My annual Helmet rant
Look at this picture. Question #1 - What do you see? Question #2 - What don't you see?
What I don't see are helmets. Not a one...in either picture.
Are helmets a good idea? Of course. If you hit your head on hard ground, cement or metal, any bonehead could agree that it would be better to have something protecting it. But I say that helmets are not the point. Far more people die of obesity because their soccer mom thinks their kid is safer sitting in front of the television playing a video game then being outside riding their bike without a helmet.
1. We need more cyclists, better bike lanes and less TV and video games more than we need helmets.
2. Don't confuse helmets with helmet legislation. Helmet legislation may cause a reduction in the number of cyclists, which can be counterproductive if we are trying to promote cycling. I might even go so far as to accuse governments of shifting responsibility to the heads of cyclists and away from the drivers of cars by putting cyclists in such lousy infrastructure with lousy drivers.
3. We need better biking infrastructure to separate us from stupid drivers.
How about this one?
I see a bunch of fit people. Not a fat one in the bunch. I wonder where we could find this group in the US?
What I don't see are helmets. Not a one...in either picture.
When I am driving through my neighborhood I see lots of kids outside playing. In some of the yards there are toys strung from one end to the other. There are bats and balls and bikes laying on their sides. All of the kids I see playing are smiling, happy and healthy.
Are helmets a good idea? Of course. If you hit your head on hard ground, cement or metal, any bonehead could agree that it would be better to have something protecting it. But I say that helmets are not the point. Far more people die of obesity because their soccer mom thinks their kid is safer sitting in front of the television playing a video game then being outside riding their bike without a helmet.
1. We need more cyclists, better bike lanes and less TV and video games more than we need helmets.
2. Don't confuse helmets with helmet legislation. Helmet legislation may cause a reduction in the number of cyclists, which can be counterproductive if we are trying to promote cycling. I might even go so far as to accuse governments of shifting responsibility to the heads of cyclists and away from the drivers of cars by putting cyclists in such lousy infrastructure with lousy drivers.
3. We need better biking infrastructure to separate us from stupid drivers.
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