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Safety vests and helmets make cyclists look ‘less human’ to other road users (theconversation.com)
submitted 3 years ago by to c/australia@aussie.zone
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[–] 5 points 3 years ago (1 child)

countries with heavy helmet use have more head injuries per 100,000 miles ridden than those with low helmet use.

Now compare that to fatalities. There's the answer to your second sentence.

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  • [–] 3 points 3 years ago (1 child)

    Yeah, fatalities also go down. All hospitalizations do. It's not survivor bias, it's a solid inverse correlation between helmet use and injury. Netherlands, Denmark, Japan all have very low helmet use and very low injuries.

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  • [–] 6 points 3 years ago (1 child)

    The three you just mentioned also have a heavy cyclist culture, and infrastructure in place that facilitates separate biking though

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  • [–] 1 point 3 years ago (1 child)

    That's quite true. And they got that via sustained policy to encourage cycling. It's been quite demonstrated that mandatory helmets actively discourage cycling, leading to both a disinvestment in infrastructure and drivers being less comfortable around cyclists (thus more dangerous)

    I am not making a point about individual choices. Anyone should feel free to wear a helmet. But public policy is a different beast, and the data on mandatory helmets laws are inconclusive as to benefit and clear as to cost.

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