@ruari Something that bothers me a lot with such policy (we are having the same discussions in France), is that it puts the entire responsability of bike safety to the cyclist, and nothing on better infrastructure, seperated bike lanes, less cars in the city... Policy maker will say "we improved cycling safety" while not improving anything at all, and when someone get hurt it will always be "this person did not corectly wear a helmet" and never "maybe this intersection needs to be adapted to cyclists"

@ruari agree! if you want cycling to be the default quick and easy version, you shouldn't add more friction to it!

@ruari

the vast majority of TBIs experienced by reg folls result from being car drivers or passengers.

@ruari The transplant surgeons support you. No helmets for cyclists!

@ruari Kan du lenk til dette, eg vil absolutt svar på å sei at dette er dårleg

@ruari@velocipederider.com making them mandatory seems like a cop-out for neglecting infrastructure tbh

bicyclists are by design "weaker" than motorists, and I think that issue is better solved by making infrastructure safer and by discouraging car driving than giving bicyclists a metaphorical band-aid

if it makes sense

@ruari helmets to protect us from cars. Yes. The cyclists should bend over, not cars. It's never cars. Fuck cars.

@ruari @notjustbikes I understand the debate about *mandatory* helmets. But such debate should never denigrate wearing of helmets as unnecessary.

@ruari @notjustbikes I an urban environment, you may be rider more slowly, but you have potholes, manholes and cracks and all sorts of stuff on roads, including speed bumps, all designed to send cyclists to hospitals.

If you live in area where side of roads are perfectly paved with no imperfections, or live 100% separated bike lanes that are also perfectly paved, then you may not see the need for a helmet. But elsewhere, helmet is more or less necessary.

@ruari @notjustbikes Over my long life, I have had a number of serious accidents, one where I got a ride back to Montréal by the Sureté du Québec (police) (bike could no longer be ridden), 2 in ambulances. The first fo which I lost consciousless due to speed bump. The second I didn't lose consciousness, but as soon as I stepped up to the ambulance, my memory of accident vanished. Have 7 screws in my shoulder. And I was wearing proper helmet. (crank broke as I stood up to accelerate).

@ruari In 55 years of cycling (bicycles mostly but an occasional tricycle) I've come off a few times, but only hit my head once - and on that occasion I was told by the paramedics that if I had been wearing a helmet I may have broken my neck because the straps were likely to have caught in the branches that I landed in. (Anecdotes don't equal data)

I am not against helmet wearing for anyone - but they must be worn correctly, and wearers must be fully aware of the limitations imposed by the designs.

@ruari as someone who used to cycle to catch the school bus in the UK then cycled 15 years for basically everything in the Netherlands, then returning to the UK another decade later... I was quite astounded at how stupid people in the UK thought I was for cycling without a helmet.

I'm fine with people wearing helmets if they want to, but I don't really believe they do much (as mentioned in the study elsewhere in this thread, and as evidenced by me cutting and bruising everything EXCEPT my head in the few accidents I had, as since a bike helmet seems to only protect a small bit of the top of the skull... I'm more concerned about my face, to be honest!) and they're uncomfortable and sweaty if you're getting a shift on.

@ruari What if the helmets are given free by the city? Columbia Missouri has compulsory bike lights on the books but also gives the lights free and they have a very large cycling population

@ruari
Can Statens Vegvesen create such a law?

Are they perhaps considering making it mandatory for bicycle rentals to supply helmets? I could totally see the argument for helmets for tourists. Not everyone is as used to cycling as NO/SE/FI/DK/NL.

@ruari I'm old enough to remember the same discussion about seat belts. AFAICS: it didn't slow down cars. I'm all for personal freedom and responsabilty. But then, maybe, also pay your medical bills yourself if you hit the curbside.

@ruari I would love to see a world in which people are more educated about risks and risk mitigation, and empowered to make their own informed choices. Emergency Room doctors will almost all tell you to always wear a helmet while cycling because of the traumatic brain injuries they see in their work. Practiced cyclists who commute will advocate for no helmets because they feel very safe and agile. I usually wear one but not always, not for safety, for risk mitigation. Mandatory helmet laws seem to discourage cycling and do nothing to educate or empower.

@ruari

I'll ask you to have a look at my profile picture. That's the mark my helmet left on my head. I suspect a direct impact on the road would have left a bigger one. The helmet didn't stop the five fractures however. This was a pedestrian teenager too busy having the banter with his mates than paying attention.

What I think I've read is that walking and cycling have similar risks by distance so a short walk or a short bike will have little risk. A longer bike ride is more risky.

@ruari since injuries to car drivers are often greater, are they going to mandate all car drivers wearing helmets? What about mandating that people using ordinary machines HAVE to wear armour and steel-toed boots at all times? What about safety barriers on stairs - actually, no we should just ban stairs, as people fall down them all the time - no building above ground level, no steps anywhere...

@ruari When I got into an accident in a roundabout here, I am damned glad I wore my helmet. Car pulled out in front of me, I slammed on the anchors and cycled into the driver's door ... granted it wasn't at high speed but enough to throw me off and if I hadn't had my helmet on, I might not still be here.

We're vulnerable road users and drivers seem to hate all cyclists and drive aggressively around them. It's one of the reasons I stopped cycling on the road. It's just too dangerous here.

Also, drivers who hit and sometimes kill cyclists aren't properly prosecuted here in the U.K.

@ruari And the additional established matter that drivers give less space to cyclists wearing helmets.

@ruari
Glas to See, that this question can burn the Internet not only in Germany. At least you have better infrastructure for cycling. Here it feels like 'mandatory helmet' discussions are started to avoid 'safe infrastructure' discussions or discussions about how to make car drivers follow the rules to protect weaker people.

I am with you: Helmet: Yes. For me and all those I am responsible for. But mandatory: NO!
(And in summer protection against heat is kore inportant to me, than a helmet...