Stop forcing people to wear bike helmets

19 May 2014 • vox.com

Walking and driving are just as dangerous as biking — but they don't require helmets - One question to start with is why we require helmets for bikers but not for pedestrians or drivers. Is there something inherently dangerous about biking?

Good read.  I used to bike a lot (mostly with a helmet) but it was always a pain.  I think this brings up some really good points and it's a subject worth revisiting.

It seems a helmet changes how drivers respond to you also. If they feel you are "safer" wearing a helmet then they show less concern for your safety.

In a 2007 study, British researcher Ian Walker rode 200 miles in the cities of Salisbury and Bristol with a sensor strapped to his bike that measured the distance of a total of 2,259 cars that passed him. He wore a helmet about half the time — and found that when he wore it, the cars came about 3.35 inches closer, on average, when passing.

The frequency of dangerously-close passes was also much higher when he was wearing the helmet — and the two times he was actually hit during the experiment both came when his helmet was on.