CALIFORNIA BICYCLE NEWS AND CYCLING SAFETY TIPS BLOG

Last week we discussed an editorial in the New York Times written by Elisabeth Rosenthal, who suggested that urging all cyclists to wear helmets discourages some from taking up cycling. While this may seem like a ridiculous notion, it is possible that some cyclists do not like the look or feel of a bicycle helmet. While style and discomfort is a small price to pay to protect yourself from traumatic brain injury, some cyclists may be pleased to hear of a new product in development called the Invisible Bicycle Helmet. The helmet, as you can see in the video, remains hidden in the cyclist’s collar unless there is an accident, in which case it deploys like an airbag. The project is the brainchild of two women in Sweden, Anna Haupt and Terese Alstin, whom both have backgrounds in industrial design. “It became mandatory for children to wear a helmet in…
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Everyone knows that in the event of a cycling accident, a helmet can prevent a traumatic brain injury and potentially save your life. However, a recent column in the New York Times questioned the longstanding belief that all cyclists should wear a bicycle helmet at all times. Elisabeth Rosenthal wrote an interesting piece about bike-sharing systems in other countries such as Australia and France, and how she rode without a helmet for the first time in 25 years. “In the United States, the notion that bike helmets promote health and safety by preventing head injuries is taken pretty near as God’s truth,” Rosenthal says. “Un-helmeted cyclists are regarded as irresponsible, like people who smoke. Cities are aggressive in helmet promotion. But many European health experts have taken a different view…if you force or pressure people to wear helmets, you discourage them from riding bicycles. That means more obesity, heart  disease…
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