QuixoticgeekFeb 5

So my toot about helmet laws increasing heart disease has got a few replies by people wondering wtf. The way it works is that mandatory helmet laws reduce cycling, fewer people cycling results in an increase in obesity related illnesses like heart disease and diabetes.

One of, if not rhe best, things that a government can do to improve health at a population level is increasing active travel (walking and cycling).

1/n

https://theconversation.com/ditching-bike-helmets-laws-better-for-health-42

Ditching bike helmets laws better for health

With epidemics of diabetes and obesity threatening to bankrupt state health budgets, governments need to broaden their strategies to encourage physical activity. Allowing cyclists to ride without a helmet…

The Conversation
Show threadxs4me2Feb 5

@quixoticgeek

In the Netherlands with probably the largest bicycle density (flat country helps) in Europa nobody wears bike helmets, never have…

With e-bikes the accidents increase though…

Show threadQuixoticgeek

@xs4me2 0.4% of cyclists in the Netherlands wear a helmet. Helmet wearers account for 13% of cyclists ending up in hospital...

Ergo helmets cause hospitals?!?

Feb 5 at 11:59amWeb
Show threadDave Wilburn Feb 5

@quixoticgeek @xs4me2

Not to get too morbid here, but is that because people who die at the scene in accidents don't count towards hospital visits?

Show threadQuixoticgeekFeb 5

@DaveMWilburn @xs4me2 no. It's because helmets give a false sense of safety, and are largely worn by racing cyclists and mountain bikers who engage in a more risky form of cycling than a utility cyclist cycling for transport.

I've cycled over 40000km in the Netherlands. I've visited every municipality by bike. I have a pretty good understanding of Dutch cycle infrastructure.

Show threadDave Wilburn Feb 5

@quixoticgeek @xs4me2

Yeah, the reason I asked is because in the US there has been criticism from the right about motorcycle helmet laws, with some arguing that helmet use leads to higher rates of severe, life-altering injuries that otherwise wouldn't have been survivable (and further that these are the kinds of injuries you wouldn't want to survive).

That argument was perhaps plausible. But I don't think it's actually born out in the data. Studies seem to suggest that motorcycle helmets are an unqualified good thing.

And, at the risk of stating the obvious, motorcycles are different from bicycles, especially everyday cycling in places with good bike infrastructure, and the rates, kinds, and severities of the injuries you might encounter are likewise very different.

Show threadkiennahFeb 5
@DaveMWilburn @quixoticgeek @xs4me2 I would guess it’s a population thing: the Dutch people who wear helmets have riskier behavior: sports cyclists (road, MTB, etc) and old people on heavy/fast ebikes wear helmets, the average commuter, protected by our biking infrastructure, doesn’t.
Show threadQuixoticgeekFeb 5
@kiennah @DaveMWilburn @xs4me2 exactly.
Show threadxs4me2Feb 5

@kiennah @DaveMWilburn @quixoticgeek

Indeed, that is how it is...