h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Excellent.
Vital.
Important that more people do this for so many reasons.
So, what a pity that it includes the nonesense about 'Must wear a helmet'.
Please do the rersearch., Look at the figures (The Net lets you do this). Helmets only help in a very small number of head injuries, and these injuries are due to ... falling off a bike. They are never NEVER any use in collision with a vehicle (That';s "When a car ploughs into you" in ordinary language).
Most people are killed by cars due to spinal injuries. Head injuries are quite rate.
On the other hand, helmets do four things:
1:
Make the rider feel 'protected' so they take less care. Thus, more risk of accidents.
2:
Give drivers and pedestrians the idea that cyclist deaths are 'Because they don't have a helmet' (ie: "It's their fault") so excuse themselves for any accidents. In the same way, the real dangers are ignored. Simply, it's bad driving and not taking any notice of cyclists. Like many 'police guiidelines' it's to look as if something's 'being done' when, in fact, it's counter-productive and a sop to acvoid doing something useful, like providing proper cycling paths and increasing penalties for killing cyclists.
3:
Give the impression that cycling is dangerous. In fact, it's actually less dangerous than walking (Cars kill those too, and then there's muggers and all those 'Trip hazards' people keep sueing for). By the same argument, pedestrians should be wearing helmets.
4:
It makes anyone on a bike look like a wally. What ordinary person wants to wear a plastic potty on their head to nip down to the corner shop? Ask any ordinary person and they'll list one of the reasons for not cycling as 'Those silly helmets and that lycra'. If cycling looks like an extreme sport rather than a means of getting about, it's going to decline.

If there's one thing that makes cuycling safer, it's there being more cylists on the road.
In Australia, they made helmets compulsory.
Guess what? Less cyclists. More deaths.

Please check all these facts.

Love and pedalling:
Phytoramediant.