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The fallacy of the cracked helmet
Abstract Intriguingly, a cracked bicycle helmet is often perceived as unequivocal proof of saving lives, but this is far from the truth. It is a sign of the helmet’s failure when the underlying styrofoam fails to compress. It’s a natural inclination to credit a helmet with saving us, but that doesn’t necessarily make it true.…
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The myth that bicycle helmets protect against brain injury
Abstract Brain injury is caused by rotational acceleration. Bicycle helmets are not designed to protect against it. In some circumstances they can increase it, aggravating brain injury. Wearing a helmet can make us feel safer. However feeling safe is different than being safe blank What surgeons say This article reports from a surgeon who operates on cyclists: ” “The…
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Are bicycle helmets dangerous?
Abstract blank Helmets protect against minor skull injuries like bruises and lacerations. Helmets: increase the risk of accidents increase the risk of neck injury increase the risk of brain injury Wearing a helmet can make us feel safer. However feeling safe is not the same as being safe Some politicians claim “Helmets save lives“. Is…
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Has the helmet law improved safety?
Abstract After the helmet law, the risk of accidents doubled. The risk of death & serious injury for child cyclists increased by 50%. Wearing a helmet can make us feel safer. However feeling safe is different than being safe blank A noticeable impact of the helmet law has been to reduce cycling. Almost half stopped cycling,…
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The myth that cycling is dangerous
You’ve heard it again and again: “Cycling is dangerous” When we keep hearing the same statement again and again, we end up believing it. This is a well-known manipulation technique, mentioned by Daniel Kanheman in his acclaimed book “Thinking fast and slow“: “A reliable way to make people believe in falsehoods is frequent repetition, because…
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My helmet saved my life!
Abstract After the helmet law, many cyclists insisted that their helmets had saved them. Yet cycling injuries tripled. Why? Because helmets increase the risk of accidents. What the data tells us Here are some stats on cycling death & serious injury for children in NSW, before and after the helmet law. Two years after the…