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TEDxCopenhagen - Mikael Colville-Andersen - Why We Shouldn't Bike with a Helmet

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2 HN users recommended this talk2 months2012–2024 score 2
Years with an HN recommendation, 2007–2026

Pointed to in helmet-law debates as a watchable argument that helmet mandates may cost lives by discouraging cycling.

Copenhagen's bicycle ambassador Mikael Colville-Andersen argues in a TEDx talk that bicycle helmets threaten bicycle culture. He says they distract from road design and make cycling look dangerous.

“If you would rather watch than read, there's this” (HN, 2016)

2 recommendations · 4 citations · 1 jokes · Talks

7 Hacker News comments

From the HN archive; up to 20 kept per video, favoring different commenters. Recommendations first.

@m0nty Aug 2016 Recommends
on HN thread Guerrilla Bike Lanes in San Francisco
[this video] Anyone just blindly downvoting snovv_crash should check out the video above and any number of other resources, such as this one: [link] There are strong feelings on both sides, but many cyclists feel helmets are a distraction from the real issues which make cyclists unsafe: poor road design and unsafe driving. Cycling itself is (counter-intuitively) a very safe activity which looks dangerous; everyone assumes driving and walking are safe but often they are not. Yet nobody seriously proposes helmets for pedestrians or drivers, just cyclists.
Argues helmets distract from poor road design and unsafe driving.
@Dove Sep 2016 Recommends
on HN thread Study Explains Why We Arrest Moms for Putting Kids in Nearly Non-Existent Danger
If this is a new topic to you (I don't mean, you , SturgeonsLaw, as you are clearly familiar with it :) -- I mean the reader), you would do well to consider both sides. I personally find the arguments that bike helmets cause more harm than good persuasive, and a good and thorough introduction may be found here: [link] If you would rather watch than read, there's this: [this video]
Watchable introduction to why helmets may do more harm than good.

Citations, criticism and jokes

@cshesse Sep 2012 Cites it
on HN thread To Encourage Biking, Cities Lose the Helmets
Read more
When I was a kid, my best friend's brother died because he was not wearing a bike helmet. I do, in fact, always wear a bike helmet. The argument is not whether, if hit in the head, you are more likely to get a head injury. It is clear that bike helmets reduce those injuries. The question is, if we required everyone to wear helmets, or required everyone to not wear helmets, which would result in less injuries/fatalities. And secondarily, if it turns out that bike helmets reduce injuries and fatalities, has it been worth the cost, vs other things we could spend money on, say legally required non-slip surfaces for bathtubs. There are multiple factors that could affect this, here are two such things: * [link] * [this video]
Cited as a factor in whether helmet requirements reduce injuries.
@m463 Jan 2024 Cites it
on HN thread Value of life
reminds me of the ted talk where the speaker said that helmet laws might be costing lives. The idea was that more people would be saved by the opportunity to exercise than were saved by the helmets. I think this one? [this video]
Talk arguing helmet laws may cost lives through reduced exercise.
@m463 May 2024 Cites it
on HN thread Cardio fitness is a strong, consistent predictor of morbidity and mortality
reminds me of the bicycle helmet stuff. There was a ted talk that said bicycle helmet laws would kill more people than save. The reasoning was preventing people from riding would also prevent increased fitness, and more lives were lost from that than saved from accidents. EDIT: I think this one: [this video]
Talk arguing helmet laws kill more through lost fitness.

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