# What's the bicycle helmet culture where you live? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 14, 2014, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-bicycle-helmet-culture-where-you-live/686099 "2014-04-14T17:43:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2014, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-bicycle-helmet-culture-where-you-live/686099/21 "2014-04-14T23:14:04Z")
> [@Rachellelogram](#): > > When I was growing up in Indiana from the mid 80s to 2003, nobody–but **nobody** –wore a bicycle helmet. I never saw them on the streets. Some motorcyclists wore them, but they were pretty rare. Northwest Indiana here - we’re seeing more bicycle helmets on both kids and adults these days around here. I wear one, occasionally get kidded, but I tell the jerks I’ll respect their right NOT to wear a brain bucket if they respect my right to choose to do so. Not so much of that as there was 10 years ago. Motorcycle helmets… lots of bikers and wannabe bikers don’t/won’t wear them, but again we’re seeing more folks on motorcycles and scooters choosing to wear them, especially the folks who ride nearly year round and not just on nice days. ---
**Author:** ![JerrySTL](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e274bd/32.png) [@JerrySTL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JerrySTL)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2014, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-bicycle-helmet-culture-where-you-live/686099/22 "2014-04-15T01:07:49Z")
In the St. Louis area, I’d estimate about 80% of the adults and slightly more for children. Of the “serious” (whatever that means) riders, I’d say closer to 95%. I was on a club ride on Sunday with about 200 riders and I don’t remember seeing anyone without a helmet and helmets are optional with that group. Probably a lot of peer pressure. Ironically motorcycle helmets are optional in Illinois and I’d guesstimate it’s about 60% usage. ---
**Author:** ![Rysto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ecccb3/32.png) [@Rysto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rysto)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2014, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-bicycle-helmet-culture-where-you-live/686099/23 "2014-04-15T01:25:21Z")
My best guess is that less than 50% of adult bicycle riders here in Ontario wear a helmet, but maybe I only notice the people who aren’t wearing a helmet. I have a co-worker who hit a pothole last summer, went right over his handlebars and broke a bone in his elbow. He **still** doesn’t wear a helmet. I really don’t get it. ETA: Although I live in a university town so that may contribute to my perception. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2014, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-bicycle-helmet-culture-where-you-live/686099/24 "2014-04-15T01:42:25Z")
Marylander here, doing most of my riding between the Patuxent and the Chesapeake. Rarely see an adult without a helmet; among kids, most but far from all wear helmets. The Firebug learned as soon as he could ride a bike with training wheels that a helmet was part of the deal. I’ll let him take chances, but not _stupid_ chances. > [@polar\_bear](#): > > Nobody, but really nobody, wears helmets here… except maybe tourists. But then, I’m in the Netherlands. Yeah, I noticed that when I visited your country. Of course, at least in the southern part of the Netherlands where we visited (my wife’s grandfather is buried in Margraten), there were lots of bike paths along major roads where people might drive fast, and you’d see lots of people riding bikes, even on rainy days, enough people riding so that there was a culture where people driving cars respected the cyclists. It’s not the sort of place where you’d feel at all unsafe riding your bike. Now if only I could have rented a decent road bike while I was there… ---
**Author:** ![EmAnJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d2c977/32.png) [@EmAnJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EmAnJ)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2014, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-bicycle-helmet-culture-where-you-live/686099/25 "2014-04-15T02:16:57Z")
Calgary here. It’s illegal for anyone under 16 (maybe 18) to not wear a helmet. It’s very uncommon to see an adult not wearing one either. Cycling clubs mandate helmets to participate, and all sanctioned races require helmets as well. I think the difference between here and Europe is the speed at which many ride, as well as the general cycling culture. Cyclists I am referring to are typically on a road or cross bike and are at fairly high speeds, often in traffic. High risk stuff. Those one off’s that I see not wearing a helmet are those on cheaper mountain bikes or hybrid comfort type bikes on the multi-use pathways, toodling along at 5 mph. This is similar to how I imagine European cycling (apart from actual road cyclists - which I understand is pretty big in places like France and Italy 😉 ). ---
**Author:** ![Rachellelogram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rachellelogram/32/8689_2.png) [@Rachellelogram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachellelogram)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2014, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-bicycle-helmet-culture-where-you-live/686099/26 "2014-04-15T02:24:11Z")
> [@gracer](#): > > Dutch cycling associations (eg fietsersbond etc) oppose helmet use because helmets lead to a net health loss while they are quite ineffective in preventing injury for adult commuter cyclists. But good luck convincing them furriners on that, they think cycling is playing with your life. 😉 > > So yeah, no helmets here. Cycling here is much safer than in most other countries, and one of the reasons is a culture of not wearing helmets. What the heck is a net health loss? It doesn’t take a bike vs vehicle accident to hit your head while cycling. No cite, sorry, but it’s obvious that a nonzero number of head injuries result from other sources. You could skid on a wet road and lose control. You could hit a patch of debris and lose control. You could round a corner too quickly and lose control. Loss of control can easily result in a fall, or hitting a tree, or hitting a parked car/other obstruction. These causes have nothing to do with the courtesy of vehicle drivers, and can’t be controlled or perfectly accounted for by any cyclist. And that’s what helmets are for. > [@Broomstick](#): > > Northwest Indiana here - we’re seeing more bicycle helmets on both kids and adults these days around here. I wear one, occasionally get kidded, but I tell the jerks I’ll respect their right NOT to wear a brain bucket if they respect my right to choose to do so. Not so much of that as there was 10 years ago. > > Motorcycle helmets… lots of bikers and wannabe bikers don’t/won’t wear them, but again we’re seeing more folks on motorcycles and scooters choosing to wear them, especially the folks who ride nearly year round and not just on nice days. Thanks! I grew up in Lake County… Glad to hear this is changing. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2014, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-bicycle-helmet-culture-where-you-live/686099/27 "2014-04-15T02:47:01Z")
In San Jose I would guess maybe 50- 60% of riders wear helmets. (Based on regular travel along the Guadalupe River and Los Gatos Creek trails) There are lots of avid bikers and families riding those trails who always wear helmets, but just as many casual riders who don’t feel the need for headgear. ---
**Author:** ![stui\_magpie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stui_magpie/32/11010_2.png) [@stui\_magpie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stui_magpie)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2014, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-bicycle-helmet-culture-where-you-live/686099/28 "2014-04-15T04:07:50Z")
> [@Battle\_Pope](#): > > Canberra, Australia. By law if you’re cycling in a public place you have to be wearing a helmet. The great majority of adults and kids do. > > Most of the people I see without them are the hipster/student types and older teen boys (they have them tied to their bike handles and seem to wear them at skate parks - just not riding around). Pretty much the same in Melbourne. If you’re riding a bicycle, you have to wear a helmet, and there’s no age cop out, it applies to little kids too. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Holdsworth\_Effect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/848f3c/32.png) [@The\_Holdsworth\_Effect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Holdsworth_Effect)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2014, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-bicycle-helmet-culture-where-you-live/686099/29 "2014-04-15T05:23:48Z")
Live now on Olympic Peninsula, 2 hours west of Seattle. Helmets are the norm here. In Town are required by law. Born in Upstate NY (which by definition is anything north of Yonkers, but specifically the Schenectady area), never wore a helmet til I moved to Seattle in 1981. I was introduced to helmets, or hardhats, as a horseback hunter/jumper student in 1961. I still wear a helmet when riding/driving a horse. I’m also a former trauma unit Icu nurse. In 1980 there was a resident at our hospital who was from Seattle and wore a Bell helmet, the early mushroom head type. She, and we, mourned the loss of one of the fourth year med students who careened down a hill, hit a pedestrian and broke his femur, and hit her head…unhelmeted head, it was the norm on the East Coast at the time. The student died in a day or two. I took care of her in the ICU…what a waste. I’ve recounted motorcycle non helmet users as organ donors countless times. Please please, use a helmet. They save lives. ---
**Author:** ![kambuckta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/53a042/32.png) [@kambuckta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kambuckta)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2014, 6:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-bicycle-helmet-culture-where-you-live/686099/30 "2014-04-15T06:05:09Z")
> [@stui\_magpie](#): > > Pretty much the same in Melbourne. If you’re riding a bicycle, you have to wear a helmet, and there’s no age cop out, it applies to little kids too. Just to add, motorcyclists are required by law to wear an approved helmet too. Get sprung without one and you’re in deep doo-doos. Have an _accident_ without one, and I guess it’s moot. ---
**Author:** ![jabiru](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/bbce88/32.png) [@jabiru](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jabiru)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2014, 6:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-bicycle-helmet-culture-where-you-live/686099/31 "2014-04-15T06:13:53Z")
Motorcycle and bicycle helmets are worn almost 100% here. So much so that if I do see a rider not wearing one, I do a double take. ---
**Author:** ![polar\_bear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ec9cab/32.png) [@polar\_bear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/polar_bear)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2014, 6:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-bicycle-helmet-culture-where-you-live/686099/32 "2014-04-15T06:16:03Z")
> [@gracer](#): > > Dutch cycling associations (eg fietsersbond etc) oppose helmet use because helmets lead to a net health loss while they are quite ineffective in preventing injury for adult commuter cyclists. But good luck convincing them furriners on that, they think cycling is playing with your life. 😉 > > So yeah, no helmets here. Cycling here is much safer than in most other countries, and one of the reasons is a culture of not wearing helmets. I don’t believe they are against helmet use, but against mandatory helmet laws. With the idea (and apparently experience) that people ill act more confidently/less careful because of a false sense of security… which is related to the fact that in a majority of cases a helmet wouldn’t have helped much. I believe this is the logic they use at least; must say it sound plausible, I am usually a lot more careful at night when I forget my bike lights… t ---
**Author:** ![gracer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8e7dd6/32.png) [@gracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gracer)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2014, 7:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-bicycle-helmet-culture-where-you-live/686099/33 "2014-04-15T07:57:59Z")
> [@polar\_bear](#): > > I don’t believe they are against helmet use, but against mandatory helmet laws. With the idea (and apparently experience) that people ill act more confidently/less careful because of a false sense of security… which is related to the fact that in a majority of cases a helmet wouldn’t have helped much. I believe this is the logic they use at least; must say it sound plausible, I am usually a lot more careful at night when I forget my bike lights… t The VVN says they encourage individuals to use helmets in general, but if you read the rest of what they have to say about it it’s not very encouraging at all, and as you say, they oppose helmet laws. It sort of makes sense: all else being equal helmet use would offer some protection, but all else is not equal. They say “Veilig Verkeer Nederland wil de veiligheid van fietsers vergroten, onder andere door het fietsgebruik te bevorderen. Een helmdraagplicht werkt daarbij averechts.” They also point out that that in comparison do other activities of every day life cycling is not particularly dangerous and we don’t wear helmets walking to the supermarket either. Other cycling associations do not support helmet use for adults. The Fietsersbond says: “De Fietsersbond heeft gerede twijfel over nut en noodzaak van deze maatregelen” - “deze maatregelen” being helmet use and laws. They go on to explain it in full [here](http://www.fietsersbond.nl/de-feiten/verkeer-en-veiligheid/fietshelmen#.U0zcYK2SyYk), quite worth reading. They are quite clear that they do not support promotion of helmet use either. Overall, wrt the Fietsersbond you can say that they are opposed to helmet use. The VVN website is contradictory in its opening sentence and the rest of what it has to say, but they are not terribly supportive of helmets. ---
**Author:** ![Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hilarity_n.suze/32/6223_2.png) [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hilarity_N.Suze)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2014, 8:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-bicycle-helmet-culture-where-you-live/686099/34 "2014-04-15T08:34:16Z")
Denver. The people in the ugly bicycling clothes wear them. (Okay, I get the loud colors. I don’t get the ugly. Or the “let’s pretend we have endorsements!” patches.) People like me–i.e., normal people, riding crap bicycles in everyday clothing–about 25% wear helmets. (I don’t, and never did.) The people without helmets in general seem to be either getting somewhere–going to work, going to the library–or just enjoying a leisurely ride. With one exception, if it’s a leisurely family ride, and the children are wearing helmets, the adults are, too. The people wearing helmets are always going hell-for-leather so they probably need the helmets. Those of us without are more likely to skin our knees when our shoelaces get wrapped around the pedal and we fall over. Motorcycles: The ones I see are almost always wearing helmets. Note that of the two people I know who died in bicycle accidents, both were wearing helmets, and neither one died as a result of an injury to the head. What’s next, full-body armor? ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2014, 10:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-bicycle-helmet-culture-where-you-live/686099/35 "2014-04-15T10:12:50Z")
Adelaide, Australia, helmets are mandatory and I don’t recall seeing someone not wearing a helmet. ---
**Author:** ![blindboyard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blindboyard/32/2833_2.png) [@blindboyard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blindboyard)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2014, 11:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-bicycle-helmet-culture-where-you-live/686099/36 "2014-04-15T11:20:57Z")
> [@polar\_bear](#): > > I don’t believe they are against helmet use, but against mandatory helmet laws. With the idea (and apparently experience) that people ill act more confidently/less careful because of a false sense of security… which is related to the fact that in a majority of cases a helmet wouldn’t have helped much. I believe this is the logic they use at least; must say it sound plausible, I am usually a lot more careful at night when I forget my bike lights… t There’s that, and the fact that helmets can be distracting, especially to those not used to them, and also helmets are a pain in the arse. Some places making them compulsory have seen a massive drop in cyclists, which means car drivers aren’t as used to them and are more likely to drive into them. Around here (UK) motorbike riders are required to wear helmets. Cyclists aren’t, and most don’t. The normal riff-raff riders don’t, unaccompanied children don’t and only some of the skintight-gear people do. The only people I ever see wearing them are some of the skintight people and children being accompanied by their parents, along with the parents. The skintight people also take a perverse delight in using the main roads rather than the conveniently situated cyclepaths along the side, too. I have fallen off cycles and, on one occasion, a motorbike, and I only hit my head the once when I was about five. ---
**Author:** ![gracer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8e7dd6/32.png) [@gracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gracer)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2014, 11:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-bicycle-helmet-culture-where-you-live/686099/37 "2014-04-15T11:37:01Z")
> [@blindboyard](#): > > There’s that, and the fact that helmets can be distracting, especially to those not used to them, and also helmets are a pain in the arse. Some places making them compulsory have seen a massive drop in cyclists, which means car drivers aren’t as used to them and are more likely to drive into them. > > Around here (UK) motorbike riders are required to wear helmets. Cyclists aren’t, and most don’t. The normal riff-raff riders don’t, unaccompanied children don’t and only some of the skintight-gear people do. The only people I ever see wearing them are some of the skintight people and children being accompanied by their parents, along with the parents. The skintight people also take a perverse delight in using the main roads rather than the conveniently situated cyclepaths along the side, too. > > I have fallen off cycles and, on one occasion, a motorbike, and I only hit my head the once when I was about five. And accordingly, the Dutch fietsersbond _does_ recommend helmets for little children, as research shows that this is effective in preventing injury. Mainly because children\* fall off\* bicycles, which is what helmets are designed for. If as an adult you are just constantly falling off your bicycle, you don’t need a helmet. You need to dismount. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![amanset](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8dc957/32.png) [@amanset](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amanset)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2014, 11:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-bicycle-helmet-culture-where-you-live/686099/38 "2014-04-15T11:59:07Z")
Stockholm. I’d say about 90% of people have them. I’m not sure if we are legally required to, but I have one. ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2014, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-bicycle-helmet-culture-where-you-live/686099/39 "2014-04-15T13:47:42Z")
> [@amanset](#): > > Stockholm. I’d say about 90% of people have them. I’m not sure if we are legally required to, but I have one. Must be a case of Stockholm Syndrome. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2014, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-bicycle-helmet-culture-where-you-live/686099/40 "2014-04-15T14:19:17Z")
> [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](#): > > The people wearing helmets are always going hell-for-leather so they probably need the helmets. Those of us without are more likely to skin our knees when our shoelaces get wrapped around the pedal and we fall over. Speed has little to do with it. My wife suffered a severe concussion when she took a spill many years ago. The tire caught in a grate or something and she tipped over at very low speed. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-bicycle-helmet-culture-where-you-live/686099.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-bicycle-helmet-culture-where-you-live/686099.md?page=3)