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On 24 May 2006, at 11:05, Theo Schmidt wrote: > I would be interested in how this thread ties in with helmet usage. > Helmet opponents point out that wearing helmets signifies "Cycling is > dangerous" and thus causes an increase in fretful people who do not > consider cycling. This seems to be shown by statistics, although there > must be a few other factors as well. On the other hand, people who do > wear helmets feel safer with them on, which may get them to cycle > more. In my case, I tend to cycle faster when wearing a helmet. > Certainly the perceived safety due to helmets is higher than the > actual safety gain, so much so that highly emotional attitudes are > formed. Adults who wear helmets often complain about adults who don't > wear helmets as being irresponsible and stupid. Adults who don't wear > helmets point out that many "normal" activities are much more > dangerous than cycling. > Some similar issues came up on the UK Cycle Planning group last year. I published a very short summary here: http://philica.com/display_observation.php?observation_id=8 > I take it that on *this* list it is possible to mention such things > without causing a "helmet war"! > I hope so! Ian