Discussion
Ok you can fucking bet I am replying to this!
Mandatory cycle helmet laws just mean less cycling and an overall decline in health for the population.
This idea is by someone who is an idiot or hates cyclists.
Also what next, shall we mandate wearing walking helmets for people walking and running in the winter because statistically I think they are far more likely to be falling and hurting themselves.
P.S. I included a translation to English in the Alt Text
@tragivictoria no thanks. I'll keep complaining about this.
@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.
@MikeFromLFE I'm not against people wearing a helmet either. I sometimes wear one myself.
@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
@FrankHghTwr free helmets sounds great. Mandatory wearing, not so much.
FWIW I am not against people choosing to wear a helmet for any activity where they feel they need it.
@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.
@sergedroz Your comment on cars is silly. This is not about the speed of bikes this is about less people cycling and helmet laws for cyclists do result in that, it is documented.
Medical bills? I live in a civilized society. There are no medical bills.
Furthermore if more people cycled the population would be heathier and less of my tax money would be wasted on people who have not maintained their health through regular exercise.
At a societal level more people cycling is a net benefit.
@ruari of course there are medical bills. You just don't see the them, they are paid by all of us.
@sergedroz @ruari As a motorist, will you pay extra for the medical bills from stress, pollution and car accidents?
@CASSCFenjoyer @ruari I'm not a motorist, but yes, I think motorists should pay for the costs they create, including environmental damage.
But just because this isn't the case, should not imply others don't either, otherwise we enter a race to the bottom.
But more importantly: Folks I know who still suffer from the consequences rof a bicycle accident in hindsight would have preferd compulsory helmets.
@sergedroz @CASSCFenjoyer You are also for mandatory car helmets as well I assume?
@sergedroz Yes and they will come down as more people get active. Glad we are on the same team.
@sergedroz And since you bring up cars, let's madate helmets for all people in cars. I do not think you can seriously argue that this would not help bring down head injury statistics. It just makes sense. Once that has happened come back and we can continue this discussion.
@ruari @sergedroz
Pro drivers wear both helmet and Head And Neck Safety (HANS) devices in their cars. And often walk away from accidents at speeds that any politician would claim is deadly.
@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.
@Victorsigmoid FWIW, I am not disagreeing with you. If you read the whole thread and my replies to others that will likely become obvious. 😉
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 I see the same arguments deployed as used against seatbelts and motorcycle helmets.
I'll also note that helmets are now worn rock climbing. They weren't before but they are not compulsory but are ubiquitous.
Grabbing a city bike to do a short trip I wouldn't sweat not having a helmet. On a longer trip I would. Popping down to the shops from the house I'd bring it with me.
Also not that difficult to carry one around or leave it on the desk if I cycled into town.
@janwwbosch I see the same arguments deployed as used against people wearing helmets walking on ice in the winter.
Anyway, have a nice day.
RE: https://snabelen.no/@sandberg/117246620449241394
@janwwbosch You likely missed it in the thread so I will quote post this again for you.
P.S. I do sometimes wear a helmet myself. Do not fall into the trap and missunderstand me.
@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.
@pertho I am not against you or anyone else wearing a helmet. As stated in the thread a couple of times. I sometimes wear them myself.
I am however against mandatory helmet laws for cyclists.
RE: https://snabelen.no/@sandberg/117246620449241394
@pertho I think @sandberg perhaps summed up my thoughts on this more eloquently than I could myself.
@pertho Also (and to be fair you couldn't have known this) but I am from the UK and commuted in London for more than a decade and that was before most of the recent imroprovements there.
I know what the UK is like for cyclists and I do feel lucky to live in Oslo but I also do not want to see us go backwards here.
@ruari Oh wow. You must have absolute nerves of steel! I don't think I could have dealt with cycling in the Big Smoke!
@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...
@ruari Do you have a link to share?
@ruari Helmets make a lot of sense on an individual level, but is stupid on a policy level. I use a helmet when it's easy to do so, but I don't think twice before biking without when I don't have one available.
@sandberg If they want to make shared helmets easily available for people using city bikes I am not against that. Go for it. Indeed it might even help some more nervous people to consider cycling when they would not otherwise.
But mandating use of a helmet is where I draw the line.
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![A cyclist wearing a helmet, jacket, shorts, and a backpack rides a blue Foodora‑branded rental bike along a sidewalk bordered by green hedges and trees. The image includes a notification-style graphic from Oslo Bysykkel (Oslo city bikes) about a potential new helmet law in Norway, with a button labelled "Start now" (in relation to a survey)
The translated [to English] text reads as follows:
Helmet requirement
Sep 10, 2026
The Norwegian Public Roads Administration is considering introducing a legally mandated helmet requirement for cycling in Norway.
Oslo City Bike will be affected by any change in the law, so we would like to ask you some questions regarding your use of the service.
The original text in Norwegian
Hjelmpåbud
Sep 10, 2026
Statens Vegvesen vurderer å innføre lovpålagt hjelmpåbud for bruk av sykkel i Norge.
Oslo Bysykkel påvirkes av eventuell lovendring, derfor ønsker vi å stille deg noen spørsmål vedrørende din bruk av tjenesten.](https://cdn.masto.host/velocipederidercom/media_attachments/files/117/246/546/794/448/756/original/5ffdd928532799b2.png)
@ruari just wear those helmets and stop complaining.