but if a tank shoots me I'd die either way, so it must be useless!

Can we extrapolate Netherlands data to RSA? I don't think we can. Are there other factors at play that makes the Netherlands (apparently) safer? Certainly. There is strong evidence that higher cycling rates translates into lower per capita accident rates (not per kilometre rates as has been requested). Are helmets to blame for lower cycling rates outside the Netherlands? I don't think anyone can conclusively claim that with out inference and assumption.

Lastly, there is no link in any of the articles provided that say that helmet use increases ACTUAL accident rates. Risk taking behaviour is even controversial in the articles themselves where the authors acknowledge that their data is contrary to preceding studies.

 

 

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[geoffois]

We are not saying IcecreamMan is wrong, we are simply proposing an alternative hypotheses that happen to contradict his and are far more plausible

Certainly. It's Friday and I liked the picture [emoji48]

 

 

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[Joe Low]

.............What I have tried to raise is the butterfly effect of helmet wear and legislation which makes helmet wear mandatory, for whole populations the overall effect may not be as positive as one would intuitively think. Wearing a helmet is not the panacea to cycling related deaths and or injuries and could potentially lead to a rise in cycling related deaths and/or injuries.

 

Butterflies and helmets don't go, but what does help your argument is this.

 

The UK decided not to legislate the wearing of helmets as it was seen as a disincentive for people to take up the sport.

 

It was seen that the health benefits of more people exercising outweighed the extra deaths and injuries that you'd get through non-helmet wearing.