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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