hachyderm.io is one of the many independent Mastodon servers you can use to participate in the fediverse.
Hachyderm is a safe space, LGBTQIA+ and BLM, primarily comprised of tech industry professionals world wide. Note that many non-user account types have restrictions - please see our About page.

Administered by:

Server stats:

10K
active users

I don’t own a car and I ride my bike a lot, often on very busy city streets. I always wear a helmet when I ride — not because it makes me less likely to get hit by a car, but because it makes me less likely to suffer from brain damage if and when I do get hit by a car.

However, as Dave Walker (@davewalker) points out, there are MANY other and much better ways to make cycling safer for everyone. 🚲

Chris Simpson

@breadandcircuses @davewalker somewhere, many moons ago, I read that having laws that force people to wear bike helmets actually leads to a reduction in a population's overall health because it reduces the overall amount of exercise occurring. I'm also pro helmet and wear one 99% of the time, but I'd prefer if it were only a legal requirement for kids and not adults

@chris_e_simpson @breadandcircuses @davewalker cycle helmets are not designed or tested for collisions with any other road user, as usually stated in their manuals. That's not why to use them. It's also part of why they should never be required by law.

@chris_e_simpson @breadandcircuses @davewalker That, and a rider with a helmet makes car drivers act more dangerously around them (as do people in pro-looking cycling gear and cyclists-men). Thus wearing a helmet can increase collision risk by a tiny bit.

@chris_e_simpson
@breadandcircuses @davewalker

There was some research suggesting that wearing a helmet makes drivers assume youre safer and so drive closer to you.

Thats my excuse anyways.