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“Wear your helmet!” Moms are obligated to say it, and in many American cities, riders are obligated by law to do it. But psychologist and avid cyclist Ian (ironically-named) Walker recently challenged conventional wisdom by asking — can wearing a helmet increase your chances of getting hurt on a bike?
The answer, according to his own studies, is yes. He found out by rigging his bike up with an ultrasonic sensor that could detect and record how closely cars passed him while riding on city streets, and by riding regularly for two months with a helmet, and for two months without. He was passed by about 2,500 cars, which on average passed 3.35 inches closer to him when he wore a helmet. “They see the helmet and think, Oh, there’s a serious, skilful person,” Walker says. “And you get hit.”
Does that mean Walker (or mental_floss) is advocating that you ride without one? Well, no, not exactly. (That would be irresponsible.) But it is interesting to note that during his study, Walker was hit twice — by a truck and a bus — both times while wearing a helmet.
Comments (4)
Comment
Of course, Ian may be a bit less cautious with his cranium swaddled in its polystyrene pod. As a psychologist, he certainly understands that his observation, even bolstered with the technical “sensor” component, falls a bit short on the methodology side.
Perhaps we are fishing for grant money from Bell Sports to disprove our own thesis?
posted by Tom on 12-12-2006 at 8:34 am
The problem with making policies and laws is that the people in charge rarely thing about how people are going to react and adjust to those laws. Questions about the methodology aside, the assertion that drivers aren’t as worried about passing close by a cyclist wearing a helmet is quite reasonable; in so many situations we have to make relatively quick decisions and have to do so with limited information…until our minds accept a new standard, we continue to make decisions based on our previous experiences and/or base knowledge.
posted by Tom Number 2 on 12-12-2006 at 9:08 am
The first time I heard of this story in a science magazine several months ago, there was interested element that hasn’t been repeated in any other publications so far: Ian also discovered that, in addition to drivers giving him more room without a helmet on average, they tended to give him even more room if he rode his bicycle in drag! Did I just imagine this element of the story? If not, why is noone else mentioning it? That’s the real psychological story!
posted by Jeremy on 12-12-2006 at 9:33 am
Helmets used to be very dangerous for horseback riders as well. The old style of helmet, the one’s you see in the movies, had a hard plastic visor. The problem occurred when a rider fell off and that visor got stuck in the ground, which was causing serious neck injuries. New approved safety helmets have a soft, bendable visor. The old style have been deemed dangerous and are illegal in most competition.
posted by Katie B on 12-12-2006 at 11:13 am